Men wearing traditional nambas during a land-diving ceremony (Pentecost Island, Vanuatu, 1992)

A namba is a traditional penis sheath from Vanuatu.[1] Nambas are wrapped around the penis of the wearer, sometimes as their only clothing.[2] Two tribes on Malakula, the Big Nambas and the Smol (Small) Nambas, are named for the size of their nambas.[3]

Nambas are characteristic of central Vanuatu. In the northern islands, long mats wrapped around the waist are worn instead.

Etymology

The word is derived from a misinterpreted singular of Bislama nambas, itself a borrowing from Port Sandwich or Rerep na-mbas "penis wrapper", from Proto-North-Central Vanuatu *na "article" and *ᵐbʷasa "penis wrapper", with cognates including Tamambo buasa [ˈᵐbʷasa].[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bislama-English". Vanuatu Aelan Walkabaot. Wantok Environment Centre. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
  2. ↑ Tetlow, Miranda (2006-05-19). "High and mighty". The Australian online. News Limited. Archived from the original on 2006-08-29. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
  3. ↑ "Vanuatu Paradise - Malakula". vanuatuparadise.com. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  4. ↑ Clark, Ross (2009). Leo Tuai: A comparative lexical study of North and Central Vanuatu languages. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. doi:10.15144/PL-603. ISSN 1448-8310.


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