Chief Roi Mata's Domain

CHIEF ROI MATA'S DOMAIN (Vanuatu, Melanesia)

Oral tradition and archaeology meet at the sites of the mass grave and former residence of powerful Melanesian 13th-century paramount chief Roi Mata of Vanuatu. The grave, found by a French archaeologist in 1967, contains the bodies of over 25 members of his retinue. Roi Mata's reputedly peaceful reign came after he united the tribes into a single army.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)