CULTURAL POLITICS: DISCORD AND FACTIONALISM IN NEW CALEDONIA, 1991 TO 1993 Margaret Alison Taylor A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of London 1997 LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE 1 UMI Number: U109404 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U109404 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 I w£S£S> F 74^7 ABSTRACT This thesis focusses on the activities of a group of young French people staying in a hostel in Noumea from 1991 to 1993. It draws on my fieldwork in Noumea and Mare in the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia. The main part of the thesis looks at the interactions of this group of young people with other ethnic and social groups living in New Caledonia. These include the Kanaks, the “Caldoches” (native-born Caledonians of French origin), the “Metros” (immigrants from metropolitan France), Pacific islanders, Vietnamese and Indonesians. The thesis also includes a short section describing Mare itself and my fieldwork there. Particular attention is paid to the Kanaks and to the Caldoches, whose rural and urban lifestyles are compared and contrasted to those of the young people being studied. Relations between these young people, newly arrived in the French Pacific, and those of the colony's established inhabitants, allow themes of globalization, travel, knowledge, reflexivity and alterity to be explored vis-a-vis anthropological theory. Kanak behaviour, towards Kanaks and others, is shown to relate to ideas of knowledge, power, gender and hierarchy, prevalent in both Polynesia and Melanesia. 2 The work is underpinned by explanations of, and references to, the international and local historical and geographical context of New Caledonian social and political behaviour. It attempts to show the bitter disputes and resentments arising between ethnic groups. It discusses civil unrest, the Kanaks’ desire for independence, and some possible economic and social consequences. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Too many people have directly and indirectly helped me to complete this thesis for me to be able to thank them all. Professor Joanna .Overing and the late Professor Alfred Gell, my academic supervisors at the London School of Economics, were both extremely kind and patient towards me, despite the many demands which I made upon their time and generosity. Dr Peter Loizos, Dr James Woodburn, other members of staff, and my fellow students have also helped me. In particular, I should like to thank Mark Jamieson, Leonie Kindness, Louise Perrotta, Paul Oldham, Ali Murat Yel, and all members of the Writing-Up Seminar. I greatly appreciated the detailed comments and advice given to me by Professor Joanna Overing, Dr Felicia Hughes-Freeland, and Dr David McKnight, enabling me to produce the final version of this thesis. In France and New Caledonia, I was grateful for the advice and assistance of the members of the “Etudes des societes kanak” group, and of many other people, in Mare, Lifou, and Noumea. Above all, I must thank my parents and brothers for their continuing love and support, without which this thesis would not have been written. The Economic and Social Research Council, the (French) Ministere de I’Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche, the University of London Central Research Fund, the Scholarships Office of the University of London, and the Scholarships Office of the London School of Economics and Political Science, were generous in their financial aid. Needless to say, any errors or shortcomings are mine alone. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Notes on Nomenclature and Translation 9 List and Abbreviations of Political Parties and Organizations Referred to in the Text 12 Preface 15 Part 1 - New Caledonia in Perspective 1. Geography and Economy of New Caledonia 27 2. The History of New Caledonia 31 3. Kanak and European Interactions 40 4. From the 1850s to the Second World War - Land, Migration, and Descent 59 5. From the Post-War Period to the Present - Mass Immigration and the Nickel Boom 65 Part 2 - Fieldwork 6. Fieldwork in Mare 71 7. The Social Organization of Mare 84 8. Culture Shock 95 B Part 3 - The Noumea Hostel and its Inhabitants 9. The Hostel 102 10. The Hostellers 108 11. The Workers 120 12. The Travellers 132 13. The Misfits: Staying On 160 14. Data Gathering and Presentation 180 15. Leaving the Auberge 205 Part 4 - Noumea 16. The Town of Noumea 211 17. Travellers and Tourists 228 18. On the Town: Social Activities Outside the Auberge and the Recreational Use of Drugs and Alcohol 254 19. Politics, People and the Reinforcement of Cultural Identity 280 20. The Hostellers’ Interaction with the Caldoches 307 21. The Hostellers’ Relationships with the Kanaks 323 22. “Les Evenements” and their Aftermath: the Caldoches’ Relationship with the Kanaks 332 Part 5 - Conclusions 23. Cultural Politics 343 24. Conclusions 362 Maps and