Tanna (island) 1498641 221251645 2008-06-23T18:41:38Z 80.192.69.132 {{Infobox Islands |name =Tanna |image name =Tannamap.png |image caption =Tanna and the nearby island of Aniwa |locator map = |native name = |native name link = |location =[[South Pacific Ocean]] |coordinates={{coor at dm|19|30|S|169|20|E|region:VU_type:isle}} |archipelago = [[Vanuatu]] |total islands = |major islands = |area =550&nbsp;km² (212 sq mi) |highest mount =[[Mount Tukosmera]] |elevation =1,084&nbsp;m (3,556 ft) |country =Vanuatu |country admin divisions title =Province |country admin divisions =[[Tafea Province]] |country largest city =[[Lénakel]] |country largest city population = |population =about 20,000 |population as of = |density = |ethnic groups = }} '''Tanna''' (sometimes spelled '''Tana''') is an [[island]] of [[Vanuatu]]. It is 40&nbsp;km (25 mi) long and 19&nbsp;km (12 mi) wide, with a total area of 550&nbsp;km² (212 sq mi). Its highest point is the 1,084&nbsp;m (3,556 ft) summit of [[Mount Tukosmera]]. It is the most populated island in [[Tafea]] province, with a population of about 20,000, and one of the more populous islands in the country. [[Isangel]], the provincial administrative capital, is on the west coast near the island's largest town of [[Lénakel]]. [[Mount Yasur]] is the most accessible active [[volcano]] in the world, located on the southeast coast. ==Culture and economy== [[Image:Nh-map.png|thumb|200px|left|Location of Tanna]] Tanna is populated almost entirely by [[Melanesia|Melanesian]]s and they follow a more traditional lifestyle than many other islands. Some of the villages are known as [[kastom]] villages, where modern inventions are restricted, the inhabitants wear [[penis sheath]]s ([[Bislama]]: ''nambas'') and grass skirts, and the children do not go to public schools. According to anthropologist [[Joël Bonnemaison]], who has studied the Tannese extensively, their resistance to change is due to their traditional worldview and how they "perceive, internalise, and account for the dual concepts of space and time." <ref>Lissant Bolton. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3654/is_199612/ai_n8744490 Tree and the Canoe: History and ethnogeography of Tanna], ''The Oceania'', Dec 1996</ref> The island is the centre of the [[Jon Frum]] [[cargo cult]], which worships an [[United States|American]] [[World War II]] soldier as their god. [[Yaohnanen]] is the centre of the [[Prince Philip movement]], which worships [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Philip]], the Duke of Edinburgh and prince consort of the United Kingdom.<ref>David Stanley. [http://www.southpacific.org/text/finding_vanuatu.html Vanuatu Travel Guide] at Southpacific.org</ref> There are five languages spoken on Tanna: [[North Tanna language|North Tanna]] in the northwest, [[Lénakel language|Lénakel]] in the west-central area near Lénakel, [[Southwest Tanna language|Southwest Tanna]] in the southwest, [[Whitesands language|Whitesands]] in the northeast near [[Whitesands]], and [[Kwamera language|Kwamera]] in the southeast. These are generally grouped into the [[Tanna languages]] family, which is a subgroup of the [[South Vanuatu languages]], an [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian language]] branch. According to ''[[Ethnologue]]'', each is spoken by a few thousand, and Lénakel, with 6,500 speakers, is one of the languages of Vanuatu with the most speakers. Most people on Tanna also speak [[Bislama]], which is one of Vanuatu's three official languages (together with English and French). The island is one of the most fertile in Vanuatu and produces [[kava]], [[coffee]], [[coconut]], [[copra]], and other fruits and vegetables. Recently, [[tourism]] has become more important, as tourists are attracted to the volcano and traditional culture. To help preserve the integrity of culture as a tourism asset, only local people are permitted to act as guides. There are many accommodations available on the island. There is an airport at [[White Grass]] on the