The people of these affectionally called ‘Hapi isles’ are renowned the world over for their welcoming ways and omnipresent smiles - hard to imagine these gentle people were once feared as the South Pacific’s fiercest head hunters.
Headhunting was widespread throughout the Solomon Islands history until the arrival of missionaries in the mid-19th century which the locals laughingly say “spoiled all the fun.”
Today, echoes of those times come to light when Solomon Islanders celebrate their ‘kulture’ which sits at the very centre of society with traditional singing, music, dance and craftmanship having been handed down from father to son and mother to daughter for hundreds of years.
And it doesn’t matter where you go or at what time of year, chances are you’ll be able to experience some amazing events and festivals that hark back to the times before this eco-paradise was discovered by Spanish explorers some 450 years ago..
Taking place in May, the extraordinary ‘Wogasia’ spear fighting in Santa Cruz forms part of the annual yam harvest festivities while in Malaita, the annual Shell Money Festival celebrates the shell money still in use as currency today.
Malaita is also famous for its panpipe music, recordings of which are carried aboard Voyager 2, the space probe launched in 1977, as examples of human culture.
Along with spiderweb kite fishing, traditional currency also forms a key part of the annual ‘Tinakalu’ in Temotu Province where ’red feather money’ was in use long before coins and notes arrived.
In Choiseul Province, the Melanesian and Micronesian inhabitants celebrate the region’s famous ‘gnali’ nuts.
Echoes of the country’s headhunting days come to life in December when the people of the Western Province join to celebrate the annual Roviana Lagoon Festival, complete with war canoe racing and visits to the skull shrines on nearby Skull Island.
For more information on the Solomon Islands’ annual cultural events, go to visitsolomons.com.sb or contact Richard Skewes, trade manager NZ, Tourism Solomons – +61 412 524 699, trade@tourismsolomons.com.sb