Illustrations 379 Reference Bibliography 38 5 Supplementary Bibliography 397 [Total no. of 412 • pages, inc. 94 a-f.] 0 LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS Linguistic Map of New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands 379 Map of Mare 380 Maps of New Caledonia and Noumea 381 Life in Mare 382 The Caledonian Idyll: “Noumea la blanche” 383 The Road to Independence 384 8 NOTES ON NOMENCLATURE AND TRANSLATION In the text I use various terms to describe the different ethnic and social groups in New Caledonia. These terms are intended to be as value-free as possible, given the need for clarity, although [ have tried to respect people’s sensibilities. Caldoches has an ambivalent status, being resented as an ugly vulgarity by some, who prefer the term Caledonians, “caledoniens”, but being adopted by others, who use it as a badge of identity, in this case, I use it to indicate those Caledonians of largely French descent who were born and bred in the territory. Caledonians describes all the inhabitants of New Caledonia who were born and bred there, plus those immigrants who have consciously adopted it as their own country. Caledonians includes Caldoches, Vietnamese, Pacific Islanders, etcetera. It usually does not include Kanaks, except in particular contexts. Europeans describes white people, whose physical appearance is European as opposed to Kanak, Polynesian, Asiatic, etcetera. European can therefore include the Caldoches as well as the Metros, and Europeans of non-French origin. Hostellers applies to those people resident at the Noumea hostel, simply because other words or phrases appeared too cumbersome. The hostellers often referred to themselves as the people from the hostel, “les gens de I’auberge”, but I felt that something simpler was needed. Kanaks describes the indigenous inhabitants of New Caledonia. It is used collectively as with Kanak culture, Kanak society, when focussing on common elements, although it is possible to argue that the differing Melanesian language groups and high chiefships of New Caledonia constitute a series of micro-cultures and micro-societies. Before the independence movement became established, the term Kanak was seen as an insult. Now its formal use indicates pro-independence sympathies, while Melanesians, “melanesiens”, is often seen as indicating the opposite, a desire to retain links with France. Melanesians describes people from Melanesia, including Kanaks, but also Vanuatans, Papuans, etcetera. 10 Metros (“metropolitains”) is the neutral term used by Caledonians for people from metropolitan France, originally contrasting “metropolitains” with “colonials”. The vulgar term is “les z’oreilles”. Pacific Islanders usually refers to immigrants from Wallis, Futuna, Tahiti, and elsewhere in French Polynesia, and Vanuatu, but can mean all the island inhabitants of the Pacific, depending on context. Polynesians refers to Pacific Islanders from Polynesia. V illage describes Kanak villages but in New Caledonia the most popular word, with all parties, is tribe, “la tribu”. Villages are generally identical with tribal homes. For historical reasons, given the crowding of Kanaks on to reservations, this is more problematic on the mainland, la Grande Terre, than on the Loyalty Islands. “La tribu” carries no derogatory meanings. I have used tribe throughout the text simply to distinguish Kanak tribes from New Caledonia’s several ethnic groups (Kanaks, Tahitians, Vietnamese etcetera). Translation. Except when stated otherwise, all translations are mine. Identities. Informants’ names and other identifying details have been changed. 11 LIST AND ABBREVIATIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES AND ORGANIZATIONS REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT A IC LF Association des Indigenes Caledoniens, Amis de la Liberte dans I’Ordre Association of Caledonian Natives, Friends of Freedom through Order FLNKS Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak et Socialiste Front for Kanak and Socialist National Liberation FLP (later known as Tavini Huiraatira) Front de Liberation de la Polynesie Polynesian Liberation Front Foulards Rouges (later known as LKS) Red Scarves Front National National Front FULK Front Uni de Liberation Kanak et Socialiste United Front for Kanak Socialist Liberation 12 LKS Liberation Kanak Socialiste Kanak Socialist Liberation MOP Mouvement pour L’Ordre et la Paix Movement for Order and Peace OAS Organisation de I’Armee Secrete Secret Army Organization P A LIK A Parti de Liberation Kanak Kanak Liberation Party RPCR Rassemblement pour la Caledonie dans la Republique Gathering for French Republican New Caledonia Tavini Huiraatira A Tahitian independence party (translation not available). Formerly known as FLP. UC Union Caledonienne Caledonian Union 13 UICALO Union des Indigenes Caledoniens et Loyaltiens Frangais Union of Indigenous French Caledonians and Loyalty Islanders UO Union Oceanienne .