Bodies Permeable and Divine: Tapu, Mana and the Embodiment of Hegemony in Pre‑Christian Tonga

Mills, Andy

doi:10.22459/nm.04.2016.03

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…This links chiefs to key components of ideology in the region, specifically mana [22], which is thought to have a deep history in Polynesia [23]. Mana, a form of efficacy that is genealogically inherited and ethically mediated [24,25], is both a marker and key trait of leadership. Food and general abundance symbolize the presence of mana [21,22,26].…”

Section: The Development Of Chiefdoms In Polynesia: Land Territories ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective action problems led to the cultural transformation of Sāmoa 800 years ago

Cochrane,

Quintus,

Prebble

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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In this research we identify the processes leading to hierarchical society in a region of Sāmoa, the often-labelled ʻbirthplace’ of the Polynesian chiefdoms. Our analyses in the Falefa Valley on ʻUpolu island combine lidar mapping and ground survey to reveal an extensive system of archaeological features: rock walls, ditches, and platforms. Excavation and radiocarbon dating underpin a feature chronology and characterize feature variation. Soil nutrient analyses and geoarchaeological coring indicate spatial differences in the agricultural potentional of the valley and human modification of the environment over time. Our results demonstrate that the construction of large rock walls, some several hundred meters long, began approximately 900–600 years ago, shortly after rapid population rise in Sāmoa. This was followed by the building of small rock walls, often enclosing rectilinear fields or platforms. Both rock wall types are concentrated in the western and northern regions of the valley and greater rock wall densities are associated with areas of higher agricultural potential. The earliest wall construction was penecontemporaneous with partial forest removal that created a more productive wetland environment in the southeastern region of the valley, an area later a focus of agricultural ditching. We propose that with population rise the variable fertility of agricultural land became a significant resource gradient, influencing the population in two ways. First, areas of more fertile agricultural land promoted territorial behaviour, including large rock walls, and led to a collective action problem. Second, niche construction in the form of human-induced environmental change created a productive wetland agricultural system that was enhanced with a reticulate ditch network, the maintenance of which also led to a collective action problem. We conclude that in the Falefa Valley, the second largest catchment in Sāmoa, collective action problems were the cause of increased social hierarchy and may underlie the origins of chiefdoms throughout Polynesia.

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Section: The Development Of Chiefdoms In Polynesia: Land Territories ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective action problems led to the cultural transformation of Sāmoa 800 years ago

Cochrane,

Quintus,

Prebble

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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“…41-42). Today, burial sites and places of mana (life force) can be kapu (Tomlinson & Tengan, 2016;Mills, 2016), but also fish that are spawning, a mountain reservoir of fresh water, or a forest in a particular season.…”

Section: Ancestorshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

The disregarded weight of the ancestors: Honouring the complexities and cultural subtleties of islandscape

Borgnino¹,

Giordana²

2023

ISJ

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Starting from a comparison between the Belep Islands (Kanaky New Caledonia) and O’ahu (Hawai’i), this paper aims to contribute to the debates about islands and the Anthropocene, highlighting the relevance of the social and ecological responsibilities deriving from genealogical connections to the islands: ‘the weight of the ancestors’. Considering the implications of these kinds of responsibilities can help to understand human and non-human relational entanglements better so as to value the agentive role of other-than-human perspectives.

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“…However, as kava spread across the Moana after being domesticated about 3,000 years ago (Lebot et al 1997), Blust and Turner both argued that a linguistic shift in the meaning/idea of mana took place, wherein mana became something that humans could also possess, do or be connected to. Mana became a potency, a generative force, one affecting fecundity, effectiveness, success, authority, honour and prestige that could be inherited, possessed and done, used by people and no longer relegated exclusively to natural phenomena (Blust 2007;Keesing 1984;Mead 2016;Mills 2016;Shore 1989;Tomlinson and Tengan 2016;Turner 2012). Mana became something that could be channelled in human form, and a particular feature of chiefliness, which is diversely understood and applied in different contexts.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is supported through tauhi vā, which can be expressed by making genealogical connections with each other, gifting, or drinking kava together, which assists in rendering the mana and tapu of interlocutors noa in a particular moment, resulting in more intimate and free, unrestrained closeness in storying. Mills (2016) explains that noa and ngofua are equivalent terms, and there are also other different terms that refer to the release, neutralisation or calibration of mana and tapu. However, in pre-Christian Tonga, "the most common [term] was ngofua, meaning 'not tapu', 'permissible' or 'easy'" (p. 82).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The past before us: a brief history of Tongan kava

Tecun

Reeves

Wolfgramm

2020

jps

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This article examines deep and contemporary history through analysis of the Tongan kava origin story, a kava chant, the rise of the kalapu 'kava club' in the twentieth century and the growing expansion of contemporary kava. It is argued that a key function of past and present kava practices is a ritual liminality of noa 'neutralisation of protective restrictions' that results from mediating mana 'potency, honour' and tapu 'protective restrictions, set apart'. This is supported through ethnohistorical literature, song lyrics and ethnographic data. While the expressions, purpose, material and uses of kava evolve and change throughout time and space, from the titular ceremonies to the social rituals, they are connected through contextually specific mediations that establish noa. The kava origin story indicates a performance of mediations between ancient power relations, while the kava chant describes material culture alongside the establishment of the ritualised chiefly kava ceremony. Kalapu and the expanding contemporary kava practices today maintain connections to past practices while adapting to current circumstances such as global Tongan mobility and cultural diversity.

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Bodies Permeable and Divine: Tapu, Mana and the Embodiment of Hegemony in Pre‑Christian Tonga

Cited by 10 publications

References 6 publications

Collective action problems led to the cultural transformation of Sāmoa 800 years ago

Collective action problems led to the cultural transformation of Sāmoa 800 years ago

The disregarded weight of the ancestors: Honouring the complexities and cultural subtleties of islandscape

The past before us: a brief history of Tongan kava

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