Details About Ambrym

The landscape of Ambrym, the Island of Mysteries, is beyond description: a primeval world of seething active lava lakes, ancient tree ferns, eerie mist-shrouded jungle, and jagged black moonscape. An enormous ash plain about 12km across occupies the centre of the island plain, representing the crater of the ancient volcano. The home of Mt. Marum and Mt. Benbow volcanoes, Ambrym holds a reputation for major sorcery in Vanuatu. Ambrym is famous for its drums with vertical slits and for its tree fern carvings, sand drawings and Rom Dance, an outstanding expression of the prevailing influence of spirits. The ni-Vanuatu world, as islanders are known, is still inhabited by spirits and demons, despite the missionaries' best efforts to expel them. Anything tabu is sacred or holy, and the word is in common use - on signs it can mean simply 'no entry'. Vanuatu's fractured terrain produces a kaleidoscope of cultures and more than 100 indigenous languages.