Vanuatu

In Vanuatu, a single line in sand can carry more than a picture.

With one finger, an unbroken line is drawn through an invisible grid. The pattern can carry stories, kinship, songs, rituals and knowledge passed between generations.

Some sand drawings also belong to a specific place. If they are drawn somewhere else, a ceremony may be needed to acknowledge where they truly belong.

The line disappears. The belonging does not.

Vanuatu sand drawings are inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.