The Kanak world
The Kanak world has preserved much of its authenticity and remains very much marked by "custom", which is the basis of its social rules and its political and institutional organization. The Grand Chief, tribal chiefs and clan leaders are the guarantors of social cohesion. This is more strongly true in the rural world than in the greater Nouméa periphery. The notion of chief in Kanak society, which cannot be perfectly translated into French, differs from a strictly hierarchical conception. The chief is a spokesman and mediator in the event of conflict, and although he enjoys a certain respect, he does not have very extensive powers. The decision most often belongs to the elders, who enjoy a very strong moral influence. The cult of the ancestors illustrates the essential attachment of the Kanaks to their origins and filiation. This strong link with the past, which is supposed to guarantee the future, is also reflected in a visceral attachment to the land and its cultures, which cements Kanak identity. Stemming from a set of age-old traditions, the custom or customs (which vary according to the region) are transmitted from generation to generation. Unwritten rituals and mythical stories circulate through oral tradition. Contrary to popular belief, custom is not immutable and adapts to external influences and elements: migratory currents, evangelization, modernization... On the other hand, the fundamental basis remains the same. The tribe and the family form the common reference outside of which the life of the individual has no meaning. During the contacts that you will have in New Caledonia, keep in mind that man in the Kanak universe is nothing outside the group and that a group can only develop from a land, from a cultural area. To be excluded from one or the other is then experienced as a terrible punishment...
The Great Chief. The tribe and the district constitute two of the main levels of spatialization and identification after the family and the clan. The Great Chief is at the head of the district, which includes one or more tribes. A tribe is composed of several clans, themselves descended from the same ancestor. The members of the same tribe speak the same language and belong to the same territory. The clan enjoys a certain autonomy within the district. The Great Chief is generally descended from the common ancestor. He symbolizes the past and the present, myth and reality. He represents the moral authority that one does not defy, on pain of incurring general disapproval. The office of the Great Chief is (normally) hereditary. Only men from the direct line can inherit this office, but this can be questioned. The Kanak society, in which dialogue is paramount, offers considerable leeway. However, the term "tribe" can also be understood as "chieftaincy". Today, if the term "tribe" is generalized and used by all Caledonian ethnic groups, it could be preferred to the term "community" as is already the case in Australia.
The Little Chief, for his part, leads the clan or tribe. He participates in discussions alongside the Great Chief and sits on the council of elders, recognized for their wisdom and experience. This council plays a crucial role. It deals as much with the clearing of the fields as with the construction of a hut, the repair of a church as with the authorization granted to the military for a bivouac on the tribal land. The council appoints the successor to the Great Chief, whose influence depends both on the number of his subjects and on his range of action (the territory). The so-called "landed" clans have their original "mound" and their customary territory. Displaced" clans have also been integrated into tribes. These are "sitting" clans. Each clan is characterized by a hierarchical function, so there will be the clan of the chiefs, the "spokesman" clan, the "guardian" clan, the "taro" clan... Another important character is the sorcerer, who is supposed to command and interpret the natural elements or dispense illness and death, and who was and remains a feared character. As for the family, it constitutes a clan in itself. The community life, very ritualized, reinforces the cohesion of the group. Marriage formalizes an alliance between two clans. Thus, the couple is one of the pieces of the clan system. The husband and wife do not choose each other: it is the customary choice. Thus, the birth of a child is considered more as the fruit of the clan than the consequence of the union between a woman and a man. A mother who gives birth to a child fulfils her duty to the husband's clan: by ensuring its continuity, she ensures the clan's survival.
The role of the father. In the traditional society, he is limited to the role of the father. He does not intervene in the child's education nor in his daily life. The mother has duties until the child is weaned. She then leaves his education in the hands of grandmothers and aunts. The essential male figure in the clan family is the mother's brother: the uncle. It is he, as the "father", who recognizes his nephews and nieces as being of his blood and guarantees the continuation of his lineage in the future. The Kanaks consider cousins as brothers, and members of the same clan and age group as cousins.
