Ethnobotanique du cocotier (Cocos nucifera L.) sur l'île de Vanua Lava (Vanuatu)

Abstract

Since the end of the 19th century, the economy of Vanuatu is mainly based on copra exportation. One of the most obvious changes can be observed on the coasts of these islands through the spread of coconut plantations. Even if coconuts were present before the arrival of the first human being, copra industry has modified the sociocultural identity of the coconut. In this article, we analyse the ethnobotany of the coconut in the village of Vētuboso on the island of Vanua Lava (Banks group). The evolution of its system of classification and nomenclature, of the diversity of its uses (technical and cultral) and of its symbolic role (myths and stories, anthropomorphism) attests of this history. Nowadays, even few inhabitants from Vanua Lava name it the "tree from the Whites".