ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE VATURANGA
Description of Their Way of Life
This ethnography was developed over a period of research beginning in 1989, witht the most recent fieldwork taking place between November 1996 and May 1997.
The Solomons Islands are an archipelago of islands in the southwestern Pacific, northeast of Australia. Most of the islands became part of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate in the late 19th century. One island, Bougainville, became a German colony at the same time.
Bougainville is today a part of Papua New Guinea, but the remaining islands became the independent country of the Solomon Islands in 1978.
Most of the people of the Solomon Islands are Melanesians, that is they have black skin. The peoples of several small islands in the chain are Polynesians. There is also a small Chinese population living in the country.
The Vaturanga people live in the northwestern corner of the island of Guadalcanal. They are a Melanesian people who speak a language called Ndi. It is my purpose here to give a brief ethnography of the Vaturanga.
The Vaturanga today continue to live a largely subsistence lifestyle. They depend heavily upon their traditional lands and their traditional skills for day to day survival. They grow many crops in their gardens, fish on nearby coral reefs, occasionally hunt wild pigs, and keep domestic pigs and chickens. They also continue to build their homes and other buildings by hand using locally available materials.
In their social organization, they are divided into four clans: Kakau, Lakuili, Haubata, and Kidipale. These are matrilineal clans, with inheritance from mother to daughter and maternal uncle to nephew. Clans control land and resources, and are also the basis for social control. Residency tends to be patrilocal, although this is not strict.
The Vaturanga practice clan exogamy, and traditionally preferred marriage between cross-cousins. Bride price is paid by the prospective husband to the prospective wife's family (her father, mother and eldest brother). It can (and often does) take years for a man to save up enough bride price.
The Vaturanga converted to Christianity over seventy years ago, and the area has seen much missionization over the years with Anglicans predominating. Their traditional religious practices continue to be accomodated to varying degrees. Although the shrines in the bush are no longer the centres of ceremonial life, they are remembered and remain important. There are many different kinds of tidao (in Pijin "devils") including ghosts of dead ancestors, giants and female spirits. These are believed to take different forms, such as sharks, snakes, even shells.
As with Melanesians generally, their religious epistemology is very practical, involving magic to defeat enemies, make the garden grow better, and achieve status in the community. There is also a kind of negative magic practised by men who are said to live in the bush. This is called vele and its practitioners are very much feared by the local people. It is said that vele causes illness and even death, and can makes victims seem drunk. Vele practitioners can be paid for their services.
Other less threatening kinds of magic include susui which is a kind of "good luck" magic often necessary after someone has died. Some Vaturanga are able to counteract vele, and others practice magic as a kind of healing or medicine known as tatali.
The word "Vaturanga" means "hard stone" and refers to quartz. The name was given to the people by a mumu (a kind of powerful dwarf-like person said to practice canibalism) who said about them "they will be hard to teach any good" meaning that they are like the quartz stone which cannot be carved or changed, and if you try it just shatters. Thus, the Vaturanga are said to be "stubborn" people. They do not seem to take this as a negative statement.
The Vaturanga see themselves as one group among many peoples who live in Western Guadalcanal, and their language, Ndi, is closely related to other West Guadalcanal languages such as Nggae, Ngeri, Ghari and Poleo.
For more information on the Solomon Islands, go to my Links Page OR check out my Bibliography.
To see some of my photos from Guadalcanal, CLICK HERE.
© 1997 renaissman@geocities.com
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