Iskaka Village, Tana Island, Vanuatu – December 31, 2015: We were lucky to witness this pre-engagement ceremony in Iskaka village. Family of a bride-to-be gifts groom’s family months or years before the marriage takes place. This one is scheduled for 2017.
‘The islands of Vanuatu (New Hebrides) have a culture that is impossible to describe without reference to pigs. Pigs are used as payments for bride price, and they are also given as gifts. When pigs are borrowed or loaned for the bride price, the repayment of the loan includes interest, which is calculated on the amount that the loaned animal’s tusks would have grown between the time of borrowing and the time of repayment’ (Laynard, J. 1942, “Stone Men of Malekula”, Chatto and Windus, London)