DOCSLIB.ORG

H. Claessen Tongan Traditions - on Model-Building and Historical Evidence

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
H. Claessen Tongan Traditions - on Model-Building and Historical Evidence H. Claessen Tongan traditions - On model-building and historical evidence In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 144 (1988), no: 4, Leiden, 433-444 This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 12:32:20AM via free access HENRI J. M. CLAESSEN TONGAN TRADITIONS - ON MODEL- BUILDING AND HISTORICAL EVIDENCE Introduction During the past several years various scholars have tried, with the help of models, to unravel the complex history of the leading families of the Tonga Islands. In 1978, Adrienne Kaeppler published a study in which she applied the model of the circulating connubium (an asymmetrical system of exchange of spouses) to the marriages of the leading families of Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji. Kaeppler tried to support her views by postula- ting the existence of a system of exchange of goods between the three islands. She acknowledged, however, that the evidence for such an exchange of goods between Samoa and Fiji was limited, and that the Samoans she had consulted 'had difficulty thinking of any Samoan/ Fijian marriages' (Kaeppler 1978:250). Notwithstanding the weaknesses of her argument, Kaeppler's views were accepted and elaborated on by Friedman (1981,1982). Friedman used the Kaeppler hypothesis as the cornerstone of a lengthy theoretical discussion. This led him to hypothesize not only about the existence of a circulating connubium, but also about that of a system of prestige goods in Western Polynesia. Friedman not only relied on Kaeppler's views, but also referred in several instances to a study by Hjarno on social repro- duction in aboriginal Samoa (Hjarno 1979/80). Friedman's views were reiterated - though in a more cautious way - by Kirch (1984:224-226). Recently, Gunson (1987) published a substantial article on the position of 'sacred women chiefs' and 'female "headmen"' in Polynesia in which he also tried to unravel the intricate matrimonial relations in the Tonga- Samoa-Fiji area through the use of models. -There are no objections to the use of models to explain intricate social systems. The problem is, however, how to connect the empirical data with the properties of the model. There will always be some discrepancy HENRI J. M. CLAESSEN is a professor of anthropology at the University of Leiden. Specialized in political anthropology and anthropology of the Pacific, he is co-editor with Peter Skalnfk of The Early State, The Hague: Mouton, 1978, and with Pieter van de Velde of Early State Dynamics, Leiden: Brill, 1987. Prof. Claessen may be reached at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology, Stationsplein 12, Leiden. Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 12:32:20AM via free access 434 Henri J.M.Claessen between model and reality. The main differences are usually that either the data do not fit the model exactly, or some of the data required by the model are lacking. The solution to the first problem is to restudy the data, and find out if mistakes, of whatever kind, have been made. In this respect Kobben's article, 'Why Exceptions?' (1967), although aimed at problems of comparison, can be applied equally well to problems in connection with models and data. The second problem may be solved by systematically restudying the sources for data that may have been previously overlooked. It often appears that missing data can be tracked once one knows where to look for them (cf. De Josselin de Jong 1977). If, after careful research, it becomes apparent that the data resist the requirements of the model, however, the model must be rejected as being inapplicable to the problem under study. The purpose of this article is to discover whether the models that have been applied to explain the relations between Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji are tenable in light of the data presented in both recent and earlier publica- tions on the area. As the above-mentioned publications focus mainly on the Tonga Islands, I will do the same and will concentrate on these islands, too. An additional limitation, within the confines of this article, will be that marriage systems will be the focus of most of my attention. The Exchange of Goods It is generally agreed that the Tonga-Samoa-Fiji area of Polynesia is one of the regions where extensive contacts already existed between the islands in prehistoric times. Sharp, who some thirty years ago introduced the distinction between regions where deliberate voyages were possible, and regions where accidental voyages were dominant (Sharp 1957), included the Tongan area among those where deliberate voyages were possible (cf. Kirch 1984:48 ff.). This means that people here could travel from island to island, with a reasonable chance of reaching the goal they had in mind. Yet, we should not overestimate the sailing conditions. There are indications in various sources that even here long-distance voyages were not without risks. Schouten and Le Maire mention having encountered near Tongatapu, in 1616, a large double canoe whose crew was practically exhausted from prolonged lack of food or drink (Engel- brecht and Van Herwerden 1945,1:51,179). The missionary West, who lived in Tongatapu in the mid-nineteenth century, relates several voyages that ended in disaster. He mentions others which unintention- ally ended in other islands (West 1865:64, 76, 271; also Farmer 1855:219, 233). The story, cited by Mariner (1819:276-285), about a Tongan chief who went from Vavau to Fiji for sandalwood, 