The land is inseparably linked to the clan: it is its property, its extension. It belongs to the first person to settle there. It includes the fields, the crops, the mountains, the springs, the shore, the sea and the fish. It is the habitat in the general sense. It also includes the members of the tribe, dead or alive. It is therefore easier to understand the clashes with the colonists and the administration from 1853 onwards. In the case of the latter, it is not possible to determine whether or not the original owner of the land is a member of the clan, or whether or not the clan is a member of the original owner. In the clan, each member cultivates the plot of land he has cleared. The hard work, on the other hand, is carried out collectively, such as the repair and construction of huts. The community then works sometimes at the home of one member, sometimes at the home of another. This collective work benefits each member of the clan in the form of usufruct. The crops, the hut and the field are associated with common property of the clan in the same way as the land. The notion of individual property does not exist. The law of the tribe respects an essential element: the pooling of all resources. If members of a tribe work for employers in exchange for payment, they will "lend a hand" on the occasion of a celebration (wedding, birth...) and for the preparation of the tribe's feasts. They will contribute to the clan. If they cannot participate in these collective works, they will not go to the feast, their presence would be badly perceived. Displaying external signs of wealth without sharing them within the tribe is generally badly perceived. This represents great difficulties in adapting to the modern western world and its most representative consumer objects.
Understanding the custom
Even today, the daily life of the islanders remains very marked by the customary organization. Each individual belongs to a clan, which has its own symbols (a clan chief and a totem pole) and is grouped with others in tribes. The latter are led by a small chief, and are themselves under the authority of a big chief, who covers an entire district. If this tradition has faded in some regions of Grande Terre, it remains much more prevalent here. The great chief settles conflicts of interest, manages relations with the public administration and organizes customary life. He decides, for example, on the time of marriages. The sense of hospitality of the local people is not a legend and is part of a way of life that can be summed up in a Melanesian proverb: "The Whites have the time, we have the time."
If you are invited to the home of a clan or tribal leader or simply to a family, remember to respect the custom. Offer a package of rice, lentils, a pack of tobacco or something from home. Add a 500 or 1,000 CFP bill wrapped in a cloth, the manou or pareo. Be careful though: the customary gesture excludes alcohol! Present your package to the Little Chief or the Big Chief and then make the custom orally. This little presentation speech, intended for your hosts, is a sign of respect and recognition. The Kanaks are very sensitive to this.
Traditional hut
The constructions of the huts are symbolic. The large round hut is representative of the clan and plays an undeniable role in the political, social and religious life of the group. It centralizes power. It is necessary to bend down to enter it as a sign of humility and respect. The hut is built not far from the "dance square" on the highest point of each village, at the end of a carefully tended alley lined with columnar pines or coconut trees, a sort of plant avenue that outlines the village structure. It can be surrounded by a palisade or a wall. This is the case for the large hut of the chief of the Saint-Joseph clan in Ouvéa. A sanctuary for men, it is also a place for discussion around the chief. Guests are received near the fireplace, which is usually located in the center of the hut. Sometimes, the clan members are summoned there without delay. The call resounds to the sound of the conch (or toutoute), a large shell used throughout the Pacific. In New Caledonia, the conch is blunt, thus creating an opening at the mouth of the horn. When it is sounded, the gathering is imperative and the palaver begins. The missionaries also used it as a bell to warn the faithful of religious ceremonies and to call them to prayer. These large wooden and thatched huts have a ridge on their conical top. The motif carved on them most often represents the double-sided figure of an ancestor. Above, you will still see the carved spire decorated with shells. Look also at the bas-relief doorframes of the entrance door, which usually symbolize the couple. The large central post inside represents the clan. The hut is also a traditional family living space.
Steps in the construction of a round hut. This type of hut is adapted to the climate and resources of the country. The floating, rolling and towing of a large trunk, destined to become the central post of the hut, requires all the forces of the tribe. The central post expresses the link between the clan and the ancestors. The selection, felling, transport and erection of this pole (generally made of houp wood) constitute the most delicate operation of the construction and require the intervention of the sorcerer. The assembly of the structure of the hut can then begin with the installation of the crosspieces intended to stabilize the wood, which connect the central post to the peripheral pillars. Gaulettes and crosspieces are attached with lianas to reinforce the roof. Finally, the hut is covered. The first cover is made of tree bark, generally niaoulis skins, which reinforce the waterproofing. The final covering follows the laying of the straw. Covering the hut to the top requires external and internal scaffolding. The installation of the ridge arrow marks the end of the construction. The design of a shelter is generally less complex. Villagers use them as sheds, to accommodate guests during feasts or ceremonies, or for personal convenience. Less solid than the hut, the roof frame of the shelter is covered with niauli skins and straw. The walls are made of woven coconut branches or cob. The children participate in the making of the cob by treading the clay and chopped straw with their feet. They then carry the buckets one by one. The men apply the cob by hand to the carefully woven wattle and daub for the walls. The smoothing by hand remains the most delicate operation. The children paint the whole with lime as soon as the wall is dry. The collection and transportation of straw is carried out by the women, who gather it in small bundles as on the track between Pouébo and Hienghène (East coast). Once finished, the hut is regularly "smoked" in order to eliminate parasites and bind the roof. The interior fireplace provided for this purpose allows a fire to be lit in complete safety.
