From Black Magic to Black Flags: Social Uses and Symbolic Lexicons of Cycads in Vanuatu

Abstract

The paper reviews nondietary uses and symbolic connotations of cycads ( Cycas seemannii) in Vanuatu, relying on data from ethnographic studies, anthropological literature, and local media reports. The authors focus on the uses of cycads in magical practices, in grade-taking ceremonies and traditional land tenure, in reconciliation and peace-making, in tabooing and emblematization of chiefly authority, and in the symbolism of political movements and state institutions. The article suggests two potential genealogies of cycad prominence in the archipelago, one stemming from the role of the plant as an emblem of pacificatory influence of graded societies and the other centered on the use of cycad leaves as tallies for recalling debts in traditional ni-Vanuatu culture.