Idyllic Dekadeka Island in Milne Bay Province

 

Anagusa - a paradise with a mystery  

By MEGAN FIU RA’VU

YOU have seen photos or videos of exotic spots, breathtaking mountain views or Eden-like beaches in some faraway destination in some unknown place in the world.

Those are the kind of places that make you wish you can spend a week or two just soaking in the atmosphere and relax, hundreds or thousands of miles away from your crowded, noisy, stress-filled city life.

Well, if you think again, and if provided the right photos and videos of some spots in our country, you will realise that we do have such exotic spots just an hour or so away by air or sea. There is such a spot I came to know some time back – a place that etches itself into your memory and will not be washed away by the waves of time. 

 

An island in the sun

I have no doubt that the white sandy beaches of Anagusa Island in Milne Bay will always take your breath away the moment you arrive.

The sight of the island would easily take your mind and soul to faraway Hawaii, in Polynesia. The sweet charms from the barefooted, dark-skinned children with sand all over their body running to the beach to see who arrived on the island is always a familiar scene on the island.

The sweet innocent smiles on their faces will certainly send a warm welcome greeting to the visitors and will literally melt the hearts of new arrivals – including you, if you happen to go there.

Anagusa can be reached from Alotau, the capital of Milne Bay by boat.

It will take about 3-4 hours to get there by speedboat.

It is situated about 40 kilometres south of Normanby Island, one of the bigger islands in the province which is situated northeast of the provincial capital. 

The population of Anagusa Island is currently at 150 people, and the main language spoken is Bwanabwana, however English and Pidgin are widely spoken as well amongst the young people. 

 

The hardworking locals

The very first time I arrived on Anagusa Island, I could not stop admiring the white sandy beaches that reflected the rays of the sun, sandbanks were just everywhere and everything on that island just looked so ravishing.

Although it is just a small island with a population, they have everything one could wish for - fish, shellfish, fruits like mangoes, guavas, sugarcanes, vegetables from the gardens and fresh coconut juice are the main source of food on the Island of Anagusa.

The people are so friendly and hardworking.

The heat of the sun may give you sunburns but the locals still manage to work in the gardens despite the heat because that is the only way of survival.

Although there is problem with water, they still manage to build water pumps to extract water underground.

One trait that I observed in the lives of people of Anagusa is “team-work”. If someone wanted their work to be done, everyone in the village would come together to help in one way or another.

They help each other in different ways - gardening, fishing, diving, hunting, or even building a house.

And when you think about feasts and celebrations, those are very important occasions on the island and team-work is again vital to make them happen.

 

Trade on the island

People of Anagusa continue many traditional practices that have enabled them to survive for thousands of years. Trading with other islanders is one vital event on Anagusa.

The traditional barter system takes place with locals from other islands who sail one or two days earlier to Anagusa.

It is one of the most important events that happens once or twice a year.

Anagusa people trade pigs, woven baskets and mwali in exchange for bagi, sailing canoes and clay pots with the Panaeati people from Misima Island. Most places in Milne Bay have done away with trades, however small islands like Anagusa still take part in trades with the nearby islands.

 

The cave with skeletons

There is one thing though that brings a mystery to the island – something that is yet to be understood.

“The Cave of Anagusa Island” which was discovered in 2000 has always being there when the island was first discovered and settled on by the ancestors of the people of Anagusa.

When I visited the island I really wanted to see the cave, so some of the villagers had to take me there. But firstly we had to get permission from an elder in the village.

The distance from the village to the cave is just a couple of kilometres away, however you have to climb the mountain in order to get there.

Before entering the cave, a villager chanted a few mysterious sentences, asking permission from the spirits to let us in.

There is a belief that if people entered without those chants being uttered, the spirits would visit at night to meddle with them and cause them to have weird dreams.

The locals also believe that the owner of the cave is a very huge snake that guards the cave and makes sure no outsiders were allowed inside.

However, three of us, plus three of the villagers who accompanied us, went inside the cave on that particular day.

 

Entering the cave

On entering, I realised that the cave was so dark that you could barely see unless you have a torch or a form of light.

I was so fascinated to see something like this which was quite surreal, to say the least.

Inside the cave, little birds flew around the roof and limestone walls with glimmering light that reflected back whatever rays fell on them. The stalagmites were so sharp and shiny. There were even remains of human skeletons, bones and skulls scattered on the floor.