'dass in Tonga ungemein hoch geschatzt wird' (Mariner 1819:277), is also well known. The voyager lost everything in Futuna, where he was ship- wrecked, and returned to Fiji to get another load of sandalwood. In Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 12:32:20AM via free access Tbngan Traditions - Model Building and Historical Evidence 435 order to obtain this he had to visit several of the Fijian islands, and was obliged to take part in one of the many wars there. After a voyage of several years, he at last reached Vavau again. Such risks notwith- standing, voyages within the Tonga-Samoa-Fiji area were not regarded as being particularly dangerous, and many people participated in them. James Cook, during his visit to the Tonga Islands in 1777, was told about the islands of 'Hammoah (= Samoa), Vaughwaugh (= Vavau) and Fidgee (= Fiji), each larger than Tongatabu' (Cook 1967:162). With respect to Samoa and Fiji, he received the following information: 'Hammoah which is also under the domination of Tongatabu lies two days sail to the North or NW of Vaughwaugh, it is described as being the largest of all the islands, with harbours and every other necessary. Fidgee lays three days sail from Tongatabu in the direction of NWBW, they describe it as a high but very fruitful island abounding with Hogs, Dogs, Fowls and all the kind of fruit and roots that are found on any of the others. It is not subject to Tongatabu, on the Contrary they frequently make war on each other and it appeard from several circumstances that these people stand in much fear from those of Fidgee.' (Cook 1967:163.) Beaglehole, Cook's editor, points out in footnotes to this passage that Samoa was not dominated by Tongatapu at that time, and that there is no record of a war between Tonga and Fiji. These data demonstrate suffi- ciently that the distance between the islands did not prevent contacts between Tongans, Fijians and Samoans — or rather, between Tongans and Samoans, and between Tongans and Fijians. Data that would enable us to conclude that contacts also existed between Fiji and Samoa are very scant, to say the least (Kaeppler 1978:249; Hjarno 1979/80:117). Schoeffel (1987:180) mentions a certain tui samoa, a Samoan chief, who was said to have originally come from Fiji and whose successors took part in fights with the Tongans. This person, however, remains rather inconspicuous in other sources. Kirch (1984:241), therefore, makes the Tonga Islands the hub of a complex system of exchange, consisting of numerous dyadic relations. The Fijian goods that reached Samoa came there via Tonga, and conversely, Samoan goods in the Fiji Islands arrived there by way of the Tongan connection. One of the most import- ant goods to go from Fiji, via Tonga, to Samoa were red feathers (Hjarno 1979/80:117). Kaeppler (1978:250) suggests that wooden vessels and kava bowls may have gone from Samoa, via Tonga (?), to Fiji. Hjarno (1979/80:107,113-115) tries to explain the way in which red feathers were circulated in Samoa in terms of a system of distribution of prestige goods. This concept is elaborated by Kasja Ekholm, who defines prestige goods as 'products which are not necessary for material subsis- tence, but which are absolutely indispensable for the maintenance of Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 12:32:20AM via free access 436 Henri J. M. Claessen social relations' (Ekholm 1977:119). Those who possessed such goods could easily convert them into women and slaves - two categories of people given in exchange for prestige goods by lower-ranking lineage leaders. From this situation, which Ekholm found to be characteristic of the Early State of Kongo, she deduced that 'women tend to move up in the lineage hierarchy, wife-takers ranking higher than wife-givers' (Ekholm 1977:120). It was in this way that a conversion of 'money into human beings' was established (Ekholm 1977:120). The Samoan situa- tion conforms to Ekholm's model in many respects. Hjarno describes in detail how Samoan notables succeeded in importing red feathers from Tonga in exchange for their daughters. They then handed these out to lower-ranking chiefs in exchange for 'brides and toga [= mats, C.]' (Hjarno 1979/80:107,113-115).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • University of Auckland Research Repository, Researchspace
    Libraries and Learning Services University of Auckland Research Repository, ResearchSpace Copyright Statement The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). This thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: • Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. • Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognize the author's right to be identified as the author of this thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. • You will obtain the author's permission before publishing any material from their thesis. General copyright and disclaimer In addition to the above conditions, authors give their consent for the digital copy of their work to be used subject to the conditions specified on the Library Thesis Consent Form and Deposit Licence. Sauerkraut and Salt Water: The German-Tongan Diaspora Since 1932 Kasia Renae Cook A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in German, the University of Auckland, 2017. Abstract This is a study of individuals of German-Tongan descent living around the world. Taking as its starting point the period where Germans in Tonga (2014) left off, it examines the family histories, self-conceptions of identity, and connectedness to Germany of twenty-seven individuals living in New Zealand, the United States, Europe, and Tonga, who all have German- Tongan ancestry.
