Tanna (sometimes misspelled ''Tana'') is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Tafea Province Tafea is the southernmost of the six provinces of Vanuatu. The name is an acronym for the five main islands that make up the province: Tanna, Aneityum, Futuna, Erromango and Aniwa. History Unlike the other provinces of Vanuatu, the territoria ...

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 ...

Name

The name ''Tanna'', first cited by

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 an ...

, is derived from the word ''tana'' in the

Kwamera language Kwamera, or South Tanna, the endonym being Nafe (Nɨfe), is a language spoken on the southeastern coast of Tanna Island in Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik ...

, meaning "earth". Etymologically, ''Tanna'' goes back to

Proto-Oceanic Proto-Oceanic (abbr. ''POc'') is a proto-language that historical linguists since Otto Dempwolff have reconstructed as the hypothetical common ancestor of the Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Oceanic is a descendant ...

*''tanoq'', from

Proto-Malayo-Polynesian Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, which is by far the largest branch (by current speakers) of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian is ancestral to all Austronesi ...

* ''taneq'', with the same meaning.

Geography

It is long and wide, with a total area of . Its highest point is the summit of

Mount Tukosmera Mount Tukosmera is the tallest mountain on Tanna, Vanuatu. It is located in the southern part of the island. It was a volcano in the Pleistocene, but is no longer active, unlike Mount Yasur. The mountain has special religious significance for th ...

in the south of the island.

Siwi Lake Siwi may refer to: *the Siwi people *the Siwi language *Siwi, Burkina Faso *SIWI, Stockholm International Water Institute *Another spelling for Sibi Sibi ( Sindhi: سيوي ur, ) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The ...

was located in the east, northeast of the peak, close to the coast until mid-April 2000 when following unusually heavy rain, the lake burst down the valley into

Sulphur Bay Sulphur Bay is a bay on the eastern side of Tanna island in Vanuatu. Nearby is Mount Yasur, called the world's most accessible volcano. History Sulphur Bay was the first part of the island visited by Westerners, when the glow of Mount Yasur att ...

, destroying the village with no loss of life.

Mount Yasur Mount Yasur is a volcano on Tanna Island, Vanuatu, high above sea level, on the coast near Sulphur Bay, northeast of the taller Mount Tukosmera, which was active in the Pleistocene. It has a largely unvegetated pyroclastic cone with a nearly ...

is an accessible active

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

which is located on the southeast coast.

History

Tanna was first settled about 400 BC by Melanesians from the surrounding islands. The glowing light of Mount Yasur attracted

, the first

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an to visit the island, in August 1774, where he landed in an inlet on the southeastern tip of the island that he named

Port Resolution A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

after his ship HMS ''Resolution''. In the 19th century, traders and missionaries (chiefly

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

) arrived. The Tannese stuck to their traditions more strongly than other islands; there remain fewer Christians in comparison with the other islands of Vanuatu. Whaling vessels were some of the first regular visitors to the island in the nineteenth century. The first on record was the ''Rose'' in February 1804. The last known such visit was by the ''Sea Ranger'' in September 1871. Tanna was not a principal site of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but about 1,000 people from Tanna were recruited to work on the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

military base on

Éfaté Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate. Geography It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanua ...

. Exposure to

First World The concept of First World originated during the Cold War and comprised countries that were under the influence of the United States and the rest of NATO and opposed the Soviet Union and/or communism during the Cold War. Since the collapse of ...

living standards may have led to the development of

cargo cult A cargo cult is an indigenist millenarian belief system, in which adherents perform rituals which they believe will cause a more technologically advanced society to deliver goods. Causes, beliefs, and practices Cargo cults are marked by a ...

s. Many have died out, but the

John Frum John Frum (also called Jon Frum, John Brum, and John Prum) is a mythic figure associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. He is often depicted as an American World War II serviceman who will bring wealth and prosperity to the ...

cult remains strong on Tanna today, especially at Sulphur Bay in the south east and Green Point in the South West of the Island. The documentary ''Waiting for John'' (2015) by Jessica Sherry provides a history and overview of the current scene regarding these beliefs. A secessionist movement began in the 1970s, and the Nation of Tanna was proclaimed on 24 March 1974. While the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

were more open to allowing its holdings in Vanuatu to achieve independence, it was opposed by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

colonists and finally suppressed by the

Anglo-French Condominium 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 ...