We walked for almost 10 to 15 metres before we came across a pool in the cave. It was crystal clear and was a mixture of saltwater and water.

It was actually shallow because we could see the bottom, which was filled with pebbles. After another 5 metres and we came across another pool which was deeper than the first one. It was so blue that you couldn’t see what was beneath the surface. 

I recalled then what a villager said to me: “This passage leads all the way to Ware Island.”

I was surprised to hear that because Ware Island is approximately 30 kilometres away to the south, and a 30-minute ride on a dinghy from Anagusa.

The villager also said that years ago some white men tried to dive from that pool to Ware but could not do it because it was very far and they ran out of air on the way and had to turn back.

We kept on going until we came to a junction - there were two roads.

The villager told us to turn back because he felt that something was not right and that something might happen to us because we weren’t from there. So, we had to go back to the village. I was upset because I wanted to see more of what was in there.

I was really fascinated with the looks of the cave but we had to turn back due to the villager’s words of caution.

 

The stay was enjoyable

My one-week stay there was so interesting and fun-filled.

Even though the children and even most of the villagers hardly spoke English, I tried my best to learn a little of their local dialect – just enough to communicate with them.

I followed the children everywhere just to see what they did.

Sitting there looking at the smiles from their faces just made me wish I had an interesting childhood just like them.

I wished I could help them learn English so that communication would be easier for them, but I guess they were content with what they had.

As long as they were happy, that’s all that mattered.

When I was about to depart, I felt this attraction to the island that made me regret leaving. I felt as if it was home – a home that accommodated me and what I loved about life.

Life there seems to be so much fun although there were some hardships.

However, I had no choice – I was there because of other people in my life, my guardians and they were calling the shots.

The villagers brought a lot of food and clay pots for us to take away with us as souvenirs from that beautiful destination.

The hardest part was saying goodbye. Everyone was crying, and I said we would certainly visit another time.

As the sun set over the western horizon and as we were leaving, the last glimpse of Anagusa disappeared out of site.

But the memories still remain and I ask myself a good number of times: “When will I visit such a beautiful island again?”

 

Anagusa - a paradise with a mystery  

By MEGAN FIU RA’VU

YOU have seen photos or videos of exotic spots, breathtaking mountain views or Eden-like beaches in some faraway destination in some unknown place in the world.

Those are the kind of places that make you wish you can spend a week or two just soaking in the atmosphere and relax, hundreds or thousands of miles away from your crowded, noisy, stress-filled city life.

Well, if you think again, and if provided the right photos and videos of some spots in our country, you will realise that we do have such exotic spots just an hour or so away by air or sea. There is such a spot I came to know some time back – a place that etches itself into your memory and will not be washed away by the waves of time. 

 

An island in the sun

I have no doubt that the white sandy beaches of Anagusa Island in Milne Bay will always take your breath away the moment you arrive.

The sight of the island would easily take your mind and soul to faraway Hawaii, in Polynesia. The sweet charms from the barefooted, dark-skinned children with sand all over their body running to the beach to see who arrived on the island is always a familiar scene on the island.

The sweet innocent smiles on their faces will certainly send a warm welcome greeting to the visitors and will literally melt the hearts of new arrivals – including you, if you happen to go there.

Anagusa can be reached from Alotau, the capital of Milne Bay by boat.

It will take about 3-4 hours to get there by speedboat.

It is situated about 40 kilometres south of Normanby Island, one of the bigger islands in the province which is situated northeast of the provincial capital. 

The population of Anagusa Island is currently at 150 people, and the main language spoken is Bwanabwana, however English and Pidgin are widely spoken as well amongst the young people. 

 

The hardworking locals

The very first time I arrived on Anagusa Island, I could not stop admiring the white sandy beaches that reflected the rays of the sun, sandbanks were just everywhere and everything on that island just looked so ravishing.

Although it is just a small island with a population, they have everything one could wish for - fish, shellfish, fruits like mangoes, guavas, sugarcanes, vegetables from the gardens and fresh coconut juice are the main source of food on the Island of Anagusa.

The people are so friendly and hardworking.

The heat of the sun may give you sunburns but the locals still manage to work in the gardens despite the heat because that is the only way of survival.

