What is "livatu"

The Livatu (possibly from Raga livo "tooth" or "tusk") is a unit used by the Turaga indigenous movement and the Tangbunia Bank in Vanuatu to reckon the worth of items of traditional currency such as pigs and textiles. One livatu is equivalent to one fully curved boar's tusk, a symbolic item of value in Vanuatu culture. Long dyed mats, a less valuable item of exchange, are worth up to a half a livatu.

According to Chief Viraleo, manager of the Tangbunia Bank, the value of 1 livatu is fixed at 18,000 vatu (approximately US$187 at the time of writing). This approximately reflects the price for which tusks sell in the markets of Port Vila. Account holders at the bank can make transfers and write cheques in livatu.