29 Oct 2019

Leaping Dolphins, Feather Money and an Active Volcano

This morning, as we were steaming south towards the Santa Cruz Islands, the Solomons' most active volcano came into view. Rising directly out of the water in an almost perfect cone, Tinakula was gently puffing smoke from its 2,000 metre peak while its flanks bore huge scars from a major eruption in 2017. At the same time, we spotted a mixed pod of about 200 Melon-headed whales and Pantropical spotted dolphins. They came leaping towards us in a spectacular display. What a wonderful start to our day.

After an early lunch we took a short Zodiac ride to Nendo Island, where we boarded trucks for a journey up into the hills. We were heading to Noipe, one of the few villages still making unique red-feather money. As we approached the village on foot, fierce-looking warriors leapt from the bushes and charged us. Today this was just a display, but we still got a strong sense of just how intimidating this must have been for strangers in earlier, less peaceful times.

We then followed a large group of villagers in procession to a ceremonial dancing ground. Most were dressed in traditional costume. They were led in the dancing by two chiefs, impressively adorned with feathers, nose ornaments and carved necklaces. A wife of one of the chiefs wore a whole roll of feather money on her head, as a sign of her significant wealth and status.

After the dancing we watched the creation of the money itself, an ancient practice that is now rare. It takes a huge amount of time, effort and skill to create a length of money that may be several metres long from many thousands of tiny red feathers. These come from the local scarlet honeyeater, the birds being released once some of their feathers are taken.

Once back at the coast we enjoyed a swim with the local children, in the beautifully clear water off the beach, before boarding the Zodiacs back to the ship. Culture, wildlife and an active volcano - all in yet another fascinating day in the Solomon Islands.

Image (c) N.Nightingale