Fanla is a small village situated in the north of

Ambrym Ambrym is a volcanic island in Malampa Province in the archipelago of Vanuatu. Volcanic activity on the island includes lava lakes in two craters near the summit. Etymology Ambrym (also known as ''Ambrin'', ''"ham rim"'' in the Ranon language ...

Island, in the archipelago 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 ...

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...

, in the province of

Malampa Malampa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the center of the country. It consists of three main islands: Malakula, Ambrym and Paama, and takes its name from the first syllable of their names. It includes a number of other islands ...

. The original name of this place was ''Saanembur Lonbato''. This is a Kastom Village, which represents the traditional values of the region. The village population is about 250 persons. Wanmelbu, a legendary resident, created the foundations of the customary chief ranks still current in the northern part of the island. His eldest son, Tingtingru, had a dream vision of tams-tams (''atingting''), major components of the traditional tribal art of North Ambrym. By Ambrym tradition, the people who live in the village of Fanla are all, without exception, the descendants of Wanmelbu.

Notable residents

; Magetafanla Roromal :According to oral tradition, he met captain

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

(who actually saw the island only from the sea). Cook allegedly baptized the island under the name of the welcome gift presented by Roromal himself, an ''ignam'', by pronouncing the words "''am rêm''" ("Here is your yam"). This phrase later became ''Ambrem'' or Ambrym. (The ancient name of the island was "Tumurin".) ; Magekon Malmere :The first son of Fanla to repeat the ranking process. ; Bule Tainmal :The most lauded leader of the island's history. ; Tofor-kon Rengrengmal :The last person to have reached the high ranks, in 1972; died in 1999.

Genealogy of the Chiefs of Fanla Village

*Golbahan *Tanmonong Bariu Meto Bussumel *Tanmonong Libu * Magetafanla Roromal * Magekon Malmere * Bule Tainmal (? – 1972) * Tofor Rengrengmal (1921–1999) *Bonglibu César (1962) *Ben Wiu Meltofor (1984)

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Vanuatu Malampa Province