The structure, known as Malvatumauri Nakamal, located in the capital Port Vila, caught fire about 1 a.m. on Jan. 30, according to information from police, firefighters and residents. It was one of the most significant cultural buildings in the volcanically active archipelago where custom and tradition can be more powerful than civil law.
“This house is a symbol of custom governance,” Chief Willie Grey Plasua, president of the Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs, told a press conference the day after the fire.