瓦努阿圖沙畫

Vanuatu is a republic country that became independent in 1980， which is located at the southwest Pacific Ocean. The land of the country is consisted of 13 big islands and 70 small islands， forming a island chain of “Y” shape and the regulated water area is about 850，000 square meters. The land area is about 13，000 square meters and is mainly mountain land covered with jungles.

According to research， the ancestors of Vanuatuans migrated here through Indonesia from Northeast Asia about B.C. 3000 years ago. Now the population is about 200，000. 98% of the nation’s population is Vanuatuans， which belong to the Melanesian race. The constitution after the independence stipulates that all land of the state belongs to indigenous Melanesian people and their decedents. People in Vanuatu are very nice and the kind-hearted indigenous Melanesian people disperse and settle in the islands in the units of family and tribe and they speak 115 different dialects. Every family has a land that handed down from the ancestors or allocated by the chief of a tribe， and people from generation to generation live a life of Adam and Eve type in this garden of Eden on earth by “eating under a tree and wearing a piece of cloth”.

瓦努阿圖是1980年獲得獨立的共和國，位于西南太平洋。其國土為一個由13個大島和70個小島構(gòu)成的“Y”字型的島嶼鏈，所轄水域約85萬平方公里。陸地面積約1.3萬平方公里，主要是密林覆蓋的山地。

據(jù)考證，瓦努阿圖人的祖先是約公元前三千年前從東南亞經(jīng)過印度尼西亞遷移過來的?，F(xiàn)有人口約20萬。在瓦國的民族中，98%為瓦努阿圖人，屬美拉尼西亞人種。獨立后的憲法規(guī)定，瓦努阿圖所有土地屬土著美拉尼西亞人及其后裔所有。瓦努阿圖民風淳樸，善良的土著美拉尼西亞人，通常以家族和部落為單位，分散定居在各個島嶼上，他們說著115種不同的方言。每戶都有一塊祖?zhèn)骰蚯蹰L分配的土地，世世代代在這塊人間伊甸園中過著亞當夏娃式的生活，“吃飯一棵樹，穿衣一塊布”。

The sand painting is to draw kinds of figures by a finger on the outdoor sand （beach） or ground full of ash or clay. It is the “unique technique” passed down by the generations of indigenous Melanesian people and is better than that in other regions around the world. The paintings are more in the northern islands， especially in Abrym Island， Pentecote Island and Malakula Island. Such as， in Abrym Island， there are found 180 types of sand painting patterns. The sand paintings drew by primitive tribal artists with their fingers has become a famous world tourist scene.

Vanuatu sand painting is not only an ancient way of art expression， but also a practicable communication method in middle and northern islands. This multifunctional way of “writing” is based on the background of religious rites， meditation and communication. About 80 tribes speaking different dialects live in the middle and northern islands， and the sand painting appears as a communication tool among various tribes. They are also tools for recording and spreading religious rituals and myths and provide people a lot of information to know about the local history， cosmology， tribal system， scientific phenomenon， page songs， livestock feeding technique， architecture and manual skill and choreography.

所謂沙畫，就是在露天的沙地（沙灘）、撒滿火山灰或泥土的地面上，用一只手指直接勾畫出的各種圖形。沙畫是瓦努阿圖土著人祖祖輩輩傳下來的“絕活”，較之世界其它地區(qū)的沙畫藝高一籌。瓦努阿圖沙畫以其北部的一些島嶼居多，尤其是在安布里姆島、龐特科特島和馬勒庫拉島。例如，在安布里姆島上，發(fā)現(xiàn)沙畫的圖案就有180種。那里的原始部落藝術(shù)家手指繪出的沙畫，已成為一道著名的世界旅游景觀。