    [Show full text]
  • Tokelau the Last Colony?
    Tokelau The last colony? TONY ANGELO (Taupulega) is, and long has been, the governing body. The chairman (Faipule) of the council and a village head ITUATED WELL NORTH OF NEW ZEALAND and (Pulenuku) are elected by universal suffrage in the village SWestern Samoa and close to the equator, the small every three years. The three councils send representatives atolls of Tokelau, with their combined population of about to form the General Fono which is the Tokelau national 1600 people, may well be the last colony of New Zealand. authority; it originally met only once or twice a year and Whether, when and in what way that colonial status of advised the New Zealand Government of Tokelau's Tokelau will end, is a mat- wishes. ter of considerable specula- The General Fono fre- lion. quently repeated advice, r - Kirlb•ll ·::- (Gifb•rr I•) The recently passed lbn•b'a ' ......... both to the New Zealand (Oc: ..n I} Tokelau Amendment Act . :_.. PMtnb 11 Government and to the UN 1996- it received the royal Committee on Decoloni­ • •• roltfl•u assent on 10 June 1996, and 0/tlh.g• sation, that Tokelau did not 1- •, Aotum•- Uu.t (Sw•ln•J · came into force on 1 August 1 f .. • Tllloplol ~~~~~ !•J.. ·-~~~oa wish to change its status ~ ~ 1996 - is but one piece in ' \, vis-a-vis New Zealand. the colourful mosaic of •l . However, in an unexpected Tokelau's constitutional de­ change of position (stimu- velopment. lated no doubt by external The colonialism that factors such as the UN pro­ Tokelau has known has posal to complete its been the British version, and decolonisation business by it has lasted so far for little the year 2000), the Ulu of over a century.
    [Show full text]
  • Sacred Kingship: Cases from Polynesia
    Sacred Kingship: Cases from Polynesia Henri J. M. Claessen Leiden University ABSTRACT This article aims at a description and analysis of sacred kingship in Poly- nesia. To this aim two cases – or rather island cultures – are compared. The first one is the island of Tahiti, where several complex polities were found. The most important of which were Papara, Te Porionuu, and Tautira. Their type of rulership was identical, so they will be discussed as one. In these kingdoms a great role was played by the god Oro, whose image and the belonging feather girdles were competed fiercely. The oth- er case is found on the Tonga Islands, far to the west. Here the sacred Tui Tonga ruled, who was allegedly a son of the god Tangaloa and a woman from Tonga. Because of this descent he was highly sacred. In the course of time a new powerful line, the Tui Haa Takalaua developed, and the Tui Tonga lost his political power. In his turn the Takalaua family was over- ruled by the Tui Kanokupolu. The tensions between the three lines led to a fierce civil war, in which the Kanokupolu line was victorious. The king from this line was, however, not sacred, being a Christian. 1. INTRODUCTION Polynesia comprises the islands situated in the Pacific Ocean within the triangle formed by the Hawaiian Islands, Easter Island and New Zealand. The islanders share a common Polynesian culture. This cultural unity was established already in the eighteenth century, by James Cook, who ob- served during his visit of Easter Island in 1774: In Colour, Features, and Languages they [the Easter Islanders] bear such an affinity to the People of the more Western isles that no one will doubt that they have the same Origin (Cook 1969 [1775]: 279, 354–355).
