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Paper short abstract

Living with Fire explores volcanic mythologies in Vanuatu. Based on linguistic and ethnographic research, it highlights how oral traditions linked to the six volcanic islands express diverse cultural relationships to volcanoes, shaping cosmology, social life and oral history.

Paper long abstract

The Vanuatu archipelago is renowned for having the world's highest linguistic density (François et al., 2015), rich traditions of oral history and mythology (Ballard, 2020; Bessis & François, 2025), and intense volcanic activity (Sherburn, 2019). Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the archipelago

is home to six active volcanoes that shape the landscape through explosive and effusive eruptions.

Volcanoes form part of everyday life in Vanuatu. They provide the black stones used for cooking; and the shape of the communal oven somehow replicate a volcano. Volcanoes also provide fertile land for horticulture – land whose ownership rights can be regulated by complex social rules.

The archipelago’s linguistic and cultural diversity is also reflected in the various ways in which local narratives represent their volcanoes. Some traditions see in volcanoes the origin of fire, the source of cooking practices and of stone ovens. Others view their volcano as an object of inter- island trade, among other goods. In central Vanuatu, a major myth tells how the eruption of the Kerua volcano gave rise to new islands and new population settlements – resulting in a new landscape, both natural and social (Bessis, 2023).

Beyond their geological nature, volcanoes also have a sacred aura. They sometimes host the Underworld, the dwelling of ancestors. They have their own guardians, whether human or mythical. Their eruptions can be triggered by sorcerers – typically as an act of revenge.