Paper short abstract:

Concentrating on Southeast Vella, I examine the meeting points between concepts of ‘foreign’ and ‘local’ and ‘same’ and ‘different’ people, exploring ways in which the boundaries between them are negotiated and maintained through formal and informal sanctions.

Paper long abstract:

Of the 53 matrilineages (toutou) represented on Vella Lavella, over half are not indigenous to the island; a legacy of the early period of migration and headhunting in the Western Solomon Islands. Inter- and intra-island adoption, marriage and migration are still commonly practised. Such relationships between 'foreign' and 'local' are double edged - foreign lineages are needed to keep matrilineal lines strong, yet outsiders are perceived to bring many cultural practices which are often met with fear and suspicion by locals, materializing in stereotypes of place and sometimes accusations of witchcraft.

Subsumed within the distinctions of 'foreign' and 'local' are more subtle and locally pertinent differentiations of 'same' and 'different' people- a categorization that speaks more to kin relationships and the intertwining of matrilineal identities than a difference in custom and belief systems.

These social relationships are mediated informally by 'talk' and community gossip and secondarily by local councils who respond to local dissent. With the rising population and the influx of logging companies to the island chiefs have rallied for a renewal in matrilineal representation on local community councils, an aspect which had taken a back seat to colonial- and church-sanctioned governance since the early 20th century.

I consider how foreigners are accepted and incorporated, both into local communities and matrilineal systems. Concentrating on Southeast Vella, I examine the meeting points between concepts of 'foreign' and 'local' and 'same' and 'different' people, exploring how boundaries are formally and informally negotiated.