    [Show full text]
  • Mapping the Information Environment in the Pacific Island Countries: Disruptors, Deficits, and Decisions
    December 2019 Mapping the Information Environment in the Pacific Island Countries: Disruptors, Deficits, and Decisions Lauren Dickey, Erica Downs, Andrew Taffer, and Heidi Holz with Drew Thompson, S. Bilal Hyder, Ryan Loomis, and Anthony Miller Maps and graphics created by Sue N. Mercer, Sharay Bennett, and Michele Deisbeck Approved for Public Release: distribution unlimited. IRM-2019-U-019755-Final Abstract This report provides a general map of the information environment of the Pacific Island Countries (PICs). The focus of the report is on the information environment—that is, the aggregate of individuals, organizations, and systems that shape public opinion through the dissemination of news and information—in the PICs. In this report, we provide a current understanding of how these countries and their respective populaces consume information. We map the general characteristics of the information environment in the region, highlighting trends that make the dissemination and consumption of information in the PICs particularly dynamic. We identify three factors that contribute to the dynamism of the regional information environment: disruptors, deficits, and domestic decisions. Collectively, these factors also create new opportunities for foreign actors to influence or shape the domestic information space in the PICs. This report concludes with recommendations for traditional partners and the PICs to support the positive evolution of the information environment. This document contains the best opinion of CNA at the time of issue. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the sponsor or client. Distribution Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. 12/10/2019 Cooperative Agreement/Grant Award Number: SGECPD18CA0027. This project has been supported by funding from the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • ILO Brief Results of Fiji and Samoa RA for PIFS Final 22 July 2020
    u ILO Brief 1 Findings of the Rapid Assessment (RA) in Fiji and Samoa u Impact of COVID19 on employment and business in the pacific July 2020 Findings of the Rapid Assessment (RA) in Fiji and Samoa Introduction working-hour losses would be equivalent to 340 million full- time jobs in the last quarter. According to the latest ILO Monitor:COVID19 and the World of Work ( 5 th Edition) 1 released on 30 th June 2020, the number of The ILO has developed a global policy framework for tackling working hours lost across the world in the first half of 2020 the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 crisis and it is was significantly worse than previously estimated. The world based on the premise that the crisis has a human face and, as of work has been impacted severely mainly by prolongation such, it calls for a human-centered response. The framework and extension of containment measures. Compared to the first is based on four Pillars: and second quarter 2019, the following were the percentage of (1) Stimulating the economy and employment, working hours lost and its equivalence to full time jobs, for the (2) Supporting enterprises, jobs and incomes, first half of 2020: (3) Protecting workers in the workplace, (4) Relying on social dialogue for solutions. 2020 Lost working hrs Eq. full time jobs To determine the impact of COVID19 on employment and Q1 5.40% 155m business in the Pacific Island Countries, the ILO Pacific Office is working with its National Tripartite Constituents in the Q2 14% 400m member countries to undertake Rapid Assessments (RA).
    [Show full text]
  • Christianity and Taufa'āhau in Tonga
    Melanesian Journal of Theology 23-1 (2007) CHRISTIANITY AND TAUFA‘ĀHAU IN TONGA: 1800-1850 Finau Pila ‘Ahio Revd Dr Finau Pila ‘Ahio serves as Principal of the Sia‘atoutai Theological College in Tonga. INTRODUCTION Near the centre of the Pacific Ocean lies the only island kingdom in the region, and the smallest in the world, Tonga. It is a group of small islands, numbering about 150, with only 36 of them inhabited, and which are scattered between 15º and 23º south latitude, and between 173º and 177º west longitude. The kingdom is divided into three main island groups: Tongatapu, situated to the south, Ha‘apai, an extensive archipelago of small islands in the centre, and Vava‘u, in the north. Tonga lies 1,100 miles northeast of New Zealand, and 420 miles southeast of Fiji. With a total area of 269 square miles, the population is more than 100,000, most of whom are native Polynesians. Tonga is an agricultural country, and most of the inhabited islands are fertile. The climate, however, is semi-tropical, with heavy rainfall and high humidity. Tonga, along with the rest of the Pacific, was completely unknown to Europe until the exploration of the area by the Spaniards and Portuguese during the 16th century. These explorers were seeking land to establish colonies, and to convert the inhabitants to Christianity. By the second decade of the 17th century, more explorers from other parts of Europe came into the area, to discover an unknown southern continent called “Terra Australis Incognita”, between South America and Africa. Among these, the Dutch were the first Europeans to discover Tonga.
