Kwaio
Encyclopedia
Kwaio is an ethnic group found in central Malaita
, in the Solomon Islands
. According to Ethnologue
, they numbered 13,249 in 1999. Much of what is known about the Kwaio is due to the work of the Marxian anthropologist Roger M. Keesing, who lived among them starting in the 1960s.
Their main mode of economic activity was traditionally subsistence farming of taro
, which could be planted and harvested continuously in swidden agriculture. Other important crops include yam
s and plantain
s. Bird
s, insect
s, fish
, and cuscus
were occasional additions to what was mainly a vegetarian diet. Taro production suffered in a severe blight in the 1950s, and has been replaced by the sweet potato
, a food of much lower prestige.
Kwaio settlement was traditionally in very small settlements dotted close together. Missionary activity, predominantly in coastal areas, has encouraged the growth of larger settlements.
According to oral tradition, the land was first cleared 1200 to 2000 years ago. The tracts cleared at this time are marked by shrines, and in effect established title for the clans descended agnatically from these ancestors. In practice, other non-agnatic descendants have secondary rights to the land, which may be strengthened by residence, especially during childhood, and participation in the descent groups' affairs. Because people can have claims in several different descent groups, land rights have some degree of flexibility.
Kwaio have been more resistant than other nearby peoples in the continuation of their beliefs. The traditional religion is a form of ancestor worship, which recognizes the power of the deceased to intervene in affairs. There are strict rules regarding taboo
(Kwaio: abu), and violations of them must be redressed with sacrifices. One example of a powerful ancestral force is La'aka
, fear of whom led to the Maasina Ruru
movement.
Kwaio were first brought into contact with the outside world in 1868, when two men were taken from their canoe, and then returned bearing steel tools, novelty items, and stories about their experience. Within a small amount of time, many young Kwaio sought the adventures, and were brought to sugarcane plantations in Queensland
and on Fiji
for their labor. The appearance of steel (replacing rough chert
blades) and firearms revolutionized the Kwaio way of life, as leisure time was greatly increased by the new tools and blood feud
s escalated. Kwaio also attempted to avenge the deaths of those who died overseas, and they earned a reputation as a fierce and dangerous group. Missionaries from the South Seas Evangelical Church
were brought to support those in Queensland who had become Christians there, and enclaves were established in the lowlands.
The efforts of the Australian District Officer William R. Bell
were to pacify the area and establish means to collect a head tax, and capitulate to the British colonial regime. On his fifth annual tax collection, in October 1927, he was killed, along with one other white man and 13 Solomon Islanders in his charge. A massive punitive expedition
, known as the Malaita massacre
ensued; at least 60 people were killed, and nearly 200 detained in Tulagi
(the then capital), where 30 further died from dysentery
and other problems. Furthermore, relatives of the slain Solomon Islanders sought spiritual revenge by the deliberate desecration of sacred sites and objects, which is seen by surviving elders as the origin of many of the struggles the people have suffered in recent times, including epidemics, the breakdown of traditional morality, and the taro blight. Kwaio culture was greatly transformed, but after several years was able to regain its traditional practices and social structure. However, there is more personal independence for younger people and blood feuding is no longer practiced.
Malaita
Malaita is the largest island of the Malaita Province in the Solomon Islands. A tropical and mountainous island, Malaita's pristine river systems and tropical forests have not been exploited. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with 140,000 people or more than a third of the...
, in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. According to Ethnologue
Ethnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
, they numbered 13,249 in 1999. Much of what is known about the Kwaio is due to the work of the Marxian anthropologist Roger M. Keesing, who lived among them starting in the 1960s.
Their main mode of economic activity was traditionally subsistence farming of taro
Taro
Taro is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae . Of these, Colocasia esculenta is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe.Taro is...
, which could be planted and harvested continuously in swidden agriculture. Other important crops include yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
s and plantain
Plantain
Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
s. Bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, and cuscus
Phalanger
Phalanger, from the Greek Phalangion, meaning spider's web, from their webbed toes is a genus of possum. They are marsupials of the family Phalangeridae...
were occasional additions to what was mainly a vegetarian diet. Taro production suffered in a severe blight in the 1950s, and has been replaced by the sweet potato
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
, a food of much lower prestige.
