Meet The Family

I first met The Family in 2006. I’d visited Vanuatu earlier that year, staying in mainstream resorts. After that first trip I couldn’t wait to come back. The people, the scenery, the food and the climate; everything was just so appealing. I wanted something different for my second visit. I wanted to spend time in a village and discover how ni-Van (people of Vanuatu) lived. Also, I’d just finished writing a series of maths textbooks and I was exhausted. I wanted a peaceful place to rest and I was specifically looking for a place that had no electricity so I would be forced to leave my computer at home. I discovered Bethel Garden Restaurant and Bungalows at Ekipe village, on the island of Efate, 60 km from Port Vila. There was no mains electricity supply and phones were virtually non-existent. It looked perfect.

I stayed at Bethel for two weeks. Little did I know that I’d be moving in with The Family thirteen years later.

Before I go on, I must explain that the stories I write are actually true stories. There is no need to make anything up, these stories write themselves. I’m just the hand holding the pen. People and cultures are highly complex and I am looking at events through eyes clouded by my cultural background. I ask a lot of questions and sometimes it helps but often I’m left more confused when I receive a range of conflicting responses. Over the years I’ve had a lot of ‘ah-ha!’ and ‘what-the?’ moments.

Language further complicates things. Ni-Van speak a number of languages; one or more island languages plus Bislama which is a pidgin English and perhaps French or English. I speak about ten words of the local language and my French is almost non-existent despite three years of French lessons forty years ago. I’ve experienced several million words of Bislama over the past year so I can now handle the ‘Bis’ but I’m still working on the ‘lama’. Luckily my English isn’t too bad.

I apologise in advance for any misinformation, misspelled words or grammar when I attempt to use other languages in my efforts to relay these tales.

Here are Joel and Elizabeth Amos.

Joel’s full title is Paramount Chief Marip. He originates from Buninga Island, one of the Shepherd Islands group located north of Efate. Joel is the entrepreneur of The Family. He dreams of new ventures and then sets everyone to work to turn those dreams into reality. That’s how the restaurant and bungalows came into being. The original restaurant was a vast, thatched roof structure constructed around a living tree and was built by hand without any power tools. Seven bungalows followed. Five years ago Cyclone Pam, a Category 5 system blew the restaurant down and ripped the rooves from the bungalows as The Family sheltered inside. Five years later Joel and The Family have built a stronger restaurant, restored the bungalows and are open for business once more.

Elizabeth grew up on Buninga Island too. Elizabeth’s real name, her island name, is Lewi. I only discovered that last year. As Joel’s wife, Elizabeth is flat out supporting him in all his ventures whilst raising grandchildren and fostering any other pikinini that come her way, as matriarchs of ni-Van families do.

Not so long ago Elizabeth recounted a conversation between herself and Joel. ‘Joel say now restaurant i finis, he start tinking about more ting. I say, Joel you no tink about no more ting!’ Judging by that comment, I’d say Elizabeth’s plate is full.

I’m going to attempt to map out names and relationships of the people living at Bethel. I’m not going to attempt giving ages as that’s a debatable topic even if you have a birth certificate on hand.

Elizabeth and Joel have three grown children, Edmond, Jimmy and Sabeth.

Edmond, the eldest, is also known as Faemon or Mon. Edmond has an undisclosed number of children including Mevis, Espelin, Stefan and Amos. He is usually a bachelor. For many years I thought his nickname was Fireman, assuming it was in some sort of reference to his reputation. Hot? Quenching flames? Edmond is kind, generous and has a wonderful sense of humour. We love him as a brother most of the time but not when he is shooting flying foxes a few steps away from our house as he was doing the other night.

Sabeth is more commonly known as Sila. She has one son named Edmond but he is usually referred to as Mon. Ni-Van often name their children after other family members and then the names are shortened, extended or entirely changed to help people distinguish this Edmond from that Edmond. Sila is a hard working young woman, devoted to her family. She is beautiful, reminiscent of the jungle woman in the movie, Avatar. She has a partner, Michael.

Jimmy is the youngest. He’s doing six months seasonal work in Australia at the moment. This is his fourth stint in Adelaide at the same tomato farm. Helen just returned from four months seasonal work in Northern NSW. Jimmy married Helenson, known as Helen in July last year. They have two children, boys named Michael and Navit. When Jimmy returns from Australia he hopes to begin building his house at Bethel. Helen and the boys currently live in Sila’s house.

L to R: Stef (my son-in-law), Silas, Mary, Georgia (my daughter), Sila, me, Navit at the front

Here is a description of the family living on the ‘other side’ of Bethel; on the other side of the restaurant.

Mary is Elizabeth’s mother. She lives in a house that was built back in the sixties by her husband, Aron who passed away three years ago. We do not know how Mary’s house survived Cyclone Pam but it did. Tim accidentally leaned on the edge of the corrugated iron roof when he was installing solar lights for Mary and the whole thing slid away from him about ten centimetres. No problems, he pulled the roof back towards him to settle it in its original position.

Living in the house with Mary are her son Silas, Silas’s two daughters, Lewi and Florina, Lewi’s baby daughter Jalista, Florinas three children; Sila, Karis and Sam as well as Elizabeth’s sister Emily and her family who live part time at Bethel and part time in Port Vila. Emily’s husband is Grenley, known as Grenley Police because of his employment. Emily and Grenley’s two younger sons, Michel and Ludwig stay with them. Their oldest son, Ladin is studying science in China and the second eldest, Georgie, works in Port Vila when he is on school holidays.

Left: Mary, Emily & Janet, Centre: Mevis & decorations - note the pineapple top left corner, Right: Silas, Lewi and Christmas angel Jalista

Elizabeth’s brother Michel lives behind Mary with his wife, Janet and their four children, Terry, Joylcy, Joseph and Annieline.

So that’s the immediate family living at Bethel. It’s an overload of familial links but that’s how it rolls here. Relationships are usually described as something like; ‘He’s my mother’s-father’s-little brother’s-pikinini,’ but that does my head in, the more you think about it, the more twisted it gets.

All kids love swings: Annieline on the left, Michael and Joseph on the right at La Mine

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