Big Nambas Cause
p. 17 · Read in the full issue
Strife in NH
THE Big Nambas tribes of central Malekula, in the New Hebrides, are among the most aggressive Islanders to-day, and clashes between the Big Nambas and the Little Nambas, on the coast, are reported at intervals.
Latest such report comes in a personal letter from a Santo man, writing in mid-September: “There has been big trouble in Malekula between the Big Nambas, out in the hills, and the salt-water people living near the coast. It went so far that, to prevent murder, nearly 300 people were evacuated from Malua Bay and surrounding places, the Condominium Govern ment being unable to maintain order. The Big Nambas chiefs would not give way to threats.
“I believe the main trouble started when Big Nambas chiefs claimed some women from the coastal natives,” the correspondent adds.