Chief Roi Mata’s Domain

Travel Guide > Oceania > Vanuatu > Chief Roi Mata’s Domain

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Introduction

Chief Roi Mata’s Domain is the first and so far only site in Vanuatu that is on the Unesco World Heritage List. The site consists of three sites on the islands of Efate, Lelepa and Artok dating back to the early 17th century AD. They all refer to the life and death of the last paramount chief, or Roi Mata, of what is now Central Vanuatu. It includes Roi Mata’s residence, the site of his death and Roi Mata’s mass burial site and is closely connected to the oral traditions surrounding the chief and his moral values. Also, the site is important regarding the convergence between oral tradition and archaeology. It witnesses the persistence of Roi Mata’s social reforms and his resolution to resolve conflicts. Nowadays, this form of life partly still is relevant to the people living on these islands.