Gardens Without Magic: Tending the Church as the Locus of Growth in a Presbyterian Village, Vanuatu

ABSTRACT In Melanesia, horticultural gardens have often been described as ‘works of art’. At the source of the gardens’ design and perceived beauty, one can often find ritual and magical practices tied to mythical foundations, to the ontological status of tubers as well as to a specific conception of growth and sociality. These require a specific design of the garden so as to achieve the desired form which will ensure good growth. But what about gardens without magic? In the Presbyterian village of Tasiriki on the island of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu, garden magic is avowedly not practiced anymore nor is gardens ritually embellished or designed. I hypothesise that in Tasiriki these absences are related to the displacement of the ritual arena which is now located in the church where most of the spiritual and material growth of the place is cultivated and objectified. However, as gardens remain vital, both for subsistence and in the generation of sociality, they still are a source of aesthetic appreciation revealing specific social forms, mirroring social processes and changes, while making manifest the Christian foundation of the place.