Roi Mata

Chief Roi Mata’s Domain

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Fels Cave on Lelepa Island
Location	Vanuatu
Criteria	Cultural: (iii)(v)(vi)
Reference	1280
Inscription	2008 (32nd Session)
Area	886.31 ha (2,190.1 acres)
Buffer zone	1,275.42 ha (3,151.6 acres)
Coordinates	17°37′41.05″S 168°10′39.79″E / 17.6280694°S 168.1777194°E / -17.6280694; 168.1777194
Location of Roi Mata in Vanuatu Show map of Vanuatu Roi Mata (Oceania) Show map of Oceania

Roi Mata (or Roy Mata, Roymata) was a powerful Melanesian chief in what is now Vanuatu. He is believed to have lived at the end of the 16th century, or the beginning of the 17th.^[1]

In 2008, three sites associated with Roi Mata, on the islands of Efate, Lelepa and Eretoka, were made UNESCO World Heritage Sites.^[2][3]

Roi Mata's elaborate grave, containing the bodies of over 25 members of his retinue, was discovered by French archaeologist José Garanger [fr] in 1967 and inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008. Garanger was able to locate the grave on Eretoka island by analyzing local folklore. According to legend, when Roi Mata conquered the land, his first goal was to unite the tribes to form an army.

His reign is reputed to have been a peaceful one. Roi Mata was fatally poisoned by his brother. His body was not buried in his homeland and his name was not used in future generations because the locals feared his spirit.

• 
  Chief Roi mata's grave (Eratoka Island, 8 January 2017)
• 
  Grave markers of Chief Roi mata's wives (Eratoka Island, 8 January 2017)

• Chris Ballard; Meredith Wilson (2008). Chief Roi Mata's Domain (PDF) (Nomination by the Republic of Vanuatu for Inscription on the World Heritage List).

• Vanuatu A to Z Retrieved August 25, 2006.
• "Roy Mata", Encyclopædia Britannica