Kwaio settlement was traditionally in very small settlements dotted close together. Missionary activity, predominantly in coastal areas, has encouraged the growth of larger settlements.
According to oral tradition, the land was first cleared 1200 to 2000 years ago. The tracts cleared at this time are marked by shrines, and in effect established title for the clans descended agnatically from these ancestors. In practice, other non-agnatic descendants have secondary rights to the land, which may be strengthened by residence, especially during childhood, and participation in the descent groups' affairs. Because people can have claims in several different descent groups, land rights have some degree of flexibility.
Kwaio have been more resistant than other nearby peoples in the continuation of their beliefs. The traditional religion is a form of ancestor worship, which recognizes the power of the deceased to intervene in affairs. There are strict rules regarding taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
(Kwaio: abu), and violations of them must be redressed with sacrifices. One example of a powerful ancestral force is La'aka
La'aka
La'aka is a powerful ancestress and one of the most widely propitiated of spirits among the eastern Kwaio on Malaita, Solomon Islands. She is seen as both a protective figure who exemplifies maternal virtues and the productive powers of women and as a warrior whose deeds rivalled those of the...
, fear of whom led to the Maasina Ruru
Maasina Ruru
Maasina Ruru was an emancipation movement for self-government and self-determination during and after World War II, 1945–1950, credited with creating the movement towards independence for the Solomon Islands...
movement.
Kwaio were first brought into contact with the outside world in 1868, when two men were taken from their canoe, and then returned bearing steel tools, novelty items, and stories about their experience. Within a small amount of time, many young Kwaio sought the adventures, and were brought to sugarcane plantations in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and on Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
for their labor. The appearance of steel (replacing rough chert
Chert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
blades) and firearms revolutionized the Kwaio way of life, as leisure time was greatly increased by the new tools and blood feud
Blood Feud
"Blood Feud" is the twenty-second and final episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on July 11, 1991. In the episode, Mr. Burns falls ill and desperately needs a blood transfusion. Homer discovers Bart has Burns' rare blood type and urges...
s escalated. Kwaio also attempted to avenge the deaths of those who died overseas, and they earned a reputation as a fierce and dangerous group. Missionaries from the South Seas Evangelical Church
South Seas Evangelical Church
The South Seas Evangelical Church is an evangelical, Pentecostal church in the Solomon Islands. In total, 17% of the population of the Solomon Islands adheres to the church, making it the third most common religious affiliation in the country behind the Anglican Church of Melanesia and the Roman...
were brought to support those in Queensland who had become Christians there, and enclaves were established in the lowlands.
The efforts of the Australian District Officer William R. Bell
William R. Bell
William Robert Bell was an Australian-born official in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, who served as the District Officer of Malaita from 1915 until 1927. He was killed while collecting a head tax from the Kwaio of central Malaita...
were to pacify the area and establish means to collect a head tax, and capitulate to the British colonial regime. On his fifth annual tax collection, in October 1927, he was killed, along with one other white man and 13 Solomon Islanders in his charge. A massive punitive expedition
Punitive expedition
A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a state or any group of persons outside the borders of the punishing state. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavior, but may be also be a covered revenge...
, known as the Malaita massacre
Malaita massacre
The Malaita massacre inflicted a large number of deaths on the island of Malaita in the Solomon Islands in late 1927. William R. Bell, the District Officer of Malaita in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, and many of his deputies were killed by Basiana and other Kwaio warriors as part of a...
ensued; at least 60 people were killed, and nearly 200 detained in Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
(the then capital), where 30 further died from dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
and other problems. Furthermore, relatives of the slain Solomon Islanders sought spiritual revenge by the deliberate desecration of sacred sites and objects, which is seen by surviving elders as the origin of many of the struggles the people have suffered in recent times, including epidemics, the breakdown of traditional morality, and the taro blight. Kwaio culture was greatly transformed, but after several years was able to regain its traditional practices and social structure. However, there is more personal independence for younger people and blood feuding is no longer practiced.