Heritage sites, Archaeological discoveries, History of Archaeology

Chief Roi Mata s Domain

Location

Country

Vanuatu

Year of Research

2008

Culture

Chief Roi Mata’s Domain is the initial place to be incised in Vanuatu. It has three early 17th century AD places on the islands of Efate, Lelepa and Artok along with the life and death of the last paramount chief, or Roi Mata, of what is now Central Vanuatu.

The property contains Roi Mata’s residence, the place of his death and Roi Mata’s mass burial site. It is nearly mated with the oral traditions surrounding the chief and the moral values he espoused.

The site reflects the overlap between oral tradition and archaeology and bears evidence to the persistence of Roi Mata’s social reforms and conflict resolution, still relevant to the people of the region.Chief Roi Mata’s Domain is a continuing cultural landscape reflecting the way chiefs derive their authority from previous title holders, and in particular how the tabu prohibitions on the use of Roi Mata’s residence and burial site have been observed for 400 years and continue to structure the local landscape and social practices.

Chief Roi Mata’s Domain is a best example of a landscape representative of Pacific chiefly systems and the link between Pacific people and their environment over time reflected in respect for the tangible remains of the three key sites associated with Roi Mata, guided by the spiritual and moral legacy of his social reforms.

Chief Roi Mata’s Domain is till lives for many people in contemporary Vanuatu, as a source of power evident through the landscape and as an inspiration for people negotiating their lives.