Everything about Mota Island totally explained
Mota is an
extinct volcanic island in the
Banks Group of
Torba Province in northern
Vanuatu.
About 900 people live on Mota in twelve villages, scattered along the coast of this round-shaped island. The names of the villages are
Liwotkei,
Lotawan,
Mariu,
Tasmate,
Garamal,
Tuqetap, and
Veverao.
The island is famous because
its language was used by the first missionaries in
Melanesia. For the better part of a century from 1849, most teaching in classrooms and schools of all kinds, and most prayers and hymns from Isabel in the Solomons all the way through Pentecost in Vanuatu were done in the language of this small island. Some Mota words are still known throughout the Melanesian archipelago, for example
tasiu (brother, taken here in the religious sense of "member of a brotherhood" ie the
Melanesian Brotherhood)
The famous missionary
John Coleridge Patteson lived on Mota, in the village of Veverao. The first Melanesian priest, Father
George Sarawia was from Mota, and the first Christian baptisms and Eucharist and Confirmations were there. Mota is generally held to be the first Melanesian island to become Christian, though missionary work began a year later than on Aneityum.
All Mota people are
Christians,
Anglicans of the
Church of the Province of Melanesia. The big days of celebration are the saints' days of the church in each village on the island. However,
kastom, for example the Melanesian traditions, still means a lot to the islanders.
Presently, the island is ruled by a council of chiefs elected from each village. There is a school,
Pasaleli Primary School, formally named Panel School. There is a dispensary where a nurse lives, access to teleradio and a public phone on the island. There are also small settlements of Mota people in
Santo, especially at
Lorevilko and
Turtle Bay, and in
Port Vila.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mota Island'.
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