Although there is problem with water, they still manage to build water pumps to extract water underground.

One trait that I observed in the lives of people of Anagusa is “team-work”. If someone wanted their work to be done, everyone in the village would come together to help in one way or another.

They help each other in different ways - gardening, fishing, diving, hunting, or even building a house.

And when you think about feasts and celebrations, those are very important occasions on the island and team-work is again vital to make them happen.

 

Trade on the island

People of Anagusa continue many traditional practices that have enabled them to survive for thousands of years. Trading with other islanders is one vital event on Anagusa.

The traditional barter system takes place with locals from other islands who sail one or two days earlier to Anagusa.

It is one of the most important events that happens once or twice a year.

Anagusa people trade pigs, woven baskets and mwali in exchange for bagi, sailing canoes and clay pots with the Panaeati people from Misima Island. Most places in Milne Bay have done away with trades, however small islands like Anagusa still take part in trades with the nearby islands.

 

The cave with skeletons

There is one thing though that brings a mystery to the island – something that is yet to be understood.

“The Cave of Anagusa Island” which was discovered in 2000 has always being there when the island was first discovered and settled on by the ancestors of the people of Anagusa.

When I visited the island I really wanted to see the cave, so some of the villagers had to take me there. But firstly we had to get permission from an elder in the village.

The distance from the village to the cave is just a couple of kilometres away, however you have to climb the mountain in order to get there.

Before entering the cave, a villager chanted a few mysterious sentences, asking permission from the spirits to let us in.

There is a belief that if people entered without those chants being uttered, the spirits would visit at night to meddle with them and cause them to have weird dreams.

The locals also believe that the owner of the cave is a very huge snake that guards the cave and makes sure no outsiders were allowed inside.

However, three of us, plus three of the villagers who accompanied us, went inside the cave on that particular day.

 

Entering the cave

On entering, I realised that the cave was so dark that you could barely see unless you have a torch or a form of light.

I was so fascinated to see something like this which was quite surreal, to say the least.

Inside the cave, little birds flew around the roof and limestone walls with glimmering light that reflected back whatever rays fell on them. The stalagmites were so sharp and shiny. There were even remains of human skeletons, bones and skulls scattered on the floor.

We walked for almost 10 to 15 metres before we came across a pool in the cave. It was crystal clear and was a mixture of saltwater and water.

It was actually shallow because we could see the bottom, which was filled with pebbles. After another 5 metres and we came across another pool which was deeper than the first one. It was so blue that you couldn’t see what was beneath the surface. 

I recalled then what a villager said to me: “This passage leads all the way to Ware Island.”

I was surprised to hear that because Ware Island is approximately 30 kilometres away to the south, and a 30-minute ride on a dinghy from Anagusa.

The villager also said that years ago some white men tried to dive from that pool to Ware but could not do it because it was very far and they ran out of air on the way and had to turn back.

We kept on going until we came to a junction - there were two roads.

The villager told us to turn back because he felt that something was not right and that something might happen to us because we weren’t from there. So, we had to go back to the village. I was upset because I wanted to see more of what was in there.

I was really fascinated with the looks of the cave but we had to turn back due to the villager’s words of caution.

 

The stay was enjoyable

My one-week stay there was so interesting and fun-filled.

Even though the children and even most of the villagers hardly spoke English, I tried my best to learn a little of their local dialect – just enough to communicate with them.

I followed the children everywhere just to see what they did.

Sitting there looking at the smiles from their faces just made me wish I had an interesting childhood just like them.

I wished I could help them learn English so that communication would be easier for them, but I guess they were content with what they had.

As long as they were happy, that’s all that mattered.

When I was about to depart, I felt this attraction to the island that made me regret leaving. I felt as if it was home – a home that accommodated me and what I loved about life.

Life there seems to be so much fun although there were some hardships.

However, I had no choice – I was there because of other people in my life, my guardians and they were calling the shots.

The villagers brought a lot of food and clay pots for us to take away with us as souvenirs from that beautiful destination.

The hardest part was saying goodbye. Everyone was crying, and I said we would certainly visit another time.

As the sun set over the western horizon and as we were leaving, the last glimpse of Anagusa disappeared out of site.

But the memories still remain and I ask myself a good number of times: “When will I visit such a beautiful island again?”