Distribución de competencias entre niveles de gobierno

T äufa’a h au ’s land reform was p art of major reform on the societal level, culm inating in the prom ulgation of the C onstitution in 1875. This reform can be regarded as a product of a long and continuous process of conflicting tendencies in society. Land reform m ay also im ply that the existing system of land tenure, at the tim e, was not keeping pace w ith social change. Therefore, it was p u rsued in response to political pressures for socio-economic change. The pre-existing land tenure system was a m ajor concern to T au fa’ahau because the system of land ow nership reinforced the oppression and exploitation of comm oners by chiefs. Land reform was deliberately im plem ented to cut dow n on the extent of social and economic inequalities in society, m oreover to guarantee the freedom of the com m oners from forced labour.

From the b eginning of his political career in the early 1820s, T aufa'ähau alw ays stood against the political interests of the aristocratic class. He easily m ingled w ith the grassroots level of society. His political and em otional feelings tow ard the com m oners w ere further revealed in

his social reform w hen the developm ent of w ritten law liberated the com m oners from forced labour and at the same time lim ited the power of the chiefs (1862 Em ancipation Edict). H ow ever, we can not explain this radical change in society as being the result of just one individual's effort. There w ere other people and structural forces that contributed equally to th e outcom e. The contact w ith the m u liti-faceted com ponents and influences of w estern culture can be regarded as one of the major external facto rs c o n trib u tin g to the changes in T ongan society. W hile the tran sitio n w as fairly slow in the early stage of contact, prior to the outbreak of civil war, change accelerated during the civil war (1799-1852), especially through the im pact of the C hristian m issionaries. European influences were m uch stronger in the process of reform after the civil war th ro u g h the activities of the C hristian Church, G overnm ent and traders (see Bollard 1974).

The first Europeans to arrive on Tongan shores w ere the Dutch explorers, Schouten and Lem aire in 1616. They were later follow ed by Abel Tasman (1643), Captain Wallis (1767), and Captain Cook (1773, 1774, 1777), to nam e just a few. Most of these explorers reported that the society w as very peaceful. "Tasman w as very favourably im pressed w ith the in d u stry of the Tongans. The land was cultivated everyw here, and there w ere no villages. Each man lived in his own garden, the allotm ents being separated by reed fences"(Wood 1932: 17).

This period of peace and order is referred to in Tongan tradition (t u k u f a k a h o l o ) as the era of f anongonongo t o k o t o (lit. to publish or announce w hile lying dow n) (Lätükefu 1975: 2). This idiom atic phrase denotes a social situation w here messages from the hou'eiki were passed around the com m unity by calling from one's fapi (household or dw elling com pound) to the neighbour and so on, w hile lying down. The phrase

portrays a unified picture of Tongan society which in fact concealed the contradictions betw een different groups and social classes. For example, it suggests that the t u ’a dedicated m ost of their effort to cultivating their lan d and fulfilling their feudal obligations (f a t o n g i a) to their chiefly landlords. The phrase also implies that the interests of the producing class {kau t u ’a) w ere suppressed by the hegem ony of the non-producing class (h o u ’e iki). The society had been rationalised into two main social classes, w ith opposing interests and m oral values (see chapter two), w here the lower class (kau t u ’a), consisting of the bulk of society, was being raised to be the tillers of the land and the bearers of the fatongia (obligation) to the u p p er class ( h o u’eiki). Thus, it is im portant to point out that m ost of the early E uropeans’ ethnographic records underem phasised the conflicting tendencies in Tongan society. They failed to recognise the underlying contradictions betw een the t u ’a and the h o u ’eiki.

W ithin the class of ru lin g elites, the system of ideologies that concealed the pow er rivalries am ong the chiefs was no longer effective as the outbreak of civil war in 1799 exposed contradictions and brought them to the surface. There is no evidence to suggest any direct causal link betw een the im pact of the E uropeans and the outbreak of the civil w ar itself. Still, neither is there any doubt that the im pact of the European cu ltu re con trib u ted to the em ergence of the contradictions that w ere previously concealed. For instance, some of the earliest explorers such as Tasman, Cook, and M ariner recognised the desperation of the Tongans to trad e for E uropean goods (M artin 1981; W ood 1932). This included the recognition of the su p erio rity of the E uropean guns w hich m ay have strengthened 'U lukälala's opposition to the central pow er in M u'a.

