page_title: Lelepa Island
section_title: Fele's Cave
hierarchical_section_title: Lelepa Island / Fele's Cave
caption_attribution_description: English: Fele's Cave on Lelepa Island in Vanuatu — a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Oceania. Here, in 1265, Roy Mata was poisoned by his jealous brother during a great feast. Русский: Пещера Феле на острове Лелепа (Вануату). В ней был отравлен легендарный вождь Рои-Мата во время пиршества 1265 года
context_page_description: Lelepa is an island in the southwestern Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. It is located off the northwest coast of the island of Efate.
context_section_description: On the southwestern side of the island is Fels Cave. The name Falesa denotes a cave in the Nakanamanga language, Fels or Feles are local dialect variants. Within the cave, there are many rock drawings, up to 3000 years old rock. Since 2008, the cave has been part of Chief Roi Mata's Domain, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  According to legend, the principal chief Roi Mata died in this cave, towards the end of the sixteenth century. From the entrance, there is a direct view of Eretoka, where he was buried. In other legends the cave was the residence of the first carrier of the title Chief Roi Mata.
  Fels Cave, at an elevation of 22 meters, opens from a 6-meter high entrance to a height of 35 meters. Its diameter is about 50 meters, with an approximately circular floor plan. The surrounding rock, locally called fta, consists of volcanic breccia and pumice. It is protected from erosion by the overlying limestone, an uplifted coral reef.
  Except for the darkened rear wall, all the walls of the cave are covered to head height with cave paintings, some of which overlap each other. The oldest ones are red spots and handprints, probably dating from the first millennium BCE, assigned to the Lapita culture. However, most of the pictures are black line drawings. Among them are some that are 1500 years old, but most were made much later; the most recently dated ones are from the eighteenth century. The illustrations show birds, fish, and anthropomorphic figures. Abstract designs include simple and complex geometric figures such as angles, triangles and diamond shapes. The largest human representation, according to tradition, is that of Roi Mata.
  Excavations show no evidence that the cave was ever inhabited. In earthquakes, it is regularly threatened by rockslides. In the last major earthquake in 2002, part of the entrance collapsed.
  For residents of Lelepa the cave is considered tapu. According to local beliefs, after death one's soul moves into the Fels Cave. It is said that one can then find their footprints at the entrance. There is a tradition to sweep that area after a death and to look for the footprints the next morning, which is still occasionally observed.
caption: Entrance to Fels Cave
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