As early as 1930, the administration intervened to replace the round huts considered unhealthy by European style constructions. You will therefore see on Grande Terre quadrangular huts with walls made of cob or concrete, and with a four-sided roof overhanging to form a veranda. The traditional round hut now stands alongside the solid house. Nevertheless, following a desire to return to the traditional habitat, there is now a resumption of the construction of round huts. The New Caledonian Museum in Nouméa is committed to explaining the symbolic significance and function of the hut. The identical sculptures at the level of the entrance doorframes evoke the paternal and maternal ancestors of the chiefdom. The visitor must bend down to enter and cross the always very low threshold of a hut. Bowing the head in this way is a sign of respect. The central post is erected first, primarily for practical reasons, but also because it is supposed to support the social structures of the tribe represented by the spire that is installed at the top of the roof. Each post located around the hut symbolizes the ancestors. Small statues, supposed to protect the members of the tribe, are placed inside the large hut.
Evolution of the Kanak community
Since the emergence in the 1970s and 1980s of the question of independence, the Kanaks have recovered a form of autonomy long refused by the French authorities. At the forefront of these concerns: the level of education of its youth. The painful inequalities in the level of education and training maintain frustration and resentment among young Melanesians, who are often in a precarious situation when they leave the tribe to settle in Greater Nouméa in search of a job. At the same time, they are very anxious to claim their origins, but they also distance themselves from custom and the rules that underpin it. The consumption of alcohol and cannabis is one of the most common diversions for the most idle.
In this context, women are timidly trying to speak out. For a long time, they have been kept out of the debate by virtue of customary rules, but some of them now want to make themselves heard and not simply be confined to raising children and doing household and agricultural work. Even if they are very present in the associative movements and local economic initiatives, the access of Kanak women to positions of responsibility is still in its infancy. Their success in school, clearly superior to that of boys, nevertheless testifies to a significant and decisive evolution that speaks volumes about their desire for autonomy. Their recourse to the courts, increasingly frequent in cases of violence, is further proof that women are gradually turning away from customary rules and demanding the application of criminal law (in New Caledonia, one woman in four is a victim of domestic violence). A century and a half ago, the Kanaks were colonized; today, they must learn to combine their cultural heritage with contemporary realities, like all traditional societies. This delicate work of taking stock between loyalty to the past and the need for openness is also the sign of a vitality and an awareness that is still in progress. Measures have been taken, such as the 400 executives, to promote the arrival of young executives from the Melanesian world, but also from other ethnic groups.
Since the signing of the Matignon Accords in 1988, the French government has been encouraging and promoting a necessary rebalancing of wealth within the territory. Logically, part of the land confiscated by the colonists and the administration in the 19th and 20th centuries has been returned to the tribes. 120,000 hectares changed hands between 1978 and 1995. The establishment of the Rural Development and Land Management Agency (Adraf) has undoubtedly stimulated this policy, with more than two-thirds of the land returned after 1989. These allocations have sometimes led to a doubling or tripling of the area available to the tribes. Livestock farming, which was practiced on the properties taken over, has been maintained on about 40 percent of the allocated areas. The majority is exploited in the form of groups, the GDPL (grouping of particular local law). However, the transition from a traditional economy, in which production is essentially intended for family or clan consumption, to a market economy is struggling to get underway. In many cases, due to internal conflicts, jealousies or disaffection, the reallocated land is poorly maintained and cultivated, and the abandoned livestock is only used as a reserve for customary celebrations.