    [Show full text]
  • Seeds of Hope
    Seeds of hope CARITAS STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT FOR OCEANIA 2019 REPORT CARITAS Teruabine Anna Nuariki from Kiribati Climate Action Network: “Mangroves are our giants – they protect our land from erosion. We have to plant because that will solve our problem … it can help to stop the tide and the strong waves from coming, that will help to lessen it and to hold our sand.” Contents Introduction 1 Coastal erosion and sea level rise 12 Caritas Oceania environmental monitoring 3 Offshore mining and drilling 14 Oceania voices 2019 – on the map 4 Climate finance 16 Caritas assessment 2019 6 Extreme weather and climate finance tables 18 Extreme weather 8 Conclusion and recommendations 19 Food and water 10 The last word – from the past to the future 20 Tutū ana te puehu Stirring up the dust Introduction The Caritas State of the Environment for Oceania report series has monitored critical issues affecting the life and wellbeing of Oceania and its peoples since 2014. The five main issues we monitor are: rising seas and coastal erosion, extreme weather, access to safe local food and water, offshore mining and drilling, and climate finance. For the life of Oceania, we continue Let us all climb aboard to call for urgent action to limit the same canoe global warming to 1.5 degrees, and and together seek a climate finance to assist our poorest better world, with the communities. This target is imperative constantly renewed for survival in Oceania. momentum of the The climate emergency hit the mainstream in 2019. Local and national Holy Spirit.
    [Show full text]
  • A) China's Development Assistance in PNG, Samoa and Tonga
    The Development Needs of Pacific Island Countries Report prepared by: Graeme Smith, George Carter, Mao Xiaojing, Almah Tararia, Elisi Tupou and Xu Weitao The Development Needs of Pacific Island Countries DISCLAIMER: The analysis and policy recommendations of the research paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Development Programme, its Executive Board or its Member States. The designations employed in the paper do not imply the expressions of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations or UNDP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The recommendations of the paper are solely the views of the researchers and do not reflect the views of any government, including Australia, China, Tonga, Samoa, or Papua New Guinea, or other; or other organization. All rights reserved. Any part of this publication may be quoted, copied, or translated by indicating the source. No part of this publication may be used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from UNDP China. The Development Needs of Pacific Island Countries Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ 1 List of Tables and Figure ......................................................................................................... 3 1. An Introduction to the Research Project ........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Pollen Evidence for Plant Introductions in a Polynesian Tropical Island Ecosystem, Kingdom of Tonga 253
    Pollen evidence for plant introductions in a Polynesian tropical island ecosystem, Kingdom of Tonga 253 14 Pollen evidence for plant introductions in a Polynesian tropical island ecosystem, Kingdom of Tonga Patricia L. Fall School of Geographical Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States [email protected] Introduction The dynamic nature of tropical Pacific ecosystems results from chance migrations and the evolution of founder species, as well as from physical factors such as changes in sea level, ocean currents, tectonic processes and climate (Hope 2001). In addition, this region’s vegetation is constantly adjusting through succession to local perturbations like landslides and tropical cyclones. These ecological and physical processes are compounded by continued immigration of new species, competition, extinctions and extirpation of species. For many island ecosystems the most dramatic impact on species composition results from the arrival of humans and their ‘co-voyaging’ plants and animals (Hope 2001). The degree to which climatic or other natural variations, versus human impacts, have caused recent environmental fluctuations in island ecosystems is an ongoing debate (cf. Nunn 1994; Burney 1997). In this paper, I examine palynological evidence for plants introduced to several islands in the three main island groups of Tongatapu, Ha’apai and Vava’u in the Kingdom of Tonga. My purpose is to briefly document the history of the tropical rainforests of Tonga as they can be reconstructed from pollen cores, to understand the role that humans played in the development of the Tongan flora, and to discuss plant introductions to the islands by both Polynesian and later European settlers. Losses or increases in plant species on remote islands are controlled by many factors, including habitat change, natural factors, and loss of dispersers or pollinators.
