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Tikopia is beautiful. Lakes such as Te Roto are rare on Pacific 
Islands. It is well stocked with Talapia, and fishing boats lie on the 
surface all day. The villages on the southern side of the island face the 
sea and sand beach with just behind them the lake shore and the rugged 
hills of Tikopia rising beyond the far side of the lake. Precipitous 
raised coral cliffs alternate with the sand beaches along the sea side 
and the villages lie strung along these beaches. Those on any beach are 
almost continuous, one with another. 
Buma Village, Vanikoro, British Solomon Island Protectorate November 1, 1972 
We have anchored in the mouth of Manevai Bay after entering through the 
narrow Hayes Channel which we could not negiotlate until 9 a.m. because of 
heavy rain and squalls descending from the Bay and Mt. Kapokio, the 3031 
foot peak which dominates Vanikoro. The Bay is deep until very near shore 
at Buma (Puna) Village, the tide was low and we had to wade through 100 
meters or more of low coral reef to reach the sand beach at the village 
which appeared to be deserted until we had landed. Then, along the beach 
came two men, one the Dresser of Vanikoro, Walter, and the second a fine 
English speaking Buna resident who is actually from Reef Islands but has 
married here, John. 
They told me that the people of all four villages of Vanikoro were 
assembled at Emoa for a long meeting about "custom laws" and "custom matters" 
and that the rain, wind and rough seas would surely prevent them from 
returning today. Th^ estimated that there were some 10-12 people remaining 
in Buma. Richard, Judy and I who had landed in the first trip radioed the 
ship to ask the others to remain on board and assembled all who were still 
in the village at the small palm leaf dispensary and there we took blood 
specimens on 22 people — and one old woman of over 80 who was blind and 
remained in her home. Thus we found 23 including nine adults and the others 
all smaller children, mostly girls I After lunch hour Judy returned to the 
ship with the bloods and Frangoise and Don and John came off and helped 
examine all 23 people left behind at Buma village, got heights and weights 
and throat cultures for virus isolations and bacteriology and finger prints 
on the nine adults and older children. Thus it was a profitable day of wind 
and rain and cold on cloud shrouded Vanikoro. We are actually working on 
Tevai Island to the Northeast of the main island of Vanikoro. Buma (Puma) 
is the largest village with 58 people in the 1970 census. The other three 
censused villages are Emoa (Emua) 39, Lavaka 23, and Lale 43, or 163 total 
population! The small school is at Emua. 
The Vanikoro canoes are wide and without outriggers and surely not good 
on high seas. In this windy weather they cannot come back from Emua safely. 
If they returned early tomorrow all would be well and we should even find 
the Lavaka people on their way home. If they do not we will not get much 
done here unless we go around to Emoa.. How easy it would be to land there 
on the windward scjutheast side of the island we do not know but we have 
misgivings. The passage between Tevai and Vanikoro— Navacanero passage — 
is surely too small for our captain to try it. 
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