Namba (clothing)

A namba is a traditional penis sheath from Vanuatu.[1] Nambas are wrapped around the penis of the wearer, sometimes as their only clothing.[2] Two tribes on Malakula, the Big Nambas and the Smol (Small) Nambas, are named for the size of their nambas.[3]

For the district in Japan, see Namba.
Men wearing traditional nambas during a land-diving ceremony (Pentecost Island, Vanuatu, 1992)

Nambas are characteristic of central Vanuatu. In the northern islands, long mats wrapped around the waist are worn instead.

Etymology

The word is derived from a misinterpreted singular of Bislama nambas, itself a borrowing from Port Sandwich or Rerep na-mbas "penis wrapper", from Proto-North-Central Vanuatu *na "article" and *ᵐbʷasa "penis wrapper", with cognates including Tamambo buasa [ᵐbʷasa].[4]

See also

References
  1. "Bislama-English". Vanuatu Aelan Walkabaot. Wantok Environment Centre. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
  2. Tetlow, Miranda (2006-05-19). "High and mighty". The Australian online. News Limited. Archived from the original on 2006-08-29. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
  3. "Vanuatu Paradise - Malakula". vanuatuparadise.com. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  4. Clark, Ross (2009). Leo Tuai: A comparative lexical study of North and Central Vanuatu languages. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. doi:10.15144/PL-603. ISSN 1448-8310.


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