Turaga nation
The Turaga nation (from tu "stand" and raga, a tribal name) is an indigenous movement based in northern Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. Its leaders include Chief Viraleo Boborenvanua and Motarilavoa Hilda Lini. The organisation has its headquarters in the traditional village of Lavatmanggemu on the north-east coast of Pentecost.
The Turaga movement promotes the revival of traditional Melanesian customs, modernised in certain respects. In place of the Western economic system, which is seen as a cause of poverty and foreign dependency, the movement promotes the kastom (custom) economy, based on traditional systems of economic exchange and native forms of currency such as pigs and woven mats. The Turaga movement operates its own bank (called Tangbunia after the giant baskets in which valuables were traditionally stored) at which these items can be deposited, and has devised a unit of currency (the livatu, equal to the value of a fully curved boar's tusk) in which their value can be reckoned.
The movement operates a school, the Melanesian Institute of Science, Philosophy, Humanity and Technology (Bwatielen Borebore, Vovoraga, Mwaguana i Gotovigi, commonly known as noda hinggehingge "our school") at which scholars are offered an alternative to the Western-style education provided by Vanuatu's other schools. The school follows a seven-stage programme of its own creation, with teaching organised according to a native lunar calendar. Scholars write in the native Raga language or in Bislama, using an alphabet named Avoiuli devised by Chief Viraleo and inspired by traditional sand drawings.
The Turaga movement has caused controversy, with some dismissing the movement as pointless and self-serving, and many devoutly Christian islanders viewing it as a step backwards into heathenism. The movement has also been criticised for promoting its own particular interpretation of traditional culture. In 2008, violence between Turaga followers and their opponents in the central Pentecost village of Tansip led to a man being hospitalised with serious injuries. However, Turaga enjoys high-level political support in Vanuatu, and its leaders argue that the values they promote are common to all traditional Melanesian societies and are not incompatible with Christianity.