The Main Activities of the People of Tikopia and the Advent of Christianity - Essay Example

Cultural Anthropology: The Tikopia of Melanesia Affiliation with more information about affiliation,research grants, conflict of interest and how to contact Cultural Anthropology: The Tikopia of Melanesia This paper deals with the primary subsistence mode of the people of Tikopia, which is agriculture and fishing. This paper also dwells on the chiefdoms and kinship system with respect to the subsistence and the beliefs. Besides, it also incorporates the role of religion in the life of these people and analyses how the advent of Christianity and missionary work has influenced their culture and social system. Introduction: Tikopia lies to the east of the protectorate British Solomon Islands and around 1200 people, who have the homogenous culture and speech, inhabit in this land. They have close affinity to Samoa, Tonga. “Homogenous in speech and culture, they are a unit of what may be termed the ‘Polynesian fringe’ in Melanesia, their closest affinities being not with the people of Solomon’s region but with those of Samoa, Tonga and even more distant groups to the east” (Firth, 1936, p. 3). The people of Tikopia have less interest in science, technology and decorative art. They follow a complex system of rituals and customs and they are greatly attached to their customs and rituals. They have specialized hospitality traditions and are very sensitive to public opinions. They follow a very crooked nature where they criticize peoples and figures privately while they praise the same in a public place. They are of the viewpoint that human life is of social welfare and they do not distinguish people upon the basis of wealth that a person possesses and rank that a person holds in the society. Kinship Feelings: The most important aspect in their kinship is the tie or relation or the feelings that exist between the living and the dead. This aspect is expressed concretely in ritual terms through traditional and ritual ceremonies. The traditional belief in the kinship is that which is shared between the dead and the living and how the living people believe that the dead relatives and ancestors will provide assistance to their subsistence activities like agriculture and fishing. The living people are of the viewpoint that the dead play an important role in their surviving kinsfolk. Fishing and working in the orchids are the prime activities of Tikopia people. Whether it is fishing or agricultural activities there was a series of rituals which controlled these activities and ensured that they were fully productive. These rituals were presided over by a single chief who is also known as ‘Ariki’. This ‘ariki’ was known to promote the welfare of the whole island. The clan chiefs held titular control over the lands owned by the members of the respective clan and the chiefs were called to settle disputes with respect to possession of lands and the chief’s verdict was the final which the whole island had to follow. The chiefs also determine the ritual ownership of the lakes and play an important role in fishing too. Even though land could be possessed by only one person yet it could be rented out for the purpose of cultivation which is determined by the chief. Agriculture: In Tikopia there exist several principles of land tenure because agriculture is the primary subsistence for these people. They received land through inheritance and land with the soil form an important and inevitable part of the life of the Tikopian people. Among them there exists a belief that the foregone generations who owned the land are always keeping a watch over the land and guide the people to excel in their primary mode of subsistence which is agriculture. The chief is the head of a clan of Tikopian people. This chieftaincy and obeying his power is also a part of their existence as a clan. The land of Tikopia is divided by way of orchards and each person’s land is marked as small plots which are used by individuals for annual cropping. A person owns a plot of land as his hereditary right and there are rights imposed upon by the clan chief. There is no permanent transfer or sale of land by the people even though lands can be gifted to others, as in the case of parents transferring the property to their daughter on the occasion of the marriage of the daughter. “On the island, Tikopia are primarily agriculturalists and fishers. Crops include taro (Colocasia), manioc (cassava, Manihot), giant taro (Alocasia), and sago (Metroxylon). In the settlements abroad their occupations include agriculture, plantation labor, police and hospital work, and school teaching. In general, Tikopia have not engaged in commerce” (Tikopia – Economy, 2011, para. 1). The primary crops which are cultivated in the Tikopian are Colocaisa and Alocasia. However, they are less developed in commerce and other trade activities. In Tikopia land is an ancestral property and cannot be transferred or sold. Shifting cultivation was abandoned in favor of permanent gardens and selective forests. “Population growth historically was regulated by numerous cultural means, including ritual sanctions, abortion and infanticide, and by emigration. Firth reported that celibacy was required of younger brothers” (Bodley, 2011, p. 200). One of the unique features of Tikopia is that there are no people without land in this place. Fishing: Fishing is another major means of subsistence for the Tikopians. Thus, even lakes are considered to be a very important property. It is kept as personal property of people and it is under the control of the jurisdiction of chiefs. The principle of fishing in lakes is also quite similar to taro planting. “Molluscs appear to have been a very important food source for early human colonists in the Pacific Islands, but declines in abundance through harvest pressure and environmental changes forced a greater reliance on fin-fish capture and on agriculture” (Dalzell, 2011). In Tikopia village is a social activity there is cooperation in fishing. It involves certain ritual