![Espiritu Santo (29281946255)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Espiritu_Santo_%2829281946255%29.jpg)
Pentecost Island is one of the 83 islands that make up the
South Pacific nation of
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
.
It lies due north of capital
Port Vila
Port Vila (french: Port-Vila), or simply Vila (; french: Vila; bi, Vila ), is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. It is located on the island of Efate.
Its population in the last census (2009) was 44,040, an increase of 35% on the pr ...
. Pentecost Island is known as in
French and in
Bislama
Bislama (; ; also known by its earlier French name, ) is an English-based creole language and one of the official languages of Vanuatu. It is the first language of many of the "Urban ni-Vanuatu" (citizens who live in Port Vila and Luganville) ...
. The island was known in its native languages by names such as ''Vanu Aroaroa'', although these names are not in common use today. Pentecost has also been referred to as ''Raga'' or ''Araga'', a tribal name that originated in the north but is now widely applied to the whole island. In old sources, it is occasionally referred to as Whitsuntide Island.
Geography
Pentecost is a lush, mountainous island which stretches north to south over some . It has an area of . The mountain range, of which the highest is
Mount Vulmat (), marks the dividing line between the humid, rainy eastern coast and the more temperate western coast. The coastal plains, cross-cut by small torrents, are generally very green and ideally suited for plantations and
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
.
The climate on Pentecost is humid tropical. The average annual rainfall is about 3,500 mm of rain. There are two seasons in the year: the rainy season, which lasts from November to April, and the dry season, which lasts from May to October. The island is subject to frequent cyclones and earthquakes.
History and customs
Some Bule people of Pentecost trace their origins to Nuenue, a woman to whom was given the skill of weaving by the creator, Tagaro.
[Lini, W. 1980. ''Beyond Pandemonium: From the New Hebrides to Vanuatu.'' Asia Pacific Books and the Institute of Pacific Studies, Wellington and Suva. p. 7. ] She travelled throughout the island, passing on the skill to others, and, in exchange, she was given land.
As a result, the descendants of Nuenue are entitled to land wherever Nuenue settled.
Pentecost was first sighted by the Spanish expedition of
Pedro Fernandez de Quiros
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter.
The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...
in April 1606. Pentecost was again sighted on the day of
Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
, 22 May 1768, by
Louis Antoine de Bougainville
Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (, , ; 12 November 1729 – August 1811) was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he took part in the Seven Years' War in North America and the American Revolution ...
. It was also sighted by
Captain James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
, during his voyage through the
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...
(now Vanuatu) in 1774. It was influenced by successive
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
but traditional customs there remain strong.
![Pentecost Land Diving II](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Pentecost_Land_Diving_II.JPG)
Pentecost Island is most famous for being the spiritual birthplace of the extreme sport of
bungee jumping
Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...
, originating in an ages old ritual called the ''Gol'' (
Bislama
Bislama (; ; also known by its earlier French name, ) is an English-based creole language and one of the official languages of Vanuatu. It is the first language of many of the "Urban ni-Vanuatu" (citizens who live in Port Vila and Luganville) ...
), or
land diving
Land diving (known in the local Sa language as and in Bislama as ) is a ritual performed by the men of the southern part of Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. Men jump off wooden towers around high, with two tree vines wrapped around the ankles. Lan ...
. Between April and June every year, men in the southern part of the island jump from tall towers (around ) with
vine
A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...
s tied to their feet, in a ritual believed to ensure a good
yam harvest. The ritual is also now used to show
acceptance into manhood. Land diving was first given international exposure when
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...
and a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
film crew brought back footage of the ritual during the 1950s, which aired as part of ''
'' documentary series. Visitors to Pentecost who witnessed the ceremony include
, who led Vanuatu to independence in 1980. Today, the 'father of the nation' is commemorated by a statue at the nearby Lini Memorial College.
The
, which rejects the Western economic system and instead promotes an alternative based on the "''
'' economy", began on Pentecost and is based at Lavatmanggemu in the north-east of the island.
The practice of
.
Traditionally, two tribes occupied Pentecost, the Tabi and the Bule, who intermarry and follow a matrilineal system of descent and inheritance.
The island has a population of almost 17,000 at the 2009 census.