Cakaudrove : ideology and reality in a Fijian confederation
Abstract
This thesis examines the ideology of chieftainship in Cakaudrove,
a confederation of chiefdoms in eastern Fiji, and then contrasts it
with the reality of power possession. According to the ideology, the
paramount Tui Cakau was a godlike figure who, by mediating between the
temporal and spiritual worlds, controlled the material and political
prosperity of the confederation. His senior descent from the
ancestor-gods, and his access to their supernatural powers, gave him
the right to hold the paramouncy. Any challenge to this right was a
challenge to the religious basis of the society: custom asserts that
supernatural punishment would be the consequence. Yet an historical perspective reveals that challenges to ruling
lineages were normal. The i Sokula -- the semi-divine lineage headed
by the Tui Cakau -- achieved their own pre-eminence relatively
recently, while an examination of political configurations before
their emergence indicates that their rise did not take place in the
context of an immutable power structure. There was nothing unusual in
a newly emergent group overpowering others; rebellions against the
authority of established leaders were normal. Control of the supernatural is no explanation of power
possession, therefore. Rather, a powerful position may be explained
by the successful use of human resources. Access could be acquired
either by overt political relationships, or by tho forming of
sociopolitical relationships -- marriage and kinship connexions.
Subordinate peoples and allies were a source of both labour, and the
produce of their labour, which could be used to purchase, encourage,
or enforce allegiance and support. Such power resources needed to be
used skilfully so leaders could receive the maximum benefit from their
expenditure; thus the politically astute could increase their power. Such conclusions, while placing Cakaudrove within the
historically realistic context of a constantly changing balance of
power, help elucidate the history of Caknudrove after the initial
emergence of the i Sokula. Competitions for power among the i Sokula
themselves indicate that political status needed to be achieved, and
then maintained against the encroachment of other relatives; the
ideological sacredness of the Tui Cakau is, invariably, at odds with
the reality of his genealogical rank and often at odds with his actual
role. The history of Cakaudrove' s development and the i Sokula's
relationships with other powerful Fijian lineages and a Tongan chief
illuntrate the complexity of Fijian politics: power positions needed
to be achieved and then constantly maintained. The i Sokula managed
to withstand pressure from the confederation of Bau, but the Tongan
was to dispossess the i Sokula of their territory of northern Lau, n
rich power resource.