Walking to Erro: Stories of travel, origins, or affection

Abstract

In this chapter I discuss several stories, mostly recorded at Erakor village in Vanuatu, which have as a theme the relationship between the islands of Erromango and Efate in Vanuatu. They reinforce the observation that the water between islands is a pathway rather than an obstruction to communication, recalling the notion of the Pacific as an interconnected ‘Sea of Islands’ in Hau’ofa’s (2008) terms. Together with this perceived connection between these two islands, linguistic features shared between Erromango and South Efate could be an indication of contact sufficient to lead to innovations in South Efate not found in neighbouring languages to the north. Lynch (2000a:337) concludes that th..