The period of peace and stability suggests that different forces in society w ere acting upon a state of equilibrium . This balance of forces in

society was altered by the im pact of European culture. Contact w ith the E uropeans certainly caused an aw areness am ong the local chiefs of the trem en d o u s pow er of E uropean technologies, such as their guns and am m unition. The first few years of the civil w ar w ent along w ithout any guns. But it was clear that some chiefs, such as 'Ulukälala, were desperate to gain guns. The return of young w arriors from Fiji in the second half of the 18th century further affected the balance of forces. They w ere reported to have had hostile attitudes and practised cannibalism which contributed to the social and political instability in society (LatGkefu 1975: 14, W ood 1932: 25).

The pow er struggle w ith in the h a u office, culm inating in the assassin atio n of the T u ’i K anokupolu, T uku'aho in 1799, resu lted in society eru p tin g in civil w ar. In other w ords, conflicting tendencies becam e apparent in the outbreak of the civil war w ith the revolt of chief 'U lukälala and his supporters against the ruthless and despotic pow er of the then Tu'i K anokupolu, Tuku'aho. The outbreak of the civil w ar in 1799 caused m uch chaos in society and led to the disintegration of the traditional polity.

The conduct of the war was changed w hen 'U lukälala captured the

Port-Au-Prince, in 1806, and obtained eight of its cannons. The surviving sailors, in clu d in g W illiam M ariner w ho had been a d o p te d by chief 'U lukälala, were then responsible for dem onstrating to 'U lukälala and his w a rrio rs how those cannons w ere o p erated . The su p e rio rity of the E u ropean guns, as com pared w ith the local w eapons, w as generally observed by the locals during the civil war.

The civil w ar was then responsible for the transform ation of the pre-contact pattern of settlem ent, that is, living in an fapi (lit. allotment)

scattered throughout the country, to living in concentrated groups in forts (k o l o t a u). It was this form of settlem ent, during the civil war, that led to living in m odern villages (k o l o) and towns. H ow ever, each k o l o t a u consisted of a chief (or an alliance of chiefs) with his kainga (lit; relatives; also referring to the people living in an estate, they were initially relatives of the estate holder). Chiefs often led their ow n people to war, and were also strong fighters in the battle field. The commoners' allegiance to their chiefs no longer show ed in the plantation field but was converted to the battle field.

The civil war greatly affected the food production system because m en w ere involved in fighting. The w om en m ight have been free to en d u re the responsibility but it was too risky to go outside of their fort to cultivate food crops. This led to a shortage of food which encouraged the w arriors to practise cannibalism. M ariner noticed that cannibalism was a value d u rin g the civil w ar, w here w arriors also ate their enem ies in revenge (M artin 1981). The shortage of food m ade it w orse for w om en and children. If the fighting had continued non stop w ithout an interval, the p o pulation w ould have been at greater risk. But there w ere a few intervals of peace betw een some of the major fights, and chiefs w ould call upon their kainga to cultivate short season root-crops.

C hanges in Tongan society w ere not only social, econom ic and political, b u t also m ental. The Tongan traditional m ode of thinking was closely associated w ith ancient religion and m ythologies, in turn having significant im pact on the society as a whole. The people w orshipped their ancient gods as m uch as they adored their h o u feiki and T u ’i. Religion was the m ain social in stitu tio n , in pre-contact Tonga, used to coerce the p o p u latio n and m aintain social order. The ancient Tongan religion, not

only can be regarded as the ideological foundation of the feudal system, b u t also as the main political tool for m aintaining the status-quo.

The outbreak of the civil w ar led m inor chiefs to question higher authorities, leading to the doubting of their religion. This is reflected in the case of two of the m ost prom inent figures during the civil war, Finau 'U lukälala and Taufa'ähau. W ood explains:

Finau had long been noted for his sceptical attitu de tow ards religion and his disrespect for the priests, though he often sought their advice and took it when it suited him. He was often careless about taking offerings to the gods, and he wished especially to abolish the first-fruits and tribute sent annually to the Tu'i Tonga as the gods' chief representative. Finau shrew dly observed that some years when H a'apai had not sent its tribute, no harm had followed. He considered these levies a useless burden, and it's certain that he w ould have carried out his intention had he lived longer (1932: 39).

W ood continues to explain that, "like Finau 'U lukälala II, T aufa'ähau had long doubted the heathen gods and soon after the m issionaries came to N uku'alofa he sought to secure one to teach him at H a'apai" (Wood 1932: 46). The C hristian religion seem ed to arrive at the right time, for T au fa'äh au w as seeking a m uch stronger ideological su p p o rt for his pow er struggle. His conversion to C hristianity m ade him the enem y of m ost of the chiefs in Tongatapu. H ow ever, the su p p o rt of the chiefs of V ava'u and H a'apai consolidated his pow er there, before he m oved dow n to Tongatapu.

