Same People, Different People Recognition, Knowledge and the (Re)construction of Relationships in Bilua, Vella Lavella

Abstract

When talking about the past, people of the Bilua region of Vella Lavella frequently lament the pre-Christian era, which is imagined as period of interdependence, partnership and solidarity between diverse groups. During this period, those placed in the relational categories of ‘same people’ and ‘different people’ were united through intermarriage and the sharing of land. Many juxtapose this era against the present context of more self-serving, globally-inspired agendas associated with ‘progress’ and ‘development,’ which are seen as influencing recent changes in social structure and land ownership, and as promoting an increasing emphasis on money and consumer goods. In this context, people struggle to reconcile individual opportunity and the distribution of limited monetary wealth and resources with what are presented as the customary values that ideally ensure the continued well-being of communities. Contemporary chiefs who encourage or capitalize on commercial ventures that are associated with logging and development are often privately criticized for prioritizing exclusive monetary interests and neglecting the social and moral well-being of their lineages and communities. Bilua people address the perceived conflict between monetary and social values in terms of a moral framework that simultaneously denigrates individualism and advocates adherence to group affiliation and the ideal of sociality. Through the discursive practices associated with this critique, historical events, myths and gossip are deployed as moral stories which demonstrate the ideals of social solidarity and ‘belonging’ – the reciprocal relationship between person and group, such that each person is constituted as a person by virtue of their group relationships. This moral framework can be best understood by investigating social practices of recognition, the acknowledgement of common connections and the respectful ways of relating to people based on these shared bonds. Bilua people demonstrate recognition by showing their awareness of nianio, which translates as knowledge, and specifically knowledge of genealogy and the social entanglements of people, land and ancestors. Nianio implies social responsibility: ‘to know’ or to understand social connections of kin and social entanglement is to recognize the obligations of connectedness and engage them accordingly. On the interpersonal level, Bilua recognition applies specifically to the acknowledgement and prioritization of relationships through adherence to cultural norms in exchange for support and nurturance. On the wider social level, recognition provides a connecting thread between the triadic, mutually constituting relationships between people, land and ancestors that are foundational to Bilua kastom – the values and practices that represent what are considered to be the best parts of the ancestors. Drawing on emerging anthropological approaches to this topic (e.g. Keane 1997; Fabian 1999, 2001; Povinelli 2002; Robbins 2003, 2009), I investigate recognition as a vital and dynamic process through which relationships and cultural knowledge are exercised and renewed. By focusing on the cultural values exhibited through Bilua concerns with recognition and its practice, I interpret the ways in which people engage with ideological constructions of the past and participate in everyday constructions of self and others. My analysis emphasizes the reciprocal social responsibilities that exist between individuals and between groups.