Rom Dance & Slow Food Festival

Back to My Roots | Rom Dance & Slow Food Festival

The North Ambrym Rom Dance Festival is a vibrant cultural celebration held at Olal, Alal Fandor Village, showcasing the rich living traditions of North Ambrym. Over two days, guests are welcomed into a world of traditional food, dance, and heritage beginning with the Welcome Nasara ceremony and traditional stone cooking, and featuring local dishes such as wou (bush cabbage), nouha tubull, and cylo mehye (taro or yam).

The festival showcases a variety of traditional dances unique to the region, with each village bringing its own distinct style and rhythm including the Yeng Dance, Rom Belano, Rom Tamakeh, and the Traditional Roplar dance, which invites guests to join in. Children take part in their own traditional games and dances: Rom Assi, Tuturhwehe, Sermambe, Kinkin ye, and sand drawing.

Beyond dance, the event incorporates storytelling, demonstrations of local magic customs, and sand drawing a traditional method of passing down knowledge, history, and legend through generations. Together, these activities create an immersive cultural experience that honors tradition, community, and the living culture of North Ambrym.

Fun Facts:

• The Rom Dance is one of the oldest and most sacred traditional dances in Vanuatu
• Dancers wear large handmade masks called Rom, each with unique designs and meanings
• Rom masks can take weeks or even months to create by hand
• Sand drawings are a traditional way of sharing knowledge, history, and legends
• Traditional food is prepared using local ingredients and earth ovens
• Each village has its own dance style and rhythm, making every performance different

Schedule:

• Day 1 (Nov 3): 9:00 am – 2:30 pm
• Day 2 (Nov 4): 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Festival Fee: 10,000 VT per person (children and adults)  / covers both days of activities and lunch.

Accommodation (per person, per night):

• Obed Bong Guest Accommodation: 5,000 VT
• Sekor Guesthouse: 4,000 VT
• Big W Guesthouse: 3,500 VT

Getting there:

• Boat: Craig Cove → Nebul or Lonoro → Olal: 18,000 VT
• Land transport from landing point to destination: approx. 2,000 VT (individual or group)
• For yachters, the recommended anchorage is Nobul, North Ambrym

Full festival program, activity schedule, and booking details: → See Full Program (PDF)

Contact:

• Chief Sekor (North Ambrym)
• Jacob Linaim