    [Show full text]
  • Fruit Flies in American Samoa, Niue, Tokelau, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna
    PEST ADVISORY LEAFLET NO. 39 Plant Protection Service Secretariat of the Pacific Community 2001 Fruit Flies in American Samoa, Niue, Tokelau, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna Six fruit fly species have been recorded from trapping and B. distincta, B. obscura and B. new species near host fruit surveys in American Samoa, Niue, Wallis and passiflorae, attack non-edible, wild or forest fruits and Futuna, Tuvalu and Tokelau (Table 1). These include three vegetables. economic species (Bactrocera kirki, B. xanthodes and B. passiflorae) and three non-economic species (B. Little information is available on the range of host plants distincta, B. obscura and B. new species near infested by fruit flies in the country and territories covered passiflorae). in this leaflet. Total number of economic and wild hosts cited in Table 1 are based on intensive host fruit surveying Fruit flies are economically important because they cause carried out since 1991 under the Regional Fruit Fly Project damage to fruits and vegetables that are of commercial in Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji Islands, and since 1997 value or are edible, and hinder international and domestic as part of the Oriental fruit fly eradication programme in trade of fruits and fleshy vegetables. They center their French Polynesia. Host records cited under species profiles activities on the host plant, which provide sites for adult for B. xanthodes, B. kirki and B. passiflorae provide an feeding, mating, egg laying, larval development and pupae indication of what the most common hosts may be in the development in the soil underneath the plant. The adult fe- countries and territories covered here.
    [Show full text]
  • Tier 1 Countries Andorra Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Aruba Australia
    Tier 1 Countries Tier 1 Countries Tier 2 Countries Tier 3 Countries Tier 4 Countries (continued) Andorra Qatar Albania Angola Afghanistan Antigua and Barbuda San Marino Algeria Anguilla Benin Argentina Saudi Arabia American Samoa Bangladesh Burkina Faso Aruba Seychelles Armenia Bhutan Burundi Australia Singapore Azerbaijan Bolivia Central African Rep. Austria Sint Maarten Belarus Cabo Verde Chad Bahamas Slovak Republic Belize Cambodia Comoros Bahrain Slovenia Bosnia/Herzegovina Cameroon Dem. Rep. of Congo Barbados South Korea Botswana Congo Eritrea Belgium Spain Brazil Cook Islands Ethiopia Bermuda St Kitts/Nevis Bulgaria Côte d’Ivoire Gambia British Virgin Islands St Martin China Djibouti Guinea Brunei Darussalam Sweden Colombia Egypt Guinea-Bissau Canada Switzerland Costa Rica El Salvador Haiti Cayman Islands Taiwan Cuba French Guiana Liberia Channel Islands Trinidad/Tobago Dominica French So. Territories Madagascar Chile Turks and Caicos Dominican Republic Georgia Malawi Croatia United Arab Emirates Ecuador Ghana Mali Curacao United Kingdom Equatorial Guinea Guadeloupe Mozambique Cyprus United States Fiji Honduras Nepal Czech Republic Uruguay Gabon India Niger Denmark Virgin Islands Grenada Indonesia North Korea Estonia Guatemala Kenya Rwanda Faroe Islands Guyana Kiribati Senegal Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Iran Kosovo Sierra Leon Finland Iraq Kyrgyz Republic Somalia France Jamaica Lao PDR South Sudan French Polynesia Jordan Lesotho Syrian Arab Republic Germany Kazakhstan Mauritania Tajikistan Gibraltar Lebanon Mayotte Tanzania Greece
    [Show full text]
  • Spiders from Some Pacific Islands, Part IV the Cook Islands and Niue
    Spiders from Some Pacific Islands, Part IV The Cook Islands and Niue B. J. MARPLES1 THE COOK ISLANDS are a group of small islands arately. Of the 30 species, 27 are recorded also in the region of the central South Pacific from Samoa, 15 from the Cook Islands, and 11 bounded by 8°_23° S. and 156°-16r W. They from ',' the Society Islands. Samoa is the largest are divisible into two groups, the northern land mass in this region and the one whose Cooks which are small atolls, and the southern spider fauna is best known. Fiji, to the west, Cooks which, with one exception, are volcanic has not yet been adequately explored. Of the islands. The southern Cooks are surrounded by three species recorded from Niue but not from coral formations and in some cases have been Samoa, N ephila prolixa represents the most raised so that the islands have a coral rim up easterly extension of the genus in the Pacific. to 300 ft. high. The largest island is Rarotonga, It occurs in Fiji and Tonga and was recorded with an area of some 26 sq. mi. and rising to by Koch (l871) some 90 years ago in Samoa, a height of 2,140 ft. The Society Islands, the but it has not been recorded there since. Dras­ next group to the east, lie some 600 mi. from sodes ciusi, a new r ec ord, was previously Raroronga. described from N ew Caledonia and the Loyalty The island of N iue will be considered to­ Islands far to the west.
    [Show full text]