Vanuu (from

Sowa The SoWa Art & Design District (South of Washington) in the South End of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, is a community of artist studios, contemporary art galleries, boutiques, design showrooms, and restaurants. Once an area of neglected warehouse ...

''van uu'' "under the noise"), also known as Waterfall Village, is a large settlement on the southwestern coast of

Pentecost Island Pentecost Island is one of the 83 islands that make up the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. It lies due north of capital Port Vila. Pentecost Island is known as in French and in Bislama. The island was known in its native languages by ...

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 ...

. The village consists of several scattered groups of houses within an ageing coconut plantation. Vanuu is located on Pentecost's main north-south road, about north of

Lonorore Airport Lonorore Airport or Lonoror (possibly from Ske ''lon or or'' "in the fences") is an airport on south-western Pentecost Island, Vanuatu, 3 km south of Baravet village. Overview Lonorore began as a grass airstrip, capable of accommodating 20 ...

and about south of

Melsisi Melsisi is a large settlement and Catholic mission on the west coast of Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. The mission includes a large church, convent, clinic, Francophone primary and secondary schools, and a small guesthouse. Melsisi also has a bank a ...

. Vanuu has a Churches of Christ church, a

nakamal {{Italic title A ''nakamal'' is a traditional meeting place in Vanuatu. It is used for gatherings, ceremonies and the drinking of kava. A nakamal is found in every significant Vanuatu community, but the design of the nakamal and the traditions s ...

, small stores, and a guesthouse. Children from Vanuu attend the Anglophone primary school at Ranmawot, 2 km away.

Ranwadi High School Ranwadi School (officially known since 2003 as Ranwadi Churches of Christ College) is a co-educational boarding school on Pentecost, Vanuatu. The school has over 300 students who come from all over Pentecost Island and from other parts of Vanuatu. ...

is also nearby. The large waterfall and associated natural swimming pool behind the village, and the presence of good anchorage for yachts, make Vanuu a popular destination for visitors to Pentecost Island. The waterfall behind Vanuu is one of seven major falls along the river; the others are located high in the bush. There is also a limestone cave nearby. Although Vanuu is not located within the area in which

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 ...

is practised, it is sometimes used as a base by tourists who visit Pentecost to witness the ceremony.

History and geography

The flat coastal strip on which Vanuu is built was historically uninhabited and covered with dense cottonwood (''burao'') trees. The area suffered drastic depopulation in the late 19th and early 20th century following the introduction of European diseases. The present village was founded in the early-mid 20th century by men from other areas of Pentecost, who established a coconut plantation for the production of

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 ...

(though this is no longer productive today). Many of their grandchildren (Vanuu's present inhabitants) retain ties to their ancestral villages. Most villagers maintain gardens in the mountains above Vanuu, growing vegetables such as

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

for local consumption and earning income from cash crops such as

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), ...

. Fees paid by visitors to the waterfall, and earnings from other tourist-related activities, are also a source of income.

Language and culture

The language and culture of the Vanuu area were historically intermediate between those of Central Pentecost and of South Pentecost, although the influence of the former predominates today. The area's original language was

, but depopulation in the 20th century led to the extinction of this language. Today Apma (the original language of Central Pentecost to the north) is the village's main language, though village chief Isaiah Tabi Vahka is at the forefront of efforts to document and revive Sowa. The national language

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) ...

is also spoken, and the village is home to a number of Ske speakers due to intermarriage with the

Baravet Baravet or Bwaravet (from Ske ''bwara vet'' "big stone") is a cluster of villages in south-western Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. The main village of Baravet is located by a river mouth on the coast, along the main north–south road 3 km nort ...

community to the south.

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

is also spoken by educated villagers. Populated places in Vanuatu Penama Province {{Vanuatu-geo-stub