Pacific Islands Monthly

News Magazine Of The South Pacific

March, 1972

Australia, Nz, Geic, Bsip 50C

PNG, FIJI, COOKS, TONGA, W. SAMOA, N. HEBRIDES 45c

Nauru, Norfolk, Niue 45C

AMERICAN SAMOA 70c HAWAII 80c MICRONESIA 90c NEW CALEDONIA 65 CFP FRENCH POLYNESIA 90 CFP

Our Cover

It is Nalot time in Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides, a solemn ceremony which forms the subject of this painting by Marcel Moutouh, part-French, part-Vietnamese painter with a studio in Santo, New Hebrides, who is establishing a reputation in the Pacific for his work, both primitive and abstract. Nalot is a traditional dish of Santo, con sisting of taro which is cooked, unpeeled, in a stone oven. After cooking, it is peeled and put into a large carved dish situated in an open space in the hut. The men squat round the dish and, using long clubs, pound the taro to a set rhythm which rises and falls.

Apart from feast days, Nalot is also prepared as a welcoming ceremony for visitors. The paint ing was photographed by Dr. R.

Joura.