celebrations. Long narratives of fishing and sea voyaging are transferred by elders to younger generations so that they identify themselves with the culture and maintain their tradition. The boys consider fishing on the reef not just a part of their profession but as a part of their sport activity. “Review for Melanesia shows that customary marine tenure and fishing taboos are primarily designed to manage relationships between social groups, rather than to sustain food security from fisheries” (Fish and Fisheries, 2010). Fishing is a variable activity and is dependent on the daily covering of the thin band of reef by the tide. Women also engage in the task of fishing on the reef. When the female folks set out for fishing, the men of the family look after the kids. They prefer to use their own native fishing gears which comprise of nets and lines instead of the modernized European fishing gears. A boy is formally introduced to the initial torchlight fishing by his uncle (mother’s brother) and on his safe return to the shore he is rewarded by his father. While the men are primarily engaged in wood works apart from fishing and agriculture, the women folks are committed to the domestic works. While men use spears and seine nets for fishing purposes, women use the hand nets for it. In agricultural activities also men’s and women’s activities are different. While men do more labor activities like breaking up the soil and planting, women do less laborious jobs like weeding and planting. Tikopia’s culture has been divided by historians into three phases and their relation with the Melanesian people marked the third phase. Tikopia had irregular but much sustained cultural relations with the Melanesian peoples. “Was this the persistence of culture or were they quoting?” (Jaarsma & Rohatynskyj, 2000, p. 109) The advent of Christianity has impacted the social, political and religious life of the people of Tikopia. The missionaries brought into Tikopia large number of European products which they used as a lure to convert people into Christianity. Since European goods were not available to the people of Tikopia, receiving of these goods especially tools this way allured them into embracing Christianity. The missionaries also influenced the clothing aspects in Tikopia. However, the use of native clothing was encouraged. The enforcement of Sabbath is a major aspect in their social life due to the missionaries and all the people of Faea used to follow this. It was also mandatory for Christians to attend church for morning and evening services. Thus, the arrival of the missionaries and the spread of Christianity had greatly influenced the social life in the region. Due to this, the ceremonies such as ‘initiation’ were shortened by the missionaries and this interfered with the customs of Tikopia. Another impact of the missionary work was that the power of the chiefs was diluted. Thus, the missionaries achieved great mileage in implementing their rules, regulations and traditions in the region. The Tikopian community comprised a hierarchy of four chiefs and they were rulers of different clan of kinsmen. They worked on land and their motive is to fulfill the responsibilities that were expected of them as dictated by the rituals. They also brought about several changes. Previously the pigs were raised for protein and considered as a luxury item but there was a social change and the pigs were declared as unsustainable. Pagan chiefs also decided to convert to the religion of Christianity when they found that many of the people embraced this faith. Thus, they were forced to change their minds in order to maintain unity throughout the island, which was possible only by accepting one common religion. The advent of Christianity made marriages mandatory for all members of the community, including the younger siblings who ere previously banned from marriages. Abortion and female infanticides also decreased because of the influence of the missionaries. Conclusion: The main activities of the people of Tikopia are agriculture and fishing and these activities are done on the basis of the rituals and traditions which have been passed on through generations. The chief clan plays an important role in the control of these activities. However, after the advent of Christianity the social system has undergone drastic changes and many customs were discarded or replaced with those of the new faith. Reference List Bodley, J. H. (2011). Cultural Anthropology: Tribes, States, and the Global System. 5th Edn. AltaMira Press. United Kingdom. Retrieved Aug. 23, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=IBD3vXrMFL0C&pg=PA200&dq=agriculture+and+fishing+in+tikopia&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false Dalzell, P. (2011). The Role of Archaeological and Cultural-Historical Records in Long-Range Coastal Fisheries Resources Management Strategies and Policies in the Pacific Islands. Elsevier B. V. Retrieved Aug. 23, 2011, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096456919800043X Fish and Fisheries, (1999). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Retrieved Aug. 23, 2011, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-2979.2010.00395.x/full Firth, R. (1936). We, The Tikopia: A Sociological Study of Kinship in Primitive Polynesia: Anthropology and Ethnography. George Allen & Unwin Ltd. Routledge Library Editions. Retrieved Aug. 23, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Eiji-EnuhXUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Tikopia+of+Melanesia&cd=1#v=onepage&q=%20Melanesia&f=false Jaarsma, S. R. & Rohatynskyj, M. (2000). Ethnographic Artifacts: Challenges to a Reflexive Anthropology. University of Hawai’i Press. Retrieved Aug. 23, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Rn2idWtLj_QC&oi=fnd&pg=PA107&dq=The+Tikopia+of+Melanesia&ots=aMrx3EuNPb&sig=VvHyO389KPVd5Un9OAiJP1AdEvo#v=onepage&q=The%20Tikopia%20of%20Melanesia&f=false Tikopia – Economy, (2011). Advameg, Inc. Retrieved Aug. 23, 2011, from http://www.everyculture.com/Oceania/Tikopia-Economy.html Read More