“Planem Navota” Ceremony at Fanafo Indigenous Kastom Day 2014, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu

The Navota people live in Fanafo area, Central Espiritu Santo island in Vanuatu. Fanafo is a community set up by the people of Santo and its founder, a charismatic leader and Chief called Jimmy Moli Stevens. The community operates using kastom (the normal, traditional way of life, beliefs, rituals and materials) as a foundation, interweaving networks to strengthen relationships between the different people that live in the community.
In the present-day, Fanafo faces the influences of a modern world that are growing stronger due to the community's proximity to the urban town of Luganville, and due to factors such as modern technology. To help counter the negative impact of the modern world, and to preserve kastom, Lotti Sevens, son of the community's founder Jimmy Stevens, has put in place a system of kastom based on the works done by his father and the ancestors of Fanafo. This system is based on 'NAVOTA' ceremonies, among others, to strengthen kastom.
This video shows one of the major ceremonies of the Navota people, known as “Planem Navota” or Laying of Navota, which is designed to bind a person (man or woman) to the rest of the Navota people. The person wishing to have a Navota, does so voluntarily, by accepting to use kastom as part of his or her daily life.
Upon agreement by the Nakamal (a traditional house in which decisions are made by leaders of the community), preparations are made for the ceremony. The receiver of the Navota chooses a location around his or her household for the laying of the Navota. This location can be behind or in front of the receiver's house. It is a small spot just large enough to accommodate:
Two stones - for wisdom
Two palms - for the growth of wisdom
Namele leaf- for peace for your travels and to be with peace always
Stone - for your times of needs
In this video, a young ‘nambut’ (deaf and dumb) man called Aililes is inaugurated through the ceremony. The Nakamal decided that they would be laying Navotas for the disabled and widows in their society as a means of their empowerment and integration into the kastom community.
As part of the ceremony, a chicken was killed over the stones and the namele leaf. The chicken is later cooked. Part of the cooked chicken is placed on Ailile's stone. The other part is placed on Chief Jimmy Moli Stevens' stone.
This production was made possible through the Traditional Entertainment & Kastom Support (TEKS) Unit of Further Arts in Santo, under the TEKS Program, with support and agreement from the Fanafo community and its leaders.
The TEKS Team for this activity included: Delly Roy, Roselyn Tari, Ham Maurice Joel, Augustin Leasley, David Nalo and Sarah Doyle.
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The TEKS Program and Engaging Rural Youth in Cultural Rights Activity in Vanuatu project was one of 15 Action Projects that received the 8th UNESCO Youth Forum Label (2013-2015) representing recognition of the project as a concrete example of one that is conceived and led by young women and men to tackle issues of social inclusion, civic engagement, intercultural dialogue and social development.
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