Transition to dependence : the Cook Islands and New Zealand colonialism to 1915, with reference to Government-Maori relations in New Zealand
Date
1974
Authors
Stone, Ngaire Joan
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Abstract
The Cook Group consists of fifteen small and scattered islands lying
between Samoa to the west and the Society Islands to the east, and
extending southward nearly to the Tropic of Capricorn. They are inhabited
by Polynesians known as Maoris who, at the time of European contact in
the early nineteenth century, numbered about 18,000. The authority structure in the islands was characterised by title holding,
reinforced by mana derived from leadership in various fields -
religious, political, social and economic. In all but two of the
islands there were one or more tribes (vaka) led by paramount chiefs,
known as ariki, who traced their descent, usually through the senior male
line, to the leaders of the migrant ancestors and ultimately to the gods.
In some islands there were also lesser chiefs : the mataiapo whose
ancestors, in Rarotonga for example, were the immigrants among whom the
land was first distributed; and the rangetira who were usually the
descendants of junior chiefly lines.
Apart from the religious significance of mana ariki, the continuing
relationship between the chiefly ranks themselves, and between the
chiefly ranks and the commoners, was based upon a complex system of
reciprocal rights and obligations related to land-holding. 'In return
for the fulfilment of his duties of office, the chief derived prestige and
respect as well as material goods and security’, while 'his immediate
household and subsidiary chiefs also stood to benefit from his authority
and prestige’.
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