LIFE IN THE SOLOMONS

Evening Star, Issue 18716, 19 August 1924, Page 1

LIFE IN THE SOLOMONS

ADVANCE OF CIVILISATION. Few men are bettor able to speak of the tremendous changes in native life in the oolomon islands during tho last quarter of a century than tho riev. A. I. Hopkins, warden of tho Melanesian Mission’s College at Siota for the training of native missionaries, who arrived in Auckland last week in the missionary steamer Southern Cross (says the ‘Herald’), ior twentytour years this trainer of missionaries has been associated with tho Melanesian Mission, with Norfolk Island, and later the bolomous, as his centres of operation. In tho earlier days, he said, many of the islands of the group were sunk in savagery, with constant tribal fighting. Cannibalism was reported at times, and witchcraft prevailed. As indicating tho evil influence of the dreaded witch doctor, the missionary cited tho case of a chief who blow his head off accidentally with a smuggled dynamite cartridge when fishing, “ Who has killed him?” was at once the sinister question asked by his men, and the witch doctor was called in to find the opposed culprit. Tho witch doctor, to use a pulgoon-English phrase, “ put the light, along the accused tribe,” which, in this case happened to bo an allied one, and a certain unlucky native was held to be the man wanted. Wh.it in elicct was a sentence of death was passed, but the man luckily was not caught, although long hunted.

“ Bit by bit belief in witchcraft is dying out,” said Mr Hopkins, with a smile of satisfaction. “ Now it is rigorously suppressed, although it has not entirely disappeared. It carries its own punishment, for when a native is proved to have used the evil magic ho is taken to Tulaga and imprisoned.”

Tiie road-maker is the pioneer of civilisation. This fact is as Into in regard to tho Solomon Islands as to my region. Road-making is being pushed forward into the interior, more or less, and, speaking particularly of San Christ-oval, tho missionary said ho believed Unit island n o w had three roads running across it, a distance of about forty miles.

The Melanesian Mission is endeavoring to got an alteration in the system of taxation. Tho native has to pay a £1 poll tax, and there is ass dog tax. Tho latter especially is a grievance lo the islanders. Two dogs are permitted free of tax, but that is not enough, as the dogs arc kept for pig hunting. If tho natives cannot pig-hunt properly the pigs damage the native gardens.

Cannibalism is only reported now at long intervals. Mr Hopkins said ho had not heard of an actual case for three or four years. The steady march of civilisation goes on, and there are few villages unreached -by the various missions. And, as tho missionary work expands, so schools come into being for tho practical, if rudimentary, education of tho native.

The Solomon Group certainly has no lack of missionary effort, for, apart from the Melanesian Mission, operations are conducted by the Roman Catholics, Seventh Day Adventists, Church of Christ, South Soa Evangelical Mission, and the Methodists, the last-mentioned having a centre at Rnbiana, in tho Western Solomons. There has be„n no marked development in plantation work since the war, although there is plenty of scope for the greater production of cocoanuts, and for the growth of sugar, in certain districts, and rubber. Tho trouble undoubtedly is in regard to labor, there not being sufficient native workers to develop and expand plantations. Tho native population, Mr Hopkins said, was not increasing; if anything, it showed a slight decrease. On the question of population, it was clear that the plantation system was not good, involving, as it did, the segregation of men, which tended to limit the native birth rate.

Tho main events, from the mission’s point of view, daring recent times, wore an ordination service and conference, both held in Siota in June. At the ordination service ten native clergy wore ordained priests and deacons. The conference consisted of tho white staff of the mission stationed in the Solomon Group. Yet, a further happening characteristic of the mission’s foriv.rd policy, was the landing at Santa Anna, an island off San Christoval, of four families of Bugotn people, to restart missionary work at that spot.