authorities on 29 June 1974. Bandera Tanna Vanuatu

In 1980, there was another attempt to secede, declaring the Tafea Nation on 1 January 1980, its name coming from the initials of the five islands that were to be part of the nation (Tanna, Aniwa, Futuna,

Erromango Erromango is the fourth largest island in the Vanuatu archipelago. With a land area of it is the largest island in Tafea Province, the southernmost of Vanuatu's six administrative regions. Name The endonym for Erromango in Erromangan is ''Nelo ...

and

Aneityum Aneityum (also known as Anatom or Keamu) is the southernmost island of Vanuatu, in the province of Tafea. Geography Aneityum is the southernmost island of Vanuatu (not counting the Matthew and Hunter Islands, which are disputed with New Caledoni ...

). British forces intervened on 26 May 1980, allowing the island to become part of the newly independent nation of Vanuatu on 30 July 1980. Tanna and nearby

were devastated by

cyclone Pam Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the second most intense tropical cyclone of the South Pacific Ocean in terms of sustained winds and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Vanuatu. A total of 15–16 people lost ...

in mid-March 2015, with reports of an unknown number of deaths, complete destruction of the island’s infrastructure and permanent shelters, and no drinking water. Following this, an El Niño-spurred drought further impacted on the people of Tanna.

Culture and economy

Population

It is the most populous island in

, with a population of about 29,000, and one of the most populous islands in the country.

Isangel Isangel is a town in Vanuatu. Located on the island of Tanna, it is the provincial administrative capital of Tafea Province. Population The town has a population of about 1,200, most of them Melanesians; the major languages of the area are Le ...

, the provincial administrative capital, is on the west coast near the island's largest town of Lénakel. Tanna is populated almost entirely by

Melanesians Melanesians are the predominant and indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, in a wide area from Indonesia's New Guinea to as far East as the islands of Vanuatu and Fiji. Most speak either one of the many languages of the Austronesian language fa ...

and they follow a more traditional lifestyle than many other islands. Some of the higher altitude villages are known as

kastom ''Kastom'' is a pidgin word (Bislama/Tok Pisin) used to refer to traditional culture, including religion, economics, art and magic in Melanesia. The term is the generally accepted term in anthropology to describe such phenomena as well as the ...

villages, where modern inventions are restricted, the inhabitants wear penis sheaths ( bi, nambas) and grass skirts, and the children do not go to public schools. According to anthropologist Joël Bonnemaison, author of "The Tree and the Canoe: history and ethnography of Tanna," their resistance to change is due to their traditional worldview and how they "perceive, internalise, and account for the dual concepts of space and time."

John Frum movement

The island is the centre of the John Frum religious movement, which attracts tourist interest as a

. The first John appeared at night as a spirit at a place called Green Point beach and told the people to return to their traditional way of life, or

. From that time kastom on Tanna has been seen as an alternative to the modernity encouraged by many missionary denominations.

Yaohnanen Yaohnanen, also spelled Ionhanen,Brian J. Bresniha and Keith Woodward, ed. ''Tufala Gavman - Reminiscences from the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides'', Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, Suva, 2002, p. 498 ...

is the centre of the Prince Philip Movement, which reveres

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

, the late husband of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. The cult is examined by British writer

Matthew Baylis Matthew Baylis (born 1971), also known as Matt Baylis and M. H. Baylis, is a British novelist, screenwriter and journalist. Early life Baylis was born in Nottingham. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby, and Trinity Colle ...

in his 2013 book ''Man Belong Mrs Queen: Adventures with the Philip Worshippers''. Christian missionary

John Gibson Paton John Gibson Paton (24 May 1824 – 28 January 1907), born in Scotland, was a Protestant missionary to the New Hebrides Islands of the South Pacific. He brought to the natives of the New Hebrides education and Christianity. He developed small in ...

served in Tanna in the mid 1800s. Cannibalism was practiced before Christianity swept the island. In the biography of Paton, the horror of the pagan practice of abusing and murdering disobedient wives is detailed.

