DARK TOURISM: Western Solomon

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Our journey begins, in the dark islands of Western Solomon, romanticised by explorers as the land of head hunters. You will discern skull shrines and war canoes, the Tomoko. Be amazed by what the locals tell you, the culture and history of the people of Marovo and Roviana lagoon to New Georgia in Solomon Islands. Anthropological experts theorize that headhunting or the practice of taking and preserving a person's head after killing them stemmed from the belief that the head contained "soul matter" or life force, which could be harnessed through its capture. 

skull shrine, Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands 2011

English anthropologist and Professor Peter Sheppard visited the communities in Roviana, west of Solomon Islands in 1976, and produced an in depth study of their society and beliefs, “the Archaeology of Headhunting in Roviana Lagoon, 1983”. He found that the main purpose of headhunting was the belief that by owning another person's skull, the victim would serve as a slave of the owner for eternity in the afterlife, and thus human skulls were a valuable commodity. Sporadic headhunting continued in Roviana lagoon until very recent times, the last reported incident dating from 1897. 


Vella warriors posed for an Australian film maker at Vonunu 1900, not long after christianity was introduced into Western Solomon.


 

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