THE KANAKA OF NECAL.

Dozerdust, Volume 2, Issue 2, 11 December 1943, Page 2

THE KANAKA OF NECAL.

Cpl. E.

(By

_Kno wli ng}

THE natives of this island are mainly of Melanesian origin being characterised by their dark skins and * chunky ’ build. They are called Canaques by the French but to their faces they prefer to be known as Indigenes ( Natures ) or by the more colloquial French term of 1 garcon ’(boy)* The language barrier prevents us from ting to know them well, and * there seems to be little authoritt s ve information available, as the French do not appear to encou rage any pride in race or traditi’* on. ::: THE tribal set up appears to be that of a loose confeder - at ion of sub-tribes under a paramount district chief, the * Grand Chef I Each sub-tribe has its own chief and his authority apparently

depends largely on his personal - ity, as in some cases discipline within the tribe is good. In many cases the minor chiefs are quite young men, and a considerable

amount of control is reisc d ■ thorugh the heads of families who arc consulted in matters of tribal policy. In only one case have I come rln contact.- with any suggestion of taboo and in this case a

native man and woman were walking along the road towards a ’Gtand Chief*; the man continued and met the chief and, as is usual, went through the routine of hand shaking and cheek kissing* The woman, however, sat down with her face averted some hundred yards away* It seemed that she must not pass in front of a chief* If con - tact is unavoidable the woman must turn her back and not look the chief’s face*. There must be ex. - ceptions to this rule, maybe it only applies to strangers for most of the chiefs I have met have been blessed by more than one offspring*::: THS Kanaka attitude to work is typically native; if interested he will work well in short bursts, but continuous routine work does not attract him at all* When employed by the Army he is paid about fifty cents a day and as there is little available for him to buy, the money is little incentive. His food is home grown in his plantations which may be near his home or else miles away in the hills; he is mainly a vege*-''?l«n in diet and his only local food purchase is bread, which costs him the equivalent of six -' pence a loaf. In the earlier stages of the war when invasion seemed imminent so many natives

were at work at camps* etc that the plantations were neglected and the Govt, had to make an issue of rice to feed them* Since then the Gendarmes have super - vistd the cropping and should a native fail to have enough planted he will bo compelled to get to work and grow more. ::: TAXES are paid by work on the roads - and fifteen days on the pick and shovel sees him free to look the Tax Dept, in the face* As a res - ult of the combination of home grown food, scarcity of goods to buy and the system of working off taxes the lure of money has not sufficient pull to counter balance the love of leisure encouraged by the climate of the South Pacific Paradise*