See images showing the audio-visual wonders of Vanuatu water music
About 2000km north-east of Brisbane, there’s an archipelago of 83 small islands arranged in a Y-shape making up the Republic of Vanuatu. The country is culturally diverse and there are over 100 indigenous languages. But in the remote northern islands, women have come together to indulge in an aquatic form of self-expression – Vanuatu water music.
Much like the Ama divers in Japan, water drumming has been passed down from mother to daughter. But it’s not just an excuse to cool down in the water. It’s an opportunity to regale in stories backed by the percussive rhythm of the sea. And it’s typically performed in the sea to foster the deep connection between Pacific Islanders and the vast amount of water that surrounds them.
Known locally as Ëtëtung, the music is created with the aqua-sonic equivalent of dodgeball’s Five Ds: skim, splash, slap, scoop, swirl. The techniques are surprisingly effective in creating variety in timbre as you swash from the bassy bounces to thin splashes before you’re lifted by layers of vocal harmonies.
Couple this with the visual experience of splashing water that brings out your inner child, and you’re left with an audio-visual spectacle to behold. But Ëtëtung isn’t just a social pastime for the women here. Fishing is a taboo for women, so water drumming proves to be a valuable source of income and they’ve even performed at the Rainforest Music Festival.
Furthermore, the extra tourism provided by the women is helping keep the culture alive and ensures the knowledge continues to be passed down. And with it, comes the appreciation for the water and nature itself. We often talk about climate change in the context of how it’ll affect our own countries, but the archipelagos of Vanuatu and its people are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise. So it seems, preserving our rich diversity of cultures and the future of our planet is a shared value all around the world.