瓦努阿圖沙畫傳統(tǒng)不僅僅是一種古老的藝術(shù)表現(xiàn)形式，而且還是一種存在于中部和北部島嶼之間的一種實際運用的交流方式，這種多功能“寫作”形式的出現(xiàn)，是基于宗教儀式、冥想和交流的各種背景。大約有80多個說不同語言的部落居住在瓦努阿圖中部和北部的島嶼，沙畫正是作為一種不同部落之間的交流工具而出現(xiàn)的。它們也是用來記錄和傳播宗教禮儀和神話故事的工具，同時也給人們提供了當?shù)貧v史、宇宙論、部族體系、科學現(xiàn)象、連篇歌曲、家畜飼養(yǎng)技術(shù)、建筑和手工技藝以及舞蹈編排等大量重要信息。

Most of the sand paintings have many meaning and function： they could be an art work for “reading”， could tell stories， could be codes for understanding some secret groups， could be a proof for owning a land or a spell of some kind of magic， and could just be for the massage conveying or the casual work in meditation. Through long-term development and evolution， it has already become a rich and energetic traditional drawing pattern. Since sand painting is not only a “picture”， but also a precise network interwoven by songs， stories and knowledge that with inner connections. Sand painting artists should not only be skillful at painting， but also understand well about their meanings. Besides， they should tell the audiences the implication inside.

Sand painting also is used in recording property record and delivering the knowledge of ritual and myths and lots of oral information about local history， techniques and culture， such as： local cosmology， system relative relationship， scientific phenomenon， songs medley， technique cultivation， architecture and process design and dance art design. Vanuatu sand painting is not only a “picture”， but also songs connected to each other and delicate network of stories and knowledge.

大多數(shù)沙畫都有很多含義和功能：它們可以作為一種藝術(shù)作品來“讀”，可以講故事，可以作為了解某些秘密群體的密碼，可以作為擁有一塊土地的證明或是一種具有某種魔法的詛咒，它也可能僅僅就是為了傳達某種信息或是沉思當中的信手之作。經(jīng)過長期的發(fā)展和演變，沙畫已經(jīng)成為了一種豐富而具活力的傳統(tǒng)繪畫形式。因為沙畫不僅僅是一種“圖畫”，而且還是有著內(nèi)在聯(lián)系的歌曲、故事和知識交織成的一個精密的網(wǎng)。沙畫藝術(shù)家不僅要精通繪畫，而且對它們的含義也要十分了解。除此之外，他們還必須能夠向觀眾講述出其中的含義。

沙畫也用作記載遺贈的財產(chǎn)記錄并且傳送儀式和神話知識，以及大量口頭的關(guān)于本地歷史的、技藝的、人文的各種信息，如：當?shù)赜钪鎸W，系統(tǒng)親戚關(guān)系，科學現(xiàn)象，歌曲聯(lián)唱，技術(shù)耕作，建筑和工藝設(shè)計，以及舞蹈藝術(shù)圖案等。

The subjects of Vanuatu sand painting are stem from reveries of myths and improvised description of scenery in real life （like sea turtle， canoe， facial makeup…）. They draw eye-dazzling geometric figures by fingers with exquisite composition and almost all symmetrical line segments. The even more amazing thing is the most practiced local artists can draw a whole sand painting by one stroke from start to finish.

Currently， the traditional Vanuatu sand painting exists in various communities of its middle islands， and the most ordinary design has been widely used in Vanuatu bill and stamp for popularization. In 2003， the United Nations Educational， Scientific and Cultural Organization declared Vanuatu sand painting as the “master work of human oral and intangible cultural heritage”.

瓦努阿圖沙畫的題材，多源于一些神話傳說的遐想，也有的是對現(xiàn)實生活景物（如海龜、獨木舟、人的臉譜……）的即興描繪。他們用手指勾劃出的令人眼花繚亂的幾何圖形，不僅構(gòu)圖相當精確，而且所有線段幾乎全是對稱的。更讓人驚異的是，最熟練的土著藝術(shù)家竟可從始至終用手指一筆畫成整幅的沙畫。

目前，瓦努阿圖沙畫傳統(tǒng)在瓦努阿圖中部島的不同的社區(qū)中幸存著，并且最普通的設(shè)計已經(jīng)被廣泛地用于瓦努阿圖鈔票和郵票進行傳播。2003年，聯(lián)合國教科文組織將瓦努阿圖沙畫宣布為“人類口頭與非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)代表作”。