Colonialism, Maasina Rule, and the Origins of Malaitan Kastom

554 Pages·2013·6.08 MB·English

Colonialism, Maasina Rule, and the
Origins of Malaitan Kastom

Pacific Islands Monograph Series 26
Colonialism,
Maasina Rule,
and the Origins of
Malaitan Kastom
David W. Akin
Center for Pacific Islands Studies
School of Pacific and Asian Studies
University of Hawai‘i, Mānoa
University of Hawai‘i Press • Honolulu
© 2013 University of Hawai‘i Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
18 17 16 15 14 13 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Akin, David, [date–] author.
Colonialism, Maasina rule, and the origins of Malaitan kastom / David Akin.
pages cm. — (Pacific islands monograph series ; 26)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8248-3814-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Malaita Province (Solomon Islands)—Politics and government. 2. Malaita
Province (Solomon Islands)—Social life and customs. 3. Self-determination,
National—Solomon Islands. I. Title. II. Series: Pacific islands monograph
series ; no. 26.
DU850.A684 2013
995.93’7—dc23
2013008708
Maps by Manoa Mapworks, Inc.
University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the
guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources.
Design by University of Hawai‘i Press Design & Production Department
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc.
To Ma‘aanamae, Sulafanamae, and Saetana
‘Ola moru siria lo‘oo, fu‘u wane.
and
Kisini
CENTER FOR PACIFIC ISLANDS STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I
Terence Wesley-Smith, Director
PACIFIC ISLANDS MONOGRAPH SERIES
Tarcisius Kabutaulaka, General Editor
Jan Rensel, Managing Editor
EDITORIAL BOARD
Hokulani Aikau
Alex Golub
David Hanlon
Robert C Kiste
Jane Freeman Moulin
Puakea Nogelmeier
Lola Quan Bautista
Ty Kāwika Tengan
The Pacific Islands Monograph Series is a joint effort of the
University of Hawai‘i Press and the Center for Pacific Islands Studies,
University of Hawai‘i. The series includes works in the humanities
and social sciences that focus on the insular Pacific. A list of other
volumes in the series follows the index.
Editor’s Note
David Akin’s Colonialism, Maasina Rule, and the Origins of Malaitan Kastom
provides a sophisticated reading of Pacific Islander interactions with and
responses to foreign influences and colonialism. It adds to the rich histories
and ethnographies of the interactions between Islanders and Europeans and
exemplifies how Islanders often capture and use foreign ideas and institu-
tions, blend them with local cultures and structures of power, and use them as
vehicles for protest. This book, while focusing on Malaita in Solomon Islands,
links the Pacific Islands with colonial experiences elsewhere, especially British
colonies in Africa and Asia. It illustrates the complex relationships between
colonial powers and their subjects and the ways Pacific Islanders engage with
foreigners, their ideas, and institutions while at the same time drawing from
their own cultures and institutions to make sense of these interactions and
formulate responses. While couched within the broader context of colonial
studies, the book emphasizes Islander agency and voices.
In this book, Akin weaves a captivating story that blurs the boundaries
between anthropology and history, displaying an extensive knowledge of
the interactions between Solomon Islanders and Europeans and an acute
understanding of Malaitan societies and histories from the late 1800s into
the mid-1900s. He draws on meticulous archival research and years of eth-
nographic work in Solomon Islands, allowing him to tell these stories in an
insightful and refreshing manner.
Akin begins by examining the period from the late 1800s to the 1930s,
especially Malaitans’ involvement as plantation laborers in Queensland, Fiji,
and Samoa and, later, in other parts of Solomon Islands. This provides a
fascinating ethnography of how interactions with Europeans shaped Malai-
tans’ political consciousness and identity. It illustrates the complexity of the
relationships among Solomon Islanders, plantation owners, labor recruiters,
Christian missionaries, and the colonial administration. By the early 1900s,
the British Protectorate government had established its administrative struc-
tures and imposed colonial rule. In the 1920s, in order to help finance the
administration, the government introduced the head tax. The only way many
people could pay tax was by seeking formal employment in the plantations.
This provoked protests, especially in Malaita, resulting in the 1927 killing of
vii
viii Editor’s Note
a government officer and 14 members of his tax-collecting party in Kwaio.
The British government responded with punitive expeditions, which further
influenced Malaitan perceptions of and relationship with the government
for decades afterward. These events generated a broader political conscious-
ness among Solomon Islanders about their relationship with the colonial
government. The Fallowes Movement of the 1930s was a more widespread
expression of discontent that included people from other islands as well as
Malaitans. Akin tells of how Solomon Islanders were becoming more aware
of the power relationships between them and the colonial administration.
By the early 1940s, the Second World War reached the Pacific Islands. As
elsewhere in the Pacific, the war had an enormous impact on the islands
and Islanders. In Solomon Islands, the war marked a break in British colo-
nial rule. Most of the British colonial administrators left, leaving a power
vacuum; the Islanders were caught between the invading Japanese and US
military forces with their military might, massive supplies of “cargo,” and
ideas about freedom and equality. Many Malaitans worked for the Solomon
Islands Labour Corps. Akin documents how interactions with American sol-
diers influenced Malaitan political consciousness and led to greater resis-
tance to British attempts to reestablish their rule after the war.
From this background arose Maasina Rule, a protest movement that
started on Malaita and spread to some of the nearby islands. This was the
first major protest against the colonial administration in Solomon Islands.
Although the Maasina Rule story has been told in previous publications,
Akin’s narrative provides a fresh perspective on the movement, giving voice
and agency to the Malaitan characters in a way that I have not seen before.
Information gathered from his extensive archival research is reinforced by
his distinct knowledge and understanding of Malaita societies and histo-
ries. He tells of Maasina Rule’s interaction with the government and their
launch of Operation Delouse as well as Malaitans’ refusal to be involved in
labor on plantations. The colonial government responded with a campaign
to suppress Maasina Rule, particularly in 1948 and 1949, by jailing leaders
and trying to force Malaitans back under colonial control. In spite of this,
Malaitans continued to defy the government, proving that Maasina Rule
had popular support. This led to the release of the movement’s leaders,
changes in the colonial administration’s tactics, and the establishment of
a Malaita Council, giving more autonomy to the island. Akin finishes by
outlining the successes and failures of Maasina Rule.
The Pacific Islands Monograph Series is privileged to add this volume to its
list. This book will appeal not only to those interested in Solomon Islands and
the Pacific region but also to those interested in colonial studies more gen-
erally. As one of the reviewers for this manuscript stated, “There is no other
equivalent study of this detailed and important Pacific protest movement.”
Tarcisius Kabutaulaka