Mercedes Lopez-Tomlinson

The Aroma of Vanuatu Mercedes Lopez-Tomlinson

Vanuatu is a country with 83 islands in the South Pacific between Australia and Fiji. Its one of the few countries in the world which has preserved traditions passed from generation to generation for thousands of years.

In this book the author describes her experiences and the people she met during the four years that she lived in Vanuatu and also talks about the culture and traditions of the country which have existed for more than three thousand years.

Active volcanoes, traditional jumps with many thousand years history that precede the bunji jumping, dances and rituals belonging to the past, superstitions and magic, cannibalism...

This book takes us back to a period of long ago through histories that occurred in more recent times and it helps us to understand the soul of Melanesia, both eternal and modern.

The meaning of Vanuatu is "Our eternal land" and the ni-Vanuatu consider themselves as the guardians of the earth that they have to pass on to future generations.