Political Science Strand University of Papua New Guinea South Pacific Politics Semester 1/2012 Week 1 Lecture Summary

y Topic: Settling of the Pacific Islands Any study of contemporary Pacific Politics must not be conducted in isolation fr om the historical patterns of settlement of the Pacific Islands. In a multi-disc iplinary method of inquiry we try to understand the migration patterns into the Pacific from South-east Asia. Learning about the historic movements and human se ttlement of the Pacific is necessary if we are to appreciate the socio-linguisti c complexities of these societies. And as a student of political science, context matters. As we proceed with looking at issues such as governance in the coming w eeks in this course, we appreciate how issues of context are demonstrated! Of course, the scientific community will use the elements and tools in their dis ciplines in their attempts to show where Pacific Islanders originated from. Howe ver, Pacific Islanders themselves have their own unique accounts within their or al traditions. Legends and myths, chants and songs in indigenous communities all over the Pacific tell of the creation of Pacific Islands communities. Rather th an dismiss the accounts of Pacific Islanders about their origin stories/creation stories, I believe both scientific and non-scientific areas of understanding th e existence of Pacific Islanders in this part of the world are complementary of each. Some questions of relevance in understanding pre-colonial history and Pacific po litics: i. What is the explanation for the relatively homogenous nature of cultures in Micronesia and Polynesia compared to present-day Melanesian countries? ii. What is the explanation for the existence of chiefly leadership systems in Polynesia, than Melanesia? iii. How are historical narratives used in contemporary politics especially c laims to indigenous rights and pan-regional/national political ideology? What is the purpose in the use of peoples claims to being an ancient civilization in prese nt-day politics? The archeological evidence suggests that human beings inhabited what is known as Near Oceania (mainland north-east New Guinea/New Britain) around 40,000 years a go. Around 28,000 years ago, the northern islands in what is now the Solomon Isl ands were settled. The longevity of peoples in these islands, almost in complete isolation from eac h other and most often without significant interaction amongst themselves allowe d for the complex evolution of languages and cultures over time. In trying to un tangle the present cultural and linguistic diversity in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea we can see how the historical patterns of these societies are s o obvious in present-day interactions. For instance the idea of the nation is a very new concept in contexts such as Papu a New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Papua New Guineans for instance w ill identify more with their clans/linguistic groups/tribes and so forth rather than the nation of Papua New Guinea. As expected, this is what you get from millen nia of autonomous existence. At the level of the region too, learning about the past serves the purpose of pr ojecting regional cultural symbols and elements of our common past. How can some o f the collective human experiences in the Pacific facilitate pan-Pacific agendas

