A ''nakamal'' is a traditional meeting place in

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 ...

. It is used for gatherings, ceremonies and the drinking of

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 ...

. A nakamal is found in every significant Vanuatu community, but the design of the nakamal and the traditions surrounding it vary between areas.

Etymology

The term ''nakamal'' is a

Bislama Bislama ( ; ; also known by its earlier French name, ) is an English-based creole language. It is the national language of Vanuatu, and one of the three official languages of the country, the other ones being English and French. Bislama is the ...

word, borrowed from certain

Oceanic languages The approximately 450 Oceanic languages are a branch of the Austronesian languages. The area occupied by speakers of these languages includes Polynesia, as well as much of Melanesia and Micronesia. Though covering a vast area, Oceanic languages ...

spoken in Vanuatu, such as North Efate. In those languages, such a form can be parsed as ''na kamal(i)'', combining the common

article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article(s) may also refer to: ...

''na'' and a noun ''kamal'' or ''kamali''. Ultimately, it descends from a

Proto-Oceanic Proto-Oceanic (abbreviated as POc) is a proto-language that comparative linguistics, historical linguists since Otto Dempwolff have reconstructed as the hypothetical common ancestor of the Oceanic languages, Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian ...

and

Proto-Malayo-Polynesian Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, which is by far the largest branch (by current speakers) of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian is ancestral to all Austronesia ...

etymon A root (also known as a root word or radical) is the core of a word that is irreducible into more meaningful elements. In morphology, a root is a morphologically simple unit which can be left bare or to which a prefix or a suffix can attach. The ...

''*kamaliR'', meaning "men's house".{{cite journal , last=Blust , first=Robert , author-link = Robert Blust, title=The challenge of semantic reconstruction 2: Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kamaliR 'men's house' , journal=Oceanic Linguistics , volume=57 , issue=2 , date=2018 , pages=335–358 , jstor=26779837 , doi=10.1353/ol.2018.0015 Cognates in non-Oceanic languages include Cebuano and

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

''kamalig'' “granary”.

Traditional nakamals

In north and central Vanuatu, the nakamal generally takes the form of a large building, assembled from traditional materials with the help of the entire community, under the direction of a particular chief. Entry to the nakamal is often restricted to men, and the building may be used as a sleeping and living area for unmarried men and boys and for male visitors to the village. Significantly, most nakamals lack a lockable door, indicating that all friendly visitors are welcome, although there may be a low barrier across the entrance to keep out animals. In front of a nakamal there is often a flattened clearing, or ''nasara'', used for dances and outdoor gatherings. In southern Vanuatu, a nakamal may be a large, sheltered outdoor space, such as under a banyan tree. In Vanuatu's capital

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 ...

, the assembly building of the national council of chiefs (

Malvatumauri The ''Malvatu Mauri'' (Bislama, adapted from the various Oceanic languages) (National Council of Chiefs) is a formal advisory body of chiefs recognised by the constitution of Vanuatu. According to chief Willie Bongmatur Maldo, "''Mal''" means ...

) is designed in the form of a traditional nakamal.

''Nakamal'' as ''kava'' bars

The ''nakamal''’s most prominent function nowadays is as a place for the preparation and drinking of ''

''. In urban Vanuatu, and in neighbouring

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, the term ''nakamal'' may be used for a kava bar where the drink is sold, although in rural Vanuatu a traditional nakamal (where ''kava'' preparation is a communal activity and money does not usually change hands) is distinct from a kava bar. An urban ''nakamal'' or ''kava'' bar at which ''kava'' is available for sale is advertised by a coloured light displayed at the entrance.

Notes

Buildings and structures in Vanuatu Kava Melanesian culture Bislama words and phrases Bars (establishments)

Etymology

Traditional nakamals

''Nakamal'' as ''kava'' bars

See also

Notes