western coast. ==History== The island was first settled about 400 BC by Melanesians from the surrounding islands. The glowing light of Mount Yasur attracted [[Captain Cook]], the first [[Europe]]an, to the island in August 1774, where he founded [[Port Resolution]], a town on the eastern tip of the island, named after his ship [[HMS Resolution (Cook)|HMS ''Resolution'']]. He gave the island the name of Tanna, probably from the local name for earth, ''tana'' in the Kwamera language. In the 19th century, traders and missionaries (chiefly [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]]) arrived, but the Tannese stuck to their traditions more strongly than other islands; there remain fewer Christians in comparison with the other islands of Vanuatu. The island became famous in Europe as a place of [[cannibalism]] and risk for missionaries.<ref>[http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biorppaton.html Biography of John Gibson Paton] at Christian Biography Resources</ref> It was not a principal site of [[World War II]], but about 1,000 people from Tanna were recruited to work on the [[United States|American]] military base on [[Éfaté]]. First exposure to [[First World]] living standards may have led to the development of [[cargo cult]]s. Many have died out, but the [[John Frum]] cult remains strong on Tanna today, especially at Sulphur Bay in the south east and Green Point in the South West of the Island. A secessionist movement began in the 1970s, and the Nation of Tanna was proclaimed on [[March 24]], [[1974]]. While the [[United Kingdom|British]] were more open to allowing its holdings in Vanuatu independence, it was opposed by the [[France|French]] colonists and finally suppressed by the [[Anglo-French Condominium]] authorities on [[June 29]], [[1974]]. In 1980, there was another attempt to secede, declaring the Tafea Nation on [[January 1]], [[1980]], its name coming from the initials of the five islands that were to be part of the nation (Tanna, Aniwa, Futuna, Erromango and Aneityum). British forces intervened on [[May 26]], [[1980]] allowing the island to become part of the newly independent nation of Vanuatu on [[July 30]], [[1980]]. ==Media== In 2007, five native ambassadors for the island of Tanna (Yapa Nekiwris, Posen Iarpita Napu, Albi Nagia, Jimmy Joseph Nakou and Joel Numapen) took part in a Channel 4 documentary named "Meet the Natives" where the ambassodors lived with the three native "tribes" of England: the working class; the middle class and the upper class. The five ambassadors took part in many local activites from fox-hunting to playing darts in a traditional pub. It many times in the programme the five compare life in England to life in Tanna, often loaded with home truths. ==Notes== <div class="references-small" {{#if: {{{colwidth|}}}| style="-moz-column-width:{{{colwidth}}}; column-width:{{{colwidth}}};" | {{#if: {{{1|}}}| style="-moz-column-count:{{{1}}}; column-count:{{{1}}} }}};" |}}> <references/></div> 4 Luis Pancorbo: "El culto del carguero al Príncipe Felipe". En "Fiestas del Mundo. Las Máscaras de la Luna". Pp. 72-79. Ediciones del Serbal. Barcelona, 1996. ==External links== *{{FOTW|id=vu}tanna|title=Tanna}} *[http://www.positiveearth.org/bungalows/TAFEA/tanna.htm Tourism page], including map *[http://www.pacificislandtravel.com/vanuatu/about_destin/tanna.asp Pacific Island Travel page], with photos and cultural information *[http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/VAN/tanna.html Languages of Tanna], including language map *[http://www.worldisround.com/articles/280957/index.html Collection of photos from Tanna] * ''BBC News'', [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6734469.stm Is Prince Philip an island god?], 10 June 2007, accessed 10 June 2007 {{Vanuatu}} [[Category:Islands of Vanuatu]] [[Category:Short-lived states]] [[bg:Тана]] [[ca:Tanna]] [[de:Tanna (Vanuatu)]] [[es:Tanna]] [[fr:Tanna]] [[gl:Tanna]] [[nl:Tanna (eiland)]] [[ja:タンナ島]] [[pl:Tanna]] [[ru:Танна (остров)]] [[fi:Tanna]]