The m ission of the C hristian religion to Tonga began in 1797, when ten m issionaries from the London M issionaries Society, based in London, arriv ed in Tonga. Their m ission w as soon to be in te rru p te d by the outbreak of the civil w ar in 1799 and they fled back to Sydney when three of their m en died in the unrest. A second a ttem p t to establish the C hristian religion was m ade by the m ethodists in 1822, but again, it was

unsuccessful. The two previous unsuccessful missions did not hold back the m issionaries from striving to inculcate Christian religion in Tonga. It w as not until 1826 that the third attem pt bore fruit. This was highlighted by the conversion of the first Tongan to C hristianity in 1829 (Lätükefu 1974, 1975; Wood 1932). The turning point of the missionaries' effort came about w hen T äufa'ähau was converted in 1830. T aufa'ähau's conversion to Christianity began the new era of his long and lasting alliance w ith the W esleyan m issio n aries, especially Baker later on. It also laid the foundations for: the establishm ent of C hristianity as a national religion; the beginning of T aufa'ähau's political career; and the future political developm ent of Tongan society.

The alliance betw een T aufa’ahau and the C hristian m issionaries can be reg ard ed as a m arriage of convenience betw een politics and religion (Lätükefu 1974). The original ideological foundations of the civil w ar, that is, political rivalry betw een pow erful chiefs, was then blended w ith C hristian ideologies. The intrusion of C hristian ideologies refuelled the unrest. C onsequently, the country was divided into two sides w ith opposing ideologies. Taufa’ahau and his m issionary supporters favoured changes and prom oted W estern ideologies such as W estern Civilisation and Christianity. On the other hand, the rest of the h o u 'eiki including the T u ’i Tonga, rem ained loyal to the old religion and strongly opposed the influence of foreign religion. They reg ard ed the foreign religion as th re a te n in g a n d w eak en in g th eir tra d itio n a l a u th o rity . H o w ev er, C hristian m oral values w ere easily identified w ith the tu 'a values and thus renew ed the ideological footing of the civil war. Subsequently, the civil w ar reflected the strife betw een two polar m oral system s, that is, C h r i s t i a n / s 1 a v e / t u *a v a lu e s a g a i n s t th e t r a d i t i o n a l religion / heroic / h o u ’eiki values (Helu 1981:1; M ähina 1992).

The dialectical interaction betw een religion and politics has played a m ajor role in overhauling the feudal structure of the Tongan social form ation. Generally, these are two distinct institutions w ith conflicting interests but they have capitalised on each other in the struggle for power an d reform in Tongan society. The close association of the C hristian religion and politics is reflected in the outcom e of the process of reform w hich culm inated in the prom ulgation of the constitution in 1875. This is a very im p o rtan t period in the history of m odern Tonga because it m arked the beginning of a drastic change that characterised the shift to a m o d ern society. It is im p o rtan t to point out that it w as through the conflict an d com prom ise betw een T äufa'ahau and the m issionaries, especially Baker, that Tonga has been able to achieve her present stage of legal developm ent.

3.2. The Development of Legal Codes.

The political pressure on Täufa'ähau to bring about socio-economic change was evident as soon as he came to power. This began in 1820 when TcTufa’ahau became the ruler of H a’apai. He later assum ed the rulership of V ava’u in 1833, following the death of Finau ’U lukälala IV (Lätükefu 1974; W ood 1932). The com bination of his opportunistic characteristics and the assistance of the m issionaries led to the codification of the first law in 1839, know n as the V ava'u Code. Thus, V ava'u and H a’apai experienced for the first time the application of the rule of w ritten law. In 1845, T äufa’ahau assum ed the T u’i K anokupolu title, follow ing the death of A leam otu'a. The application of the Vava'u Code was then extended to Tongatapu. But, apparently, the Vava'u Code was a little too simplistic to encom pass increasing complications in the whole of Tongan society. This led to the developm ent of the second legal code in 1850. T aufa'ähau, at this stage, was still not yet recognised by the Ha'a Havea chiefs, as the Tu'i

K anokupolu. The H a'a H avea chiefs com prised the ’electoral college’ w hose d u ty it was to elect the Tu'i K anokupolu. H ow ever, T aufa’ahau overcam e this problem w hen he finally p u t dow n the H a ’a H av ea’s resistance in 1852, "thus achieving the ultim ate unification of the whole of Tonga into a Kingdom" (Latükefu 1992: 2)

The V ava’u C ode of 1839 reflected T au fa ’a h a u ’s in ten tio n to m inim ise the pow er of the chiefs. The form ulation of this code was influenced by the Christian doctrine that all men are equal in the sight of god. The chiefs were expected to allot land to their respective käinga and to m ake sure that the käinga were industrious in feeding themselves first, and fulfilling their duties to their governm ent and their chiefs (Clause 3).