Language

There are five main languages spoken on Tanna: the southern language of Kwamera, the South-Western language adjacent to the slopes of Tokosmera, of which there are many dialects spoken by very small groupings, constitute two of the languages. The remaining majority of Tanna islanders speak four dialects, being North Tanna in the northwest, Lénakel in the west-central area near Lénakel, and the middle bush dialect in the central plateau of the island, which is very close to Lenakel

Whitesands Whitesands or White Sands is a village on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. Located on the southeast side of the island near Sulphur Bay, the area is a center of the indigenous Whitesands language and the John Frum cargo cult A cargo cult ...

in the northeast near

. These are generally grouped into the

Tanna languages The nine South Vanuatu languages form a family of the Southern Oceanic languages, spoken in Tafea Province ( Tanna, Aneityum, Futuna, Erromango, and Aniwa) of Vanuatu. Languages *Erromango family **Southern: Sie, Sorung† **Northern: Ifo ( ...

family, which is a subgroup of the

South Vanuatu languages The nine South Vanuatu languages form a family of the Southern Oceanic languages, spoken in Tafea Province ( Tanna, Aneityum, Futuna, Erromango, and Aniwa) of Vanuatu. Languages *Erromango family **Southern: Sie, Sorung† **Northern: Ifo ( ...

, an Austronesian language branch. According to ''

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...

'', each is spoken by a few thousand, and Lénakel, with about 16,000 speakers, is one of the languages of Vanuatu with the most speakers. Many people on Tanna also speak

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) ...

, which is one of Vanuatu's three official languages (together with English and French).

Economy

The island is one of the most fertile in Vanuatu and produces

kava Kava or kava kava (''Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ''ʻawa'' (Hawaiʻi), ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...

, and other fruits and vegetables. Recently,

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

has become more important, as tourists are attracted to the volcano and traditional culture. To help preserve the integrity of culture as a tourism asset, only local people are permitted to act as guides. There are various types of accommodation on the island. File:TannaVolcano.JPG, The active volcano,

, at dusk. File:YankelChildrenTanna.JPG, Children from Yakel Village. File:Tanna Island 2010 IMG 4822 (16635331258).jpg, Coast of Tanna after rain.

Cultural references

Five men from Tanna's Prince Philip Movement cargo cult, which considers

a god, were brought to the United Kingdom as part of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

''Meet the Natives'' in 2007. Part of their itinerary included an off-screen meeting with the prince. In ''

An Idiot Abroad ''An Idiot Abroad'' is a British travel documentary comedy television series broadcast on Sky One, as well as a series of companion books published by Canongate Books, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and starring Karl Pilkington. T ...

'', Series 2, Episode 1,

Karl Pilkington Karl Pilkington (born 23 September 1972) is an English presenter, comedian, actor, voice-artist, producer and author. After working with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as producer on their XFM radio show, Pilkington became a co-host of '' ...

visited Tanna and discussed the Prince Philip Movement and met those who visited

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

. In 2009 the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

aired '' Meet the Natives: USA'', which brought five men from another group from Tanna to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Their tribe reveres Tom Navy, an American World War II sailor who generations ago had taught the inhabitants to live in peace. The Tanna ambassadors were taken across, visiting five states, and eventually meeting former

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...

and verifying with him that the spirit of peace taught by Tom Navy lives on in then US President,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. While visiting with a family on

Fort Stewart Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long and Tattnall counties. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census. Th ...

, US Army

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Tony Cucolo Anthony Arthur "Tony" Cucolo (born August 22, 1957) is a retired United States Army Major General. He was notable for his service as the Army's Chief of Public Affairs, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division and Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Airfiel ...

conferred a

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wor ...

and an Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal upon the chief in representation of the contribution the people of Tanna in World War II. '' Tanna'', a film depicting the true story of a couple who decided to marry for love, rather than obey their parents' wishes, is set on the island, and was nominated for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 89th Academy Awards.

Transportation

The island is served by

Whitegrass Airport Whitegrass Airport , also known as ''White Grass Airport'' or ''Tanna Airport'', is an airport on the island Tanna, in the Taféa province in Vanuatu. It is located at Whitegrass (White Grass), north of Lénakel township. Facilities The air ...

References

Filmography

God is American ''God is American'' (french: Dieu est américain) is a 2007 French documentary film written, directed and produced by Richard Martin-Jordan. Synopsis Since the end of World War II in 1945, the people of Tanna (island), Tanna, a remote and isol ...

, feature documentary (2007, 52 min), by Richard Martin-Jordan, on

's cult at Tanna.