This interview is one o f many I did not record on tape The interviewee, when asked about tape-recording his words, replied that I could do as I pleased but I should be aware that his

A path not a pyramid

This notion of 'behind' [derriire], though expressed in French, refers to the image of the path which informs social relationships. In fact of any given segment B, jin

to segment A, it is said that B is 'behind' A. This notion of power, contrary to the western notion, is not embedded in the image of a pyramid31 but rather in that of

a path or a road, a widespread metaphor in the Austronesian world (e.g., keda

[kula path] see Campbell 1983:201-227; eda [road or way] see Young 1971:30).

This emerges very clearly from my interviews conducted in French. Words such as 'monter' [go up to] and 'lä haut' [up there] are part of people's vocabulary when talking about directions and geographical locations. Thus Lifuans in Noumea will speak of 'going up to' Lifu and will refer to the island as being 'up there'. But such idioms of higher/lower as such do not enter into the narratives about socio­ political structure (cf. Toren 1990).32 This is crucial in understanding their concept of social relations. I am not implying a notion of equality, but rather a different way of conceiving authority or hierarchy. As Arendt reminds us (contrasting Roman to Greek politics): The word auctoritas derives from the verb augere, "augment", and what authority or those in authority constantly augment is the foundation ... Authority, in contradistinction to power (potestas), has its roots in the past, but this past was no less present in the actual life of the city than the power and strength of the living. The most conspicuous characteristic of those in authority is that they do not have power' (Arendt

1977:122). To be jin means to be behind and noi to be under or below. People do however make reference to the notion of 'en bas' [below) when speaking about the youngest male of a lineage segment, saying that he is 'sacre' [sacred] because he 'supportes tout le monde' [holds up every one].

Lineages nowadays are incorporated under four lapa, 'les grands clans'

[great clans] as people call them in French to differentiate them from other lapa

which are smaller units. The four clans comprise: Lapa i Ange Triji, divided

31 I am referring here to Guiarfs use of the notion of ’pyramidal’ to contrast the organizational model of the Loyalties with that of Grande Terre (1963:639). He seems to have reformulated the dichotomy into a more bland opposition in the updated version of his book where he speaks of the

'chefferies apparemment pyramidales' [apparently pyramidal chiefdoms] (1992a:460).

32 In Drehu south is associated with up and north with down, so Lifuans in Noumea when they speak Drehu say ’to go down to Lifu’ (see Ozanne-Rivierre 1987). For an explanation of the use of tro pi [go away]; uti pi [go down]; 15 pi [go outside]; tro je [go]; eie je [go up]; lö je [go inside], see Moyse-Faurie (1983:78-79).

into Triji of the land (Wacako) and Triji of the sea (Qapitro),33 Ange Cipa, Ange Api Canyö and Ange Api Zeula. In reality lapa are not residential units and they function as corporate groups only on a few occasions such as iölekeu, the yearly yam feast, or the thatching of the umepö. Hnepelapa are uneven segments of a clan. Within each big clan people fulfil different functions in terms of ritual and protocol according to their position and role. Segments of the four lapa co-reside in Drueulu. The ranking relations between and within lapa [clan] and hnepelapa

[lineages, literally parts of a clan] are determined by the residential seniority in the area.

The itinerary followed by the different groups and the relationships established in this process of moving are not lost. Gojeny means path and at the same time the identifiable reference points along the path where one has stopped during a journey. Any given group of people has some members left to mark these 'stopovers'. People explain that members of the same hnafetra can live far apart and still refer to the same ancestor. All these segments and individuals in principle may claim the same rights to residence and to land. They might have changed their name but they always keep the knowledge of where they came from, though sometimes they prefer to conceal it. The change of name is considered a strategy to sever ties with one's own natal group and to be fully adopted into the new group, but 'au niveau de la mtmoire ga reste' [at the level of the memory it remains] as Wapotro stressed. Seniority of residence is manifested during the hotr. The offering of firstfruits follows these ranking paths of kinship and residence seniority. The youngest brother offers his firstfruits to the one next in seniority to him; the eldest brother takes the firstfruits to the tixe, and from there to the anga joxu. [The trenadro do not have to offer him a hotr.) But this itinerary is better conceived of as a network of relations rather than parallel paths. Figure 2.1 represents the clan Cipa during iölekeu that took place in Drueulu in 1990 involving all the different segments of the clan. This graphical representation should help to visualize the path people 'behind' have to follow.34

The Kanak concept of authority is vastly different from the European notion. Each high chief has been accepted and installed by the trenadro, who refer to

33 Qapitro was in charge of the big annual fish ceremony, not performed for at least 40 or 50 years. He had taken up uxorilocal residence in Wetr, but though he has recently returned to Drueulu, the ceremony has not been restored. (Guiart still considers Qapitro as living outside of Gaica - 1992a:297). During customary speeches I have heard the names of each clan pronounced

except for the Triji's. This lapa is referred to by the names of its clan segments (e.g. Wacako).

34 The reason I have chosen to represent the paths followed by the members of this lapa is that I

this act as acile joxu, meaning 'mettre debout' [to lift up the chief].35 To convey the rich meaning of this metaphor they used another expression: acile inaatr,

which means to lift up the central post of the hut.36 The architectural expression of the social contract between the land owners and the anga joxu is in fact expressed in the umepö37 whose central pole inaatr represents the high chief, and the jo [lateral beams] represent the clans. (Illustration 2.1, drawn by Bah Nyikeine of Drueulu, represents the different parts of a hut.)38 The notion of acile joxu could seem at odds with what is stated about the concept of 'path'. In reality,

however, they both point to the tension and the fluidity of Lifuan social structure. In fact the high chief is 'lifted', meaning his position must be legitimized by the others: he has no authority without this. Thus, although the position is inherited, the significance of the installation of the chief is a reminder of the chiefly immigrants' non-local origin (cf. the installation of the chief of foreign origin by the native land owners in Fiji by Sahlins, 1985). During the construction of the chiefly hut the central post is lifted and installed by men from all the clans, whereas in the thatching of the walls and the roof of the hut each clan has a specific portion to complete. The iweneminy (or he), 'head' of the umepö, is collocated by the Triji, a lapa to which the trenadro belongs (Haluatr, recorded interview, March 1992). He and inaatr are metaphors transferred into other dimensions of the social scene and used by Kanak to refer to the eldest male of a lineage or to the husband (the wife being treng, basket). So the same images are used to represent relationships between different segments that make up a socio­ political body (see Chapter Seven).

35 See Sahlins (1985) for the incorporation of the foreign chief in Fiji.

36 It is interesting to note that customary work is huliwa [work] cil (see fn. 17).

37 Compare with the transformation of the Palauan bai, the chiefly and community meetinghouse,

as an icon in the articulation of tradition and modernity (Nero 1992).

38 For a more detailed description of the construction of a hut in Lifu, see Boulay (1990a: 125- 137). Hadfield described these houses as being 'of an oblong shape' (1920:39), but Sarasin

described the Lifuan hut as a 'Rundhaus'[round house] (1929a: 138). See also photos in Sarasin

F e n e iw e w e

Figure 2.1: Iölekeu, Yam Feast, Drueulu 1990

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Illustration 2.1: Sketch drawn by Bah Nyikeine of Drueulu, representing the