such as the Pacific Islands regional integration (under the framework of the Pa cific Plan)? To illustrate the essence of culture, tradition and historical connections in region al endeavors, Elise Huffer in an essay entitled Regionalism and Cultural Identity : Putting the Pacific back into the plan (2005), made scathing criticisms about t he absence of culture as a foundation of the 2004 Pacific Plan. While the emphas is of the Pacific Plan focuses on issues such as security, governance, sustainab le development and economic growth, the cultural identity did not get the same t reatment. So in this two lecture series, we are concerned with themes that Paci fic Islanders commonly share and how these themes are can be projected into agen das such as Pacific Island regionalism. In the topic, Settling of the Pacific Islands, we turn to disciplines such as arch eology, linguistics and bio-genetics to trace the history of Pacific Islanders. What do these disciplines tell us about the previous movements into the Pacific Islands? The disciplines of archeology and linguistics have shed light on the peopling of the Pacific Islands. In archeology, the estimated time periods in the inhabitat ion of the Pacific Islands has resulted in a division of the Pacific Islands int o two sectors Near Oceania and Remote Oceania. The implications of our understa nding these two areas in Pacific Island human settlement patterns will reveal te lling characteristics. Near Oceania was estimated to have been settled between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago by migrants from South-east Asia. The migratory patterns and subsequent evol ution of cultures of the migrants were confined to north-east New Guinea, New Br itain and the northern islands in the Solomon Islands. The boundary of this move ment ended in the eastern areas of present-day Makira province in present-day So lomon Islands. The longevity of human habitation of these islands allowed for cu ltural and linguistic differentiations at significant levels. We are reliably informed by comparative linguists that the evolution of language s is a reality. For instance, after every 500 years, the original languages that are spoken acquire additional grammar, intonations (vocal expressions), structu re and vocabularies. In terms of our understanding the existence of human beings in Near Oceania the long period of time and the complete isolation and diffusio n of populations in this part of the Pacific ensured that the original languages changed significantly. So any groups of people who may have originally spoken a common language upon arriving on the New Guinea landmass 40,000 years ago may h ave completely diverged from each other in their subsequent existence on New Gui nea. This perhaps explains why in Papua New Guinea alone, there are more than 80 0 different languages spoken, while in the Solomon Islands, more than 84 languag e groups are recorded. In Remote Oceania the archeological evidence and linguistic patterns show that t hese latter groups of migrants into the Pacific are recent migrants into the Pac ific. A common thread in the study of their movements is the Lapita pottery. The Lapita dentate-style pottery is usually associated with voyages by ancient Aust ronesian-speaking peoples through Melanesia into Polynesia was first discovered on Grande Terre (New Caledonia) in 1952. The Lapita migrants are estimated to have ventured into the Pacific Islands some 3,500 years ago. Their relatively recent and more systematic migration patterns a re a best indicator of the continuity in their almost homogenous features in pre sent-day settings. The phase at which the Lapita people moved across the vast Pa cific Ocean seems to suggest many things. Firstly, the western parts of the Paci fic Ocean (Near Oceania New Guinea, Solomon Islands) were already populated. In search of near lands to colonise the Lapita people continued their eastward migrat

ion. Secondly, conditions in the Near Oceania section may not have been conduciv e to these new arrivals from Taiwan/the Philippines. For example some archaeolog ists suggest that the Lapita people would have not acclimatised very well to the dreaded malaria parasite. This perhaps explains the eastward migration. Thirdly , the Lapita people are believed to be accomplished navigators. The very presenc e of Lapita pottery of the similar pattern across the vast Pacific Ocean is indi cative of the sea-going, navigational skills they developed, enabling them to co ver long-distance travels. Either way, the relatively short time period in which the Lapita/Austronesian-speaking migrants were in the Pacific is credible evide nce to suggest that some levels of linguistic and cultural homogeneity were main tained into our present times. For instance, their languages have similar elements to it. One of the early Euro pean explorers into the Pacific Islands, Captain James Cook learnt first-hand ho w there are levels of similarities between Polynesian societies. For instance in 1769 - in his first voyage in the Pacific, Captain Cook acquired the services of a Tahitian navigator Tupaia. Tupaia was an accomplished navigat or and also a member of the Oro cult, a religious order in the Tahitian society. He accompanied Captain to places as far as New Zealand/Aotearoa, Cook Islands, Tonga and Samoa. Tupaia would act as a translator to Captain Cook. As a person f rom Tahiti, it became something of a marvel to Captain Cook and his crew how rel atively easy it was for Tupaia to speak to other Polynesian people he had never met previously. The above account of Tupaia is an illustration of how relatively homogenous cult ures and societies in Polynesia are compared to western Melanesia. Likewise the almost similar system of traditional leadership, where the chiefly hierarchical system is its embodiment is also evident in Polynesian societies. This continuit y and homogenous leadership system further supports the theory that the time per iod that Lapita peoples settlement in the Pacific Islands is relatively recent co mpared to the earlier wave of migration in Near Oceania. Again, what is the relevance of this historical narrative in our understanding P acific politics? In a significant way we see how nation-building will always be a challenge. The allegiance to the State and nation is insignificant and the pro blems of law and order and governance are all linked to the cultural diversity i n these countries. While constitutionalism presupposes that laws/constitutions s hould regulate the behavior of citizens, we see the complete opposite in countri es that are socio-culturally complex. For instance, Solomon Islanders identify m ore with the values/norms and traditional relationships that have served them we ll since time immemorial, rather than identifying with the expectations of their new identity as Solomon Islanders. These are the challenges we as Melanesians in herited. Most of these challenges are working progresses. In this class therefore, we are expected to acquaint ourselves with these challe nges to be productive and active agents of change in our Melanesian societies.