Urban Vakavanua: Reconciling Tradition and Urban Development A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Lucas Watt Master of Arts in Development Studies, University of Auckland School of Media and Communication College of Design and Social Context RMIT University January 2019 1 Declaration I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed. I acknowledge the support I have received for my research through the provision of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. Lucas Watt 14/01/2019 2 3 Acknowledgements I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge several individuals and groups of people who have assisted me through this research. I would first like to acknowledge my primary supervisor Dr Heather Horst without whom this research could not have been possible. In the field, many unpredictable events formed that at times seemed impossible to decipher. Her intellectual guidance allowed me to persevere in gathering data that revealed what was happening in the urban field. At times this material was personally challenging to observe. I was privileged to be able to draw from her ethnographic research experiences in approaching and dealing with these circumstances. I express my utmost personal gratitude to her in supporting me as a researcher. I would also like to acknowledge my supervisors Dr John Postill, Dr Supriya Singh, who also guided me throughout this research. Their intellectual guidance opened me up to ideas and concepts that could be applied to my research. This allowed me to more effectively analyse and present the data I gathered in the field. I also acknowledge Dr Robert Foster who at various stages offered his advice and guidance. I would also like to acknowledge the Fijian family that welcomed me into their home in the urban village of Veitiri. They generously allowed me to stay with them for the entire ten months of my fieldwork. Their hospitality surpassed anything that I could have dreamed. Furthermore, they were crucial in introducing me to a broader network of people in Veitiri and other places across Suva and Fiji. Without them, I would not have been able to observe and record their stories. There were many personal friends and family that have supported me. I would first like to thank my parents Anne and Greg Watt. They have been my role models and mentors whom I follow in. They encouraged me to pursue this research through their unconditional support. I would also like to express my most heartfelt gratitude to Sally Stead. She has lived this thesis as much as I have. I could not have completed this thesis without her emotional support. I want to thank the Stead and Patterson family who also lifted my morale merely through their presence. To the many other friends and family who supported me, I appreciate each of your contributions. Research for this thesis, including a PhD stipend, was funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP140103773, The Moral and Cultural Economy of Mobile Phones in the Pacific led by CI Heather A. Horst and PI Robert J. Foster. I thank the ARC and the Investigators for their support. 4 Table of Contents Decleration ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ 3 Table of Figures ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Glossary .................................................................................................................................................. 7 1. Abstract......................................................................................................................................... 10 2. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 12 Defining Urban Vakavanua ............................................................................................................... 13 Meeting the City’s Gaze ................................................................................................................ 14 Urban Moral Ambiguity ................................................................................................................ 16 Urban Social Change ..................................................................................................................... 18 Urban Vakavanua ......................................................................................................................... 22 Approaching the Field ....................................................................................................................... 26 Field of Residential Affairs ............................................................................................................ 29 Technology and Communication .................................................................................................. 30 An Ethnographic Approach ........................................................................................................... 32 Thesis Structure ................................................................................................................................ 35 3. “This Land is Ikovukovu”: Producing Traditional Connections to Urban Lands ......................... 39 Searching for a History of Veitiri ....................................................................................................... 39 Ancestors of the Urban Village ......................................................................................................... 41 Ancestors of the Village City ............................................................................................................. 44 A Legacy of Fijian Urban Exclusion .................................................................................................... 46 Ikovukovu Land Ownership Narratives ............................................................................................. 50 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 52 4. “We Don’t Use Mobile”: Communicating Traditional Land Ownership Narratives in the Field of Residential Affairs ................................................................................................................................ 54 Talk .................................................................................................................................................... 54 Maps and Land Titles ........................................................................................................................ 57 Kinship Lineages and Map Theft ....................................................................................................... 61 Broken Formal and Informal Agreements ........................................................................................ 64 We Don’t Use Mobile ........................................................................................................................ 66 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 69 5. Currents of Identity: Spaces of Electricity Access and Informal Power Grids ............................ 71 Encoding Urbanism through Infrastructure ...................................................................................... 71 Spaces of Electricity Access ............................................................................................................... 75 5 Destruction of Spaces of Electricity Sharing ..................................................................................... 81 Informal Power Grids ........................................................................................................................ 83 Accessing Electricity in a New Context ............................................................................................. 88 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 89 6. The Unbounded Urban Village: Insurgent Citizenship and Spaces of Urban Male Youth ......... 91 Urban Fragmentation........................................................................................................................ 92 Insurgent Citizenship......................................................................................................................... 94 From Insurgent Citizenship to Insurgent Spaces .............................................................................. 99 Insurgent Citizenship and Urban Spaces of Male Youth ................................................................