To'uluwa and the magistrates: Coconuts and yams, governance and indigenous agency in the Trobriand islands, Papua New Guinea, 1912-41

dc.contributor.authorConnelly, Andrew
dc.date.accessioned2022-05-02T01:51:23Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.date.updated2020-12-27T07:22:52Z
dc.description.abstractIn the Trobriand Islands of today’s Papua New Guinea, the coconut has long been mainly an accompaniment to yams – the primary staple food, central cultural icon and source of much of the chiefs’ economic and political power. From the early 19th century, surplus yams were traded to Europeans operating in a regional economy, but the Assistant Resident Magistrates (ARMs) of the Australian government of colonial Papua in charge of the islands overlooked this industry in favour of copra, a global commodity. Beginning with a wholesale planting campaign in the 1910s and continuing with a ‘native plantation scheme’ in the 1920s, the ARMS exhorted Trobrianders to take time away from their beloved gardens to plant and tend coconut trees. Traces of resistance to this overzealous project come mainly through the voice and actions of Paramount Chief To‘uluwa of Omarakana, as recorded by the ARMs in patrol reports and station journals. The colonial vision of a copra-based link to the global economy was dimmed by a fall in commodity prices in the mid 1920s, whilst the regional yam trade persisted for decades more. Hence the indigenous yam prevailed over the colonial coconut in a symbolic struggle for primacy in the islands, and the yam remains a symbol of a vibrant traditional Trobriand culture to this day.en_AU
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_AU
dc.identifier.issn0022-3344en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/264207
dc.language.isoen_AUen_AU
dc.publisherTaylor & Francis Groupen_AU
dc.rights© 2018 The Journal of Pacific History, Inc.en_AU
dc.sourceJournal of Pacific Historyen_AU
dc.subjectTrobriand Islandsen_AU
dc.subjectPapuaen_AU
dc.subjectcoconut plantingen_AU
dc.subjectcopra plantationsen_AU
dc.subjectcolonial governmenten_AU
dc.titleTo'uluwa and the magistrates: Coconuts and yams, governance and indigenous agency in the Trobriand islands, Papua New Guinea, 1912-41en_AU
dc.typeJournal articleen_AU
local.bibliographicCitation.issue4en_AU
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage477en_AU
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage454en_AU
local.contributor.affiliationConnelly, Andrew, College of Asia and the Pacific, ANUen_AU
local.contributor.authoremailu4543409@anu.edu.auen_AU
local.contributor.authoruidConnelly, Andrew, u4543409en_AU
local.description.embargo2099-12-31
local.description.notesImported from ARIESen_AU
local.identifier.absfor160100 - ANTHROPOLOGYen_AU
local.identifier.absfor169900 - OTHER STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETYen_AU
local.identifier.absfor210300 - HISTORICAL STUDIESen_AU
local.identifier.ariespublicationu3102795xPUB1382en_AU
local.identifier.citationvolume53en_AU
local.identifier.doi10.1080/00223344.2018.1526634en_AU
local.identifier.scopusID2-s2.0-85055326541
local.identifier.uidSubmittedByu3102795en_AU
local.publisher.urlhttps://www.routledge.com/en_AU
local.type.statusPublished Versionen_AU

Downloads

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
01_Connelly_To%27uluwa_and_the_magistrates%3A_2018.pdf
Size:
1.77 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Back to topicon-arrow-up-solid
 
APRU
IARU
 
edX
Group of Eight Member

Acknowledgement of Country

The Australian National University acknowledges, celebrates and pays our respects to the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people of the Canberra region and to all First Nations Australians on whose traditional lands we meet and work, and whose cultures are among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.


Contact ANUCopyrightDisclaimerPrivacyFreedom of Information

+61 2 6125 5111 The Australian National University, Canberra

TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12002 (Australian University) CRICOS Provider Code: 00120C ABN: 52 234 063 906