Colonialism, Maasina Rule, and the Origins of Malaitan Kastom

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 institutions, 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 structures 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 consciousness 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 colonial 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 resistance 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 histories. 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 Contents Illustrations xi Acknowledgments xiii Notes on Spellings and Translation xvii Regarding the Endnotes xix Introduction 1 1 The Half Century Before 14 The Labor Trade 14 Life Abroad 20 Christian Missions and the Labor Scene 26 Return from the White Man’s Land 29 The Imposition of Pax Britannica 36 2 Early Native Administration: Coping with Custom 50 The Idea of Indirect Rule 50 Antecedents and Beginnings of Native Administration 55 The Moorhouse Report and Malaita Policy after Bell 61 District Officers, Law, and Custom Knowledge 66 Malaitans Consider Government Law 84 Custom as a Basis for Colonial Law 89 3 Colonial Experiments and Mounting Resentments 94 Limping through the Great Depression 94 The Fallowes Movement 101 La‘aka Speaks 106 The Project to Counter ‘Are‘are Depopulation 114 Further Experiments: Councils and Courts 128 4 The Wartime Opening 132 The Malaitan War Experience 132 We Must Be Willing to Die for the Red Cross 145 The War Years on Malaita: Government Control Slips Away 146 The Promotion and Refusal of Postwar Native Administration 150 x Contents Government Social Services: Education and Medicine 151 Councils and Courts Revisited 156 5 The Rise of Maasina Rule 164 Genesis and Spread 164 Movement Structure and Unity 171 New Leaders 173 Christian Leadership and the Missions 180 Better Homes and Gardens: Maasina Rule Social Engineering 186 Towns and Farms 187 The Social Life of Kastom 194 Kastom Loa and Kastom Kouti 196 Making Kastom Fit 201 Kastom in Maasina Rule 209 6 Maasina Rule and the Government 214 The Government Becomes Aware 214 Early Altercations 217 Provisional Cooperation 223 The Path to Conflict 228 Rejecting Indentured Labor 231 Alaha‘ou‘ou and the North-South Split 237 Roy Davies Takes Charge 244 7 Suppression and Resistance 259 Operation Delouse 259 Colonial Justice: Rex v Bobongi and Others 266 The Peaceful Wars of Savages 272 Fences, Operation Jericho, and Civil Resistance 275 The Census and the Tax, 1949 284

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