I refer to the classes of settlers thus distinguished as ‘wantok’ (although their members did not always have the same mother tongue), and the areas from which they came as ‘home areas’. […] There were 7 groups of wantok among the Situm block-holders and 4 among the Gobari holders.

In Saraga, there are more wantoks (3.16) per household than in Bumbu (2.7). […] Like Bumbu, almost 80 percent approves of their wantoks living with them but half of the respondents would not like to see an increase in the wantoks in their houses.

If one steals or cheats to help a wantok one feels not guilty or one might feel ethically obliged to fight to support a wantok without considering whether the wantok is right or wrong.

The vernacular still plays an important role in Melanesian notions of cultural identity, as reflected in the concept of wantok 'one who speaks the same language', and thus has primacy over a lingua franca, but Tok Pisin has become increasingly important as a language defining wantoks: […]

In fact, because the RSL township was to be constructed on a seemingly empty plain, BAI could plan it to minimize these wantok ties and the paybacks such ties were thought to generate. But BAI wanted to do more than to avoid building a wantok-ridden town. It also wanted to avoid building a "company town."

A major impact in almost every area of life for Solomon Islanders is their safety nets: households, families, and importantly, the wantok (literally meaning "one talk") system. Wantok is loosely defined as an extended family in which people speaking the same language/dialect look out for each other. […] [A]lmost all villagers have wantoks or family members in urban areas who provide supplies of imported foods high in carbohydrates and fat to the villagers.

Wantok

Meaning

Noun

Origin