87 sions with community members he emphasized that any art he purchased was to be displayed in an Australian gallery. While indigenous conceptions of what this actually meant may have varied, it seems most artists here were comfortable with producing and selling traditional objects to be taken away out of Vanuatu and seen by outsiders not of the local community. Using the southeastern town of Lamap as his Malakulan base, Charpentier was able to access most of the island’s communities, and he set out accordingly. At Kamanliver village he was unable to commission or acquire any objects, as the village was in mourning at the time of his visit. At Yabkoetas village, Chief Malaon agreed that several objects could be created under instruction so that they were correct according to tradition. The community of Menmenboas village was quite accepting of his intrusion and he found this to be a strong ritual center where he could learn about and acquire a number of important objects. During his time at Menmenboas, Charpentier learned more about belief systems and their associated arts from Chief Vrar and other men who welcomed his interest in their culture. Kavinempur, a high-ranking Menmenboas man, agreed to create a ramparamp figure, among other works. On another excursion, Charpentier traveled to Borumvor village, where he met an accomplished local sculptor named Joel Metak, who was to act as his Art of Vanuatu guide on many occasions. This proved a fruitful relationship, although on one occasion Metak left Charpentier to travel by himself for ten hours to the village of Lendamboe due to fear of clan hostility.5 Charpentier’s interest in building a collection of traditional art was not shared by all of the Malakula people he met. He recorded disappointment at visiting one community: “They are not very receptive, they don’t see the point to preserve the art of their ancestors.” Also, regarding one artist and a recurring situation he experienced of art being created of appropriate quality and only for monetary reward: “He refuses to do a better job, he will sell them to the French delegate who does not care about the quality, or the value of the objects … the cooperatives service in Port Vila tries to sell them to tourists. Such a practice will cause in less than one year that there will be no worthwhile art in the Nouvelles Hebrides. The art has disappeared because of those who are responsible for administering the country.”6 Charpentier repeatedly encountered the difficulties Malakulan people had in understanding the intent of his art purchasing activity. In Iapekamavis village he was presented with several quickly and poorly made nekempao figures with the expectancy that all would be purchased. Charpentier had to explain that he was building a singular collection for the future National Gallery of Australia and was not using the same criteria as previous visiting collectors (commercial dealers), where quantity was of more importance than quality. Even though he regularly saw objects he described as badly made, his delight and satisfaction shine through in some diary entries with the descriptive words of “excellent,” “superb,” and “gorgeous.” In the course of field collecting there are active times of travel that contrast with frequent and long, dormant times of waiting in villages for people to return from their own daily activities, as well as with the logistical issues of acquiring large numbers of objects and storing them safely. Malakula arts are particularly complex in the latter regard in that many are temporary creations for momentary events and are not intended to last. Charpentier found that the overmodeled clay-like pastes found on so many objects had a tendency to mold. To counter this Charpentier hired elderly men to keep a small fire smoldering in his storage hut at Lamap to prevent such damage. In each village he hired men to carry the art as far as they were willing to travel or negotiated for objects to be brought to Lamap. This did not FIG. 9 (top left): Metaniele. Created by Kamanlyk, c. 1972. Lendamboe village, Malakula Island, Malampa Province, Vanuatu. Wood, vegetable clay, ochre, fiber. Purchased by J.-M. Charpentier on behalf of the Commonwealth Arts Advisory Board. National Gallery of Australia, 1971.207.157. Photo: National Gallery of Australia. These large circular plaques are connected to the initiation of young men, which includes the practice of circumcision. They are hung above the entrance to the men’s house, namal, during the nalawan secret society initiation events. The plaque has been overmodeled with vegetable clay into a face with protruding eyes and a prominent nose that symbolizes the penis. To each side of the face are birds which, according to Charpentier, are linked to youth and life: Birds transport the ghosts of ancestors to and from the village, and traps were created to attract birds so that they would bring ancestor spirits back to the village. These plaques are infrequently created today for circumcision ceremonies—a metaniele was last used for a ceremony in 2001. FIG. 10 (above): The artist Kamanlyk beside the metaniele plaque (fig. 9). Lendamboe village, Malakula Island, Vanuatu. Probably November 1972. Commonwealth Arts Advisory Board, Canberra (presently held by the South Australian Museum). Photo: J.-M. Charpentier. FIG. 11 (left): Vimpuri. Created by Ajningleu, c. 1972. Tomman Island, Malampa Province, Vanuatu. Tree fern, vegetable clay, boar tusks, ochre. Purchased by J.-M. Charpentier on behalf of the Commonwealth Arts Advisory Board. National Gallery of Australia, 1971.207.4. Photo: National Gallery of Australia. Worn over the head of a male performer, this mask would transform the dancer into a dangerous spirit being to be feared and respected. The small figure represents the child of the spirit being and is associated with nalawan ceremonial events. The authority to create a vimpuri can only be granted after offering four to five pigs to a man who has previously created such a mask. When the spirit being is danced, part of the performance includes sacrificing a small pig with a hammer and using a spear to kill a larger pig. This nalawan ceremony is very similar to a grade-system event.
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