Kastom

Kastom is a pijin word used to refer to traditional culture, including religion, economics, art and magic in the Pacific islands.

The term is the generally accepted anthropology term to describe such phenomenon as well as the common and lay term used in everyday language.

The word derives from the English "custom" but crosses meanings that incorporate:

*Custom (law) or customary law,
*Norm (sociology),
*Convention (norm) and
*Tradition

It is consistent in spelling across most of the many variations in pidjin and pisin across the Pacific.

Kastom is mostly not written only passed down through teachings and stories. It is concentrated through:

* Kastom House - sites where objects and rituals are stored.
* Kastom stories - myths, legends and communal histories.
* ritual objects - objects of special power, significance and symbolism.

The use of the word is slightly different in the different islands of the Pacific.

There are designated Kastom villages in Vanuatu which are open to tourists, dedicated to preserving Kastom. [ [http://www.vanuatutourism.com/vanuatu/export/sites/VTO/en/operators/whitegrass.html Vanuatu Tourism Office] ]

ee also

*Customary land

Notes

References

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title = Women of the Place: Kastom, Colonialism, and Gender in Vanuatu
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*"Culture, Kastom and Tradition: Cultural Policy in Melanesia", edited by Lamont Lindstrom and Geoffrey M. White.