State Societyand Melanesia Governance

PAPER DISCUSSION 97/9 Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies StateSociety and in Governance Melanesia CHIEFLY POWER IN SOUTHERN VANUATU CHIEF PHILIP According to the custom of Aneityum a person • you must not be given to talking too much TEPTEPTEPAHAEAHAEAHAE or a member of a chief’s family cannot declare because if you are you will not be capable himself a chief. Unless a man fulfils the qualities of taking decisions in your area and you described below, the people will not trust him will confuse the community leaders and and he cannot become a true chief. The your people; conditions are as follows: • you must not be proud because if you are • according to the custom of Aneityum a a proud man and you are overbearing chief is not a wealthy man or a rich man; because of the name of the chief you will rather he is a poor man; not be able to work well in your area to • you must be a reserved person so that assist your people. you do not create too many problems for These are the attributes which a person must your people or for your family; have in order to become a chief. • you must not be selfish because you must A chief cannot assume power if he alone states share with your people and your family; that he has become a chief and has no • you must not be greedy because if any administration within his area, because there will presents of food should accrue to you as be nobody to work and support him so that his chief you must share them with your power and regulations are respected. people and your family; Today chiefs do not have power over Vanuatu • you must not be quick to anger because if or individual islands simply because a man or a any problems arise you will not be able to person decides to declare himself a chief, or if take action quickly; only one or two families support him. Such a • you must be a man who is prepared to person is ignorant of the work to be performed listen and evaluate because if a person by a chief and of the rules and regulations of a advises, you must heed his advice; chief. Such a person may also be poorly educated The contribution • you must be respectful of other people or will be subject to political campaigning and be of AusAID to this series is because in this way you will be able to frightened by such activities. And some people acknowledged respect the important men of your think that today politics is better than customary with appreciation. community and your people; life or traditional life, but they forget that politics ISSN 1328 - 7834 State, Society and Governance in Melanesia 2 is subject to change any time. But custom has sometimes he declared that some Elders were never changed from the time of our ancestors chiefs as well as some Deacons. Thus the power until today. of customary life was reduced. This leads to the situation in every island THE TIMES OF OUR ANCESTORS around Vanuatu today where many people say that their ancestor was a chief before. Some such According to the custom of Aneityum a chief has claims are true but some are not true. Perhaps power over a large area which has a large they were just the ‘big men’ of the chief. It was population. The chief is like an umbrella for the the missionaries who started this problem population but every man or family under the concerning chieftainship. chief has their own rights to land. The chief has a Also, the missionaries said to the Elders and special piece of land assigned to him as chief, but the Deacons and the people that customary life he rules over a large area in his duties as chief. A was a wrong way of living. However, the large area such as that encompassed by the chief missionaries did not make it clear to them so that is divided into different sections. Within each they could realise properly which part of section are the chief’s ‘big men’, and below them customary life was bad and which part was good. is the general population. This caused people to begin to lose respect so These ‘big men’ direct work in one of the that the custom chief and his ‘big men’ who ran chief’s areas and they control the administration his customary administration were not held in of that area. The chief alone has no power, but he the same high esteem. together with his ‘big men’ run the And then there were traders who came to administration and assist the chief. An important buy sandalwood and barter things such as axes point is that they all respect one another, which and knives, etc. This caused the people to means that the chief has full power over abandon thoughts of staying home on the island everything, for example rules and regulations to assist the chief and old people and women and and anything else (but obviously in consultation). they thought that it would be a good thing to go When a piece of information reaches the chief he and work for Europeans. The result of this was cannot take any decision alone, but rather he that some went and worked for other people and must call together his ‘big men’ to discuss the some went and worked on ships. They no longer question. And the same rule applies to the chief’s thought about the traditional life and culture of ‘big men’—they must discuss the matter first of each island of Vanuatu. Also, when a chief lost all to ensure that decisions are correct and that power and he did not sit in judgement on people, traditional life proceeds in a satisfactory manner. the missionary was invited to come and adjudicate in times of trouble. This meant that WHEN THE MISSIONARIES BROUGHT people lost respect and lost their culture. And CHRISTIANITY when our young ancestors went overseas and came back after working on ships, the old people The missionaries did not respect to the chiefs had already died and much traditional because they perceived that the chief generated information was already lost. And so the proper his power from the ‘big men’ of each section and customary life and regulations and laws and oral so they just used the chief to gain access to each traditions were lost. However, they did not area. And the missionary used the chief’s ‘big worry about gaining this knowledge. men’ by making them Elders and Deacons and persuaded them to give their allegiance to the church, thereby isolating the chief. The missionary encouraged his church members and Chiefly Power in Southern Vanuatu WHEN EDUCATION CAME TO ANEITVUM Also, some chiefs tried to exercise their power 3 but some people followed the law of the When a person or his family sent a child to school government and said that the chief is wrong and they did not just think about putting him in reported him to the District Agent who put the school. Perhaps there was one of their old men chief in jail, which meant that the chief had really who was still alive. However, he had already lost lost his power. his customary knowledge because of the church On the other hand, when a person became and traders and education was only one cause of educated and joined the police and came back to confusion in terms of customary life and rules his island, sometimes a chief would hold a within any given area. meeting and these people would go and sit and Another point in this respect too is that listen to the chief and say ‘Oh, that’s not right!’, perhaps an old person was almost on the point of and sometimes they would challenge the chief death while the child was still at school. Then oral and cause the chief to be frightened and to invite traditions would die with the old man. And them to chair the meeting. These people would another point—perhaps the old man was say then that law and education was different knowledgeable about customary life but was altogether from custom. This would make many afraid to reveal this because of fear of the church. people trust the government administrators and This child may have become an adult and as no longer trust the chief or custom. far as his thoughts are concerned, he no longer THE PERIOD OF POLITICS thinks about customary life but rather he thinks about the knowledge that he has in his own head and also about his desire to earn lots of money. In 1978 and 1979 the V.P. struggled for In addition, if the father of this child was independence following customary ways. On 30 already deceased, this child would not have July 1980, Vanuatu achieved independence and knowledge of customary life. Rather, he would established a government which was led by the be capable of making up his own customs at V.P. and it created a Constitution which says that school! Perhaps a child would come back from March 5 is Chiefs Day to mark the fact that chiefs school and, while the oral tradition may still have have taken back their powers and land has been alive and well, when he saw that the local returned to its customary owners. But in the people were not well educated or not as well Constitution the government never made it clear educated as him, then he might think ‘Oh, I will that custom was restored.

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