nakamal
{{Short description|Traditional meeting place in Vanuatu}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2024}}
{{Italic title}}
Image:National Council of Chiefs, Vanuatu.jpg assembly building nakamal in Port Vila, Vanuatu]]
A nakamal is a traditional meeting place in Vanuatu. It is used for gatherings, ceremonies and the drinking of kava.
A nakamal is found in every significant Vanuatu community, but the design of the nakamal and the traditions surrounding it vary between areas.
Etymology
The term nakamal is a Bislama word, borrowed from certain Oceanic languages spoken in Vanuatu, such as North Efate. In those languages, such a form can be parsed as na kamal(i), combining the common article na and a noun kamal or kamali. Ultimately, it descends from a Proto-Oceanic and Proto-Malayo-Polynesian etymon *kamaliR, meaning "men's house".{{Citation
| last = François
| first = Alexandre
| author-link = Alexandre François
| contribution = Shadows of bygone lives: The histories of spiritual words in northern Vanuatu
| editor1-last = Mailhammer
| editor1-first = Robert
| title = Lexical and structural etymology: Beyond word histories
| volume = 11
| pages = 185–244
| publisher = DeGruyter Mouton
| place = Berlin
| year = 2013
| series = Studies in Language Change
| doi =10.1515/9781614510581.185
| url =
| contribution-url= https://marama.huma-num.fr/data/AlexFrancois_2013_Shadows-of-bygone-lives-The-histories-of-spiritual-words-in-northern-Vanuatu.pdf
| ref=shadows
}}{{cite journal |last=Blust |first=Robert | author-link = Robert Blust|title=The challenge of semantic reconstruction 2: Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kamaliR 'men's house' |journal=Oceanic Linguistics |volume=57 |issue=2 |date=2018 |pages=335–358 |jstor=26779837 |doi=10.1353/ol.2018.0015}} Cognates in non-Oceanic languages include Cebuano and Tagalog kamalig “granary”.
Traditional nakamals
In north and central Vanuatu, the nakamal generally takes the form of a large building, assembled from traditional materials with the help of the entire community, under the direction of a particular chief. Entry to the nakamal is often restricted to men, and the building may be used as a sleeping and living area for unmarried men and boys and for male visitors to the village. Significantly, most nakamals lack a lockable door, indicating that all friendly visitors are welcome, although there may be a low barrier across the entrance to keep out animals.
In front of a nakamal there is often a flattened clearing, or nasara, used for dances and outdoor gatherings.
In southern Vanuatu, a nakamal may be a large, sheltered outdoor space, such as under a banyan tree.
In Vanuatu's capital Port Vila, the assembly building of the national council of chiefs (Malvatumauri) is designed in the form of a traditional nakamal.
''Nakamal'' as ''kava'' bars
The nakamal’s most prominent function nowadays is as a place for the preparation and drinking of kava. In urban Vanuatu, and in neighbouring New Caledonia, the term nakamal may be used for a kava bar where the drink is sold, although in rural Vanuatu a traditional nakamal (where kava preparation is a communal activity and money does not usually change hands) is distinct from a kava bar.
An urban nakamal or kava bar at which kava is available for sale is advertised by a coloured light displayed at the entrance.