2 - Land Tenure in the Pacific Islands

Summary

Most Pacific Islanders living in rural areas use land tenure arrangements which are commonly described by islanders and outsiders alike as ‘traditional’ or ‘customary’. Yet current tenure practices on ‘customary’ or ‘native’ land often differ considerably from the ‘customary’ practices described by early observers, land commissions or in recorded oral history. What are now described as ‘traditional’ or ‘customary’ tenure arrangements are often greatly simplified or modified models of what was ‘customary’ in the mid-nineteenth century or earlier. Fiji and Tonga provide examples. In the former, ‘the land tenure system which exists today evolved from the varied administrative decisions of a colonial government’ (France, 1969:174). In Tonga, the indigenous government acted more drastically and officially replaced the customary practices of the early nineteenth century by an entirely new system of land tenure under a constitutional decree promulgated in 1875. In fact, practice was slow to adapt to the constitution (see Chapter 5), but today many people in Tonga feel towards their land rights like those in Fiji who regard the colonial creation as ‘immemorial tradition’ which ‘enshrine[s] the ancient land rights … [and] is a powerfully cohesive force in Fijian society’ (France, 1969:174–5).

In many countries the idea that the maintenance of ‘traditional’ forms of land tenure is essential for the integrity of culture and way of life is expressed as a basic article of faith by politicians, planners, and others (Fingleton, 1982). During the nineteenth century, some colonial governments sought to protect indigenous rights to land as these were seen as being vital to the survival of the people as a community (e.g. see Chapter 6).