- Nationality: noun: New Caledonian(s); adjective: New Caledonian
- Population: 213 000
- Ethnic Groups: Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%,
- Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3%.
- Religions: Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10%.
- Languages: French (official),
more than 30 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects.
Literacy: 91%
New Caledonia is a multi-cultural society. The Melanesian population has a long and proud heritage and culture, and throughout the land you will see a strong Melanesian influence in architecture, art and crafts, and hospitality. This is uniqly combined with a French influence and ambience, described as a 'taste of France in the South Pacific'.
In harmony with the Melanesian culture the French have brought in European style and elegance. There are also other smaller influences including Polynesian and Asian.
The Kanaks (Melanesians) have developed dance into an art form. The traditional pilou dance tells the stories of births, marriages, cyclones or preparations for battle, although colonial authorities banned pilous in in 1951 for the high-energy and trance-like state they induced in the dancers (and for the occasional supping on human flesh). Music is a fundamental element of every traditional ceremony, and the range of instruments includes conch shells, rhythm instruments and bamboo flutes.
The Caldoches, or white
New Caledonians, are mostly descended from French convicts and have forged
their own culture, more akin to that of rural Australians or rural Americans
than the metropolitan French. Rodeos and country fairs are popular. Métros
are the more recent immigrants from France, and you're more likely to see
them dining in fine restaurants or shopping for the latest fashions than living
the rural life.
French is the official language, and you'll need to speak some if you venture
out of Noumea (where at least some of those working in the tourist industry
speak some English). There are an estimated 27 Kanak languages coexist in
New Caledonia, but after being actively discouraged - or at least ignored
- by the French, there is no single unifying Kanak language. The clan, not
the individual, was the most important element of traditional Kanak culture,
and la coûtume, a code encompassing rites, rituals and social interaction
between the clans, is the essential component of Kanak identity today. It
also maintains a crucial link with the individual's ancestors. Kanaks are
Melanesians, the black people of the Western Pacific with links to Papuans
and Australian Aborigines, and call themselves Ti-Va-Ouere, or 'Brothers of
the Earth'.
New Caledonia's traditional staples are fish, coconut, banana, taro, sweet potato and yam. Lobster, coconut crab, dugong and turtle are also traditional food sources, as is roussette, the local flying fox. Unfortunately, much traditional fare is being superseded by canned and processed goods, although you will still come across the bougna, a delicious combination of taro, yam, sweet potato, banana, and pieces of chicken, crab or lobster wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a ground oven. Many restaurants serve standard French fare with all its eccentricities, although the Vietnamese, Chinese and Indonesian restaurants generally serve up better value. The French, of course, take both their coffee and their wine seriously, and both are excellent.
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