10 Pigs For A Wife
By Lothar. Filed in Vanuatu |
Pigs mean wealth in this country. A boy undergoes initiation into adulthood with a ritual circumcision at the age of 10 to 11, and only afterwards, is allowed to start buying pigs.
Now he has the status and duties of a man and can wear a “nambas” ( penis wrapper). In the islands, there are different tribes: the Big Nambas and the Little Nambas, wearing a different size of penis wrapper. The government(the council of chiefs, to be exact) actually has put a limit on the price of a wife: about 1000 USD ( for the most part in the form of pigs). Before buying a wife, the young man has to build a “house”.
Incidentally, according to our guide book, they don’t break out the front teeth of the bride any more ( to show that she is married).
I like the Polynesian custom better : a gardenia flower behind the right ear for available girls, behind the left ear for married ones.