The people of the Solomon Islands are renowned for their gentle ways and omnipresent smiles, so it’s hard to imagine these so called ‘Hapi Isles’ were once feared as the home of the South Pacific’s fiercest head hunters.
Head hunting and cannibalism were widespread throughout Solomon Islands history, until the arrival of missionaries in the mid-19th Century which the locals say “spoiled all the fun.”
Echoes of those head hunting days can still be found in skull shrines on the aptly named Skull Island near Munda in the Western Province’s Vonavona lagoon.
Those days may be long gone but given this 992-island archipelago is still relatively untouched by mass tourism, the centuries-old cultural ways of the Solomon Islands remain as some of the richest to be found in the South Pacific.
‘Kulture’ remains at the very centre of society. At the heart of the welcoming Solomon Island people is kastom (traditional knowledge) which represents the idea of culture or traditional ways of doing things. Traditional singing, music and dance and craftmanship, a mainstay of village life, is handed down from father to son and mother to daughter, in the process providing a reminder that even the most isolated cultures across this vast archipelago uphold deep and ancient reservoirs of unique and very rich creativity.
A fantastic way to experience the Solomon Islands’ living culture is to visit one of the colourful festivals held throughout the year.
Busu Shell Money Festival
One of the more curious and culturally significant annual events, the Busu Shell Money Festival in Malaita - the country’s second most populous and second largest island - celebrates the hand-crafted shell money that was in use long before the arrival of bank notes and coins.
Along with traditional dancing and local food, the mid-August festival in Busu Cultural Village in the Langalanga Lagoon showcases every stage of shell money production - from the gathering and shaping of shells to their polishing and threading into gleaming strands. Shell money in fact still plays an important role in Solomon Islands society. The shells are used as dowry payments, to settle disputes and also presented to visiting VIPs.
National Panpipe Festival
Celebrating another fascinating element of Malaitan culture, the biennial National Panpipe Festival held mid-year in the capital Honiara attracts bands from all over the Solomon Islands. It showcases the famous panpipe music that was first ‘recorded’ by Spanish explorers in the 16th Century, and which today - for any in the cosmos who might be listening - can be heard deep in space.
That’s right, the Solomon Islands’ very own panpipe music is among the examples of traditional music from around the world carried aboard the Voyager 2 space probe - alongside the likes of Beethoven, Mozart and Stravinsky.
The National Panpipe Festival reminds us that traditional music is not entertainment alone - it is memory, craftmanship and the heartbeat of a nation. A national showcase of interconnected cultural heritage, the event also features shell money making, carving, weaving, canoe and oral history traditions, food systems and indigenous knowledge.
‘Wogasia’ Spear Festival
Usually held around May, ‘Wogasia’ means ‘to worship’ in local dialect and is practiced among the Atawa and Amoe tribes of Santa Catalina who come together to celebrate and offer prayers of thanksgiving to their God of providence for the unceasing supply of seafood, fruit and crops these communities depend on for their daily survival.
While much of the three-day festival revolves around traditional poem reading and chanting, the event culminates in hundreds of spear fighters facing off in chest-deep water where villagers have the opportunity to resolve any outstanding differences or disputes. By hurling spears at each other.
Amazingly, only a few injuries have ever been recorded. Most fighters escape relatively unhurt and, with thanks having been given to their God, the people can look forward to a year of peace and good fortune.
Roviana Lagoon Festival
Traditionally held every second December, the Roviana Lagoon Festival in Munda in the Western Province attracts hundreds of locals and in recent years, a growing number of international visitors too. They come to enjoy the fun and excitement of various activities - predominantly water-based - that include rafting, dugout canoe ‘tug of war’ tussles and races, ‘Kuku’ platform high diving, speech competitions, singing and dancing.
Without doubt the highlight of the festival is the appearance of two giant ‘Tomoko’ war canoes. Originally used for headhunting forays until the late 1800s when missionaries put a stop to this, the two ‘Tomoko’ canoes took part in the 2025 event - one from Rarumana village and the other from Bebea village, both of which are located on Nusa Roviana Island.
The Alick Wickham Crawl swimming race is named after and celebrates the Solomon Islander from Roviana Lagoon who is attributed with having invented the Australian Crawl swimming stroke.
Savo Megapode & Eco-Cultural Festival
A new festival set to be held for the first time in 2026 is the Savo Megapode & Eco-Cultural Festival. Just a short boat ride from Honiara, the unique eco-environment of volcanic Savo Island will form the backdrop for the inaugural event.
The venue is Panueli Village, home to one of the Solomon Islands’ most extraordinary creatures - the Melanesian Megapode. This bird buries its eggs in the volcanic sand and lets geothermal heat incubate them naturally. The festival will see local Savo islanders showcase the music and dance that make them so uniquely different from anywhere else in the archipelago.
Savo is also well known for its dolphin nurseries, the mammals breeding in the thermally-heated waters which fringe the islands.
Tinakula Festival
Temotu Province, the Solomon Islands’ most far-flung and remote region, is home to a unique blend of Melanesian and Polynesian peoples and as such boasts a unique cultural identity which is celebrated every year in Honiara - at the vibrant and much-loved Tinakula Festival.
Named after the dramatic Tinakula volcano, the festival serves as a living showcase of Temotu Province’s rich traditions with music, dance, storytelling, weaving, carving and traditional cuisine all taking centre stage. The event offers visitors a rare opportunity to experience the cultural diversity of a province known for its many languages, customs and ancestral practices.
Guadalcanal Weaving Festival
Traditionally taking place in late July/early August, the Guadalcanal Weaving Festival highlights the importance of preserving the culture and the traditional weaving practices of the Guadalcanal people.
Seen as integral to celebrating and maintaining the people’s culture and traditions, the festival provides deep insight into the province’s traditional chants, music and dance.
The Solomon Islands is the true last frontier in the South Pacific. Visit the Tourism Solomons website at www.visitsolomons.com.sb for more information about the living ‘kulture’ or kastom of this vastly untouched destination, along with the many eco-lodge, adventure, trekking, diving, surfing, sport fishing, birdwatching and World War 2 history opportunities that abound throughout the archipelago.
