Ambae
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Ambae, also known as Aoba, Omba, Oba, or Opa and formerly Lepers’ Island, is an island in the South Pacific island nation of
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
, approximately north-northwest of Vanuatu's capital city,
Port Vila Port Vila ( ; ), or simply Vila (), is the capital of Vanuatu and its largest city. It is on the island of Efate, in Shefa Province. The population was 49,034 as of the 2020 census. In 2020, the population of Port Vila formed 16.3% of the ...
. It is also Vanuatu's largest active volcano.


Name

The various names of Ambae come from the indigenous Oceanic languages spoken within
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
. The forms with ''a-'' reflect a locative marker added to the proper name of the island, spelled ''Oba'' or ''Omba'', both reflecting a pronunciation of in the local dialects spoken there. In Mota, once the
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
of the Melanesian Mission, it is called ''Opa'' . All of these terms come from a Proto-North-Central Vanuatu form ''*oᵐba''.


History

The first recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of
Pedro Fernández de Quirós 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, meani ...
in the spring of 1606. The misty sight of Ambae from neighboring Espiritu Santo, which served as a major
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
airbase, inspired the mythical Bali Ha'i in James Michener's '' Tales of the South Pacific''.


Geography

Rough, black basalt stones compose its shoreline and surface in many places, though the soils (where present) are rich. The island appears to be covered in nearly unbroken vegetation; inhabited areas feature large gardens and managed forests above, with coconut and cacao plantations usually closer to shore. There are no reliable sources of surface water (rivers, streams, or lakes), save the crater lakes which are inaccessible. Water for all human uses comes from cement-lined wells or water tanks filled with rainwater. There are no permanent rivers on the island, but the population rarely suffers from water shortages. The climate is both humid tropical with slight seasonal variations. The average annual temperature on the coast is 30 °C, on the caldera - 23 °C. The average annual rainfall varies from 2500 to 3500 mm of rain. The rainy season lasts from November to April.


Important Bird Area

The upper slopes of the island have been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by
BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...
because they support populations of Tanna fruit doves, red-bellied fruit doves, palm lorikeets, cardinal myzomelas, Vanuatu honeyeaters, fan-tailed gerygones, Polynesian trillers, long-tailed trillers, streaked fantails, Melanesian flycatchers, buff-bellied monarchs, southern shrikebills, Vanuatu white-eyes and rusty-winged starlings.


Volcano

Ambae is the emergent portion of Vanuatu's most voluminous
volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure 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 oft ...
, Manaro Voui, which rises 1,496 meters above sea level, or about 3,900 meters above the sea floor. A steam and ash eruption began on November 27, 2005, leading to a Level 2 volcano alert and preparations for evacuations. On December 8, 2005, the eruption became stronger, displacing more than 3,000 of Ambae Island's inhabitants to elsewhere on the island and requiring the evacuation of two hospitals. On September 28, 2017, after a week of increasing volcanic activity to Level 4 (Level 5 being a major eruption), the government of Vanuatu ordered a complete evacuation of the island, home to about 11,000 residents. Ash from the eruption has covered the island, killing crops and polluting the air and water. In April 2018 the remaining approximately 10,000 residents were ordered to evacuate permanently.


Demographics

The population is Melanesian, though (anecdotally) ancient Polynesian admixtures have given Man-Ambae lighter complexions and Polynesian languages. Religiously Ambae is exclusively
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, split into many denominations. These can be characterized in three stages: the original colonial-missionary churches (
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
,
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
), the second-stage, often American-origin evangelical denominations (Apostolic, Church of Christ, Assemblies of God), and the newer, less orthodox, fusion/'unity' sects. This last category includes many grass-roots groups originating within Vanuatu. Missionary activity from outside the country continues, especially from
Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...
, who have a growing following on west and north Ambae.


Population

Ambae has a population of less than 11,000, divided into 3–4 discernible language groups ( North/East Ambae language centered on the Lombaha area, West Ambae language centered on Nduindui, and South Ambae language centered on Redcliffe). The island has no considerable towns, though the
Penama Penama is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the northeast of the country and consisting of three major islands: * Ambae Island, Ambae (or Aoba Island, Aoba) * Maewo * Pentecost Island, Pentecost The name Penama is derived from the ...
provincial center is located at Saratamata on East Ambae.


Economy and agriculture

The local economy is largely non-monetary, with
cash crop A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsi ...
income (from copra, cacao, and dried
kava Kava or kava kava (''Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Ancient Greek, Greek 'intoxicating') is a plant in the Piperaceae, pepper family, native to the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan language, Tongan and Marqu ...
) being used primarily for school fees and sundry items like soap, salt, kerosene, etc. Most regular employment is in the public sector, as teachers. Remittances from employed relatives in the towns of Santo or Vila also contribute cash to the local economy. Ambae is serviced by fewer than 100 telephone lines, mostly on the east side. It has two post offices and National Bank of Vanuatu branches, at Saratamata and Nduindui, regular interisland ship traffic, and several Vanair flights a week. Of the small-to-medium outer islands of Vanuatu (i.e., not Efate, Santo, Tanna or Malekula), Ambae must be considered one of the more "developed." Traditional subsistence agriculture satisfies food needs, while most villagers engage in small-scale cash crop production as well. Often grown in large upland gardens (with good rainfall and safe from roving pigs), the primary crops are taro,
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...
, yam, and manioc. sweet potatoes, vegetables, fruits and nuts are staples of the local diet, though protein is occasionally lacking. Without substantial reefs, seafood is less significant a protein source compared with other islands of Vanuatu and in any case is inaccessible to the large populations living at high inland elevations.


Transportation

The island is served by three airstrips with services by Air Vanuatu: Walaha Airport in the southwest, Redcliffe Airport in the south and Longana Airport in the northeast.


Notable people

* Nadia Kanegai - social entrepreneur and politician. * Merilyn Tahi - women's rights activist and co-founder of Vanuatu Women's Centre.Matas, Tatavola
"Winner of the Australian High Commission 2020 International Women's Day 40th Anniversary Gender Equality Advocate Award
. ''Australian Embassy of Vanuatu''.


References


External links

*

spoken on Aoba {{Authority control Islands of Vanuatu Penama Province Shield volcanoes of Vanuatu Active volcanoes Volcanic crater lakes Polygenetic shield volcanoes Important Bird Areas of Vanuatu