Land Tenure in the Cook Islands
Table of Contents
page i
Table of Contents
Preface | v | |
Acknowledgements | vi | |
Abbreviations | x | |
Glossary and Conventions | xii | |
Chapter 1 | Introduction | 1 |
Part One: The Pre-Contact Land Tenure System of Rarotonga | ||
Chapter 2 | Historical background - c. 875 to 1823 A.D. | 12 |
Early settlement | 13 | |
Takitumu: the tribe of Tangiia | 17 | |
Karika's tribe: Te Au o Tonga or Avarua | 20 | |
Arorangi: the tribe that broke away | 26 | |
Relations between the tribes | 27 | |
Chapter 3 | Social organization | 31 |
The tribe (vaka) | 31 | |
The major lineage (ngati) | 35 | |
The minor lineage (ngati) | 40 | |
The extended family (uanga) | 42 | |
The nuclear family (puna) and the young unmarrieds (mapu) | 42 | |
The commoner (unga or tangata rikiriki) | 42 | |
Demographic composition | 45 | |
Specialists | 47 | |
Marriage | 48 | |
Transmission of titles | 51 | |
Chapter 4 | The distribution of rights to land | 60 |
The role of the titleholder | 61 | |
Rights of the tribe | 64 | |
Rights of the lineage | 66 | |
Rights of the extended family | 71 | |
Rights of the individual | 73 | |
Chapter 5 | The acquisition and loss of rights to land | 84 |
By discovery and settlement | 84 | |
By conquests | 85 | |
By allocation and occupation within the landholding group | 88page ii | |
By inheritance | 89 | |
By reversion | 92 | |
By marriage | 93 | |
By gift and permissive occupation | 96 | |
By adoption | 98 | |
The pattern of acquisition | 102 | |
The loss of rights to land | 104 | |
Chapter 6 | The utilization and role of land in Rarotonga | 107 |
The economic exploitation of land | 107 | |
The role of land in social relations | 114 | |
The state of land rights in 1823 | 120 | |
Part Two: THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN CULTURE ON LAND TENURE 1823–98 | ||
Chapter 7 | Changes in the distribution of land and land rights | 124 |
New patterns of settlement | 124 | |
The effects of social and demographic upheaval | 133 | |
Foreign settlement | 145 | |
Chapter 8 | The form and function of introduced laws | 155 |
The Mission role | 155 | |
The functioning of the laws | 159 | |
Protection and Federation 1888–98 | 165 | |
Chapter 9 | The new role of land | 172 |
The production of surpluses | 172 | |
Changes in production patterns | 175 | |
The leasing and lending of land | 179 | |
The status of women | 180 | |
Differentiation of the social classes | 181 | |
Part Three: THE LAND COURT: ITS FORM, FUNCTION AND EFFECTS | ||
Chapter 10 | The establishment of the Land Court | 190 |
A shift in the balance of power | 190 | |
Annexation and the creation of a Land Court | 196 | |
The Court established | 198 | |
Foreign settlement | 200 | |
The act of 1915 | 205 | |
Appeals and rehearings | 209 | |
Chapter 11 | The Land Court in action | 211 |
Determining ownership | 211 | |
Title to village lands | 217 | |
The progress of Court investigations | 222page iii | |
Chapter 12 | Court practice and native custom | 225 |
Rights of women (and through women) | 226 | |
The rights of absentees (contingent and secondary right-holders) | 233 | |
The effects of erroneous Court interpretations | 238 | |
Chapter 13 | Tenure reform and productivity | 247 |
Early experiments in increasing productivity | 247 | |
Productivity changes since annexation | 250 | |
The causes of productivity decline | 263 | |
Chapter 14 | Recent developments | 272 |
The Occupation Rights scheme | 272 | |
Later experiments | 278 | |
New patterns of work organization | 283 | |
Chapter 15 | Future possibilities | 286 |
The demographic context | 286 | |
Advantages of the existing system | 288 | |
Future possibilities: the range of feasibility | 290 | |
Fragmentation of title | 293 | |
Facilitating transfer | 298 | |
The constitution and functions of the Court | 304 | |
Incorporation: a possible tenure innovation | 309 | |
Appendices | ||
A | Schedule of laws and other provisions relating to land in the Cook Islands | 315 |
B | The Ngati Te Ora case: an illustration of the effects of Court practice | 330 |
C | Price index for the Cook Islands 1891–1959 | 349 |
Bibliography | 350 | |
List of maps, tables and diagrams | ||
Maps | ||
The Cook Islands in relation to neighbouring territories | xv | |
Rarotonga: major cultural and physical features | 14 | |
The pattern of land division: Turangi and adjacent tapere, Rarotonga | 68page iv | |
The changing pattern of settlement: Turangi ma Nga Mataiapo | 130 | |
Ngati te Ora lands, Takuvaine valley, Rarotonga | 331 | |
Tables | ||
1A | Exports of Agricultural Produce from the Cook Islands 1895–1905 | 252 |
1B | Exports of Agricultural Produce from the Cook Islands 1906–15 | 253 |
2A | Exports of Agricultural Produce from Mauke 1906–15 | 256 |
2B | Exports of Agricultural Produce from Mangaia 1906–15 | 256 |
3 | Exports of Agricultural Produce from the Cook Islands 1921–30 | 257 |
4A | Exports of Agricultural Produce from Mauke 1930–40 | 259 |
4B | Exports of Agricultural Produce from Mangaia 1930–40 | 259 |
5 | Exports of Agricultural Produce from the Cook Islands 1950–9 | 261 |
6A | Exports of Agricultural Produce from Mauke 1950–9 | 262 |
6B | Exports of Agricultural Produce from Mangaia 1950–9 | 262 |
Diagrams | ||
Ideal structure of a Rarotongan tribe | 32 | |
A pre-contact example illustrating the pattern of transmission of rank titles | 59 | |
A hypothetical pre-contact household in Rarotonga | 75 | |
Genealogy of the Ngati Te Ora | 342–8 |