The Ni-Vanuatu People · 138 Languages · Living Kastom

Vanuatu is Melanesia's most culturally extraordinary nation — 83 islands with 138 indigenous languages, making it the most linguistically dense country on earth per capita (more languages per person than any other nation). The kastom (custom) culture of Vanuatu has been more deliberately and successfully preserved than almost anywhere else in the Pacific — the Tanna island Jon Frum cargo cult movement (which began in the 1930s and continues today, worshipping a mysterious American figure named John Frum who they believe will return with material abundance) is one of the world's last active cargo cult religions.

The Naghol land dive on Pentecost Island — where men tie vines to their ankles and dive from 30-metre wooden towers, their heads brushing the ground at the bottom — is both a yam fertility ritual and the acknowledged inspiration for modern bungee jumping. Chief Roi Mata's Domain is Vanuatu's UNESCO World Heritage Site — a 400-year-old sacred landscape including the paramount chief's residence, his death site, and his mass burial ground.