Tikopia Tribe

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exercised by the clan chief. Within this patrilineal descent the eldest son acts as the main controller of the residence until his death. The Tikopian land is divided into orchards of palm and fruit trees, and open gardens. (www.evryculture.com/Oceania/Tikopia) Each land plot is owned by a member of a Tikopian lineage, however it is not unusual for a vacant land plot to be used by someone other than the owner for a season. Tikopian's are the only people with whom own land.

The Tikopians who first arrived about 900 BC practiced slash and burn agriculture and over-used fish and bird resources, driving a number of local species into extinction. Around 100 BC they gradually switched to an orchard economy and developed the use of pigs for their main protein. In about 1600 AD they made another enormous change. The pigs, which rooted up gardens, required about 10 pounds of vegetables to make 1 pound of pork, and had become a luxury and prestige item for the chiefs, were all killed. ...

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to tend to the earth ovens. Tikopia men practiced the crafts of canoe building and net weaving. While the women wove mats and bark cloth garments and blankets. (Firth, Raymond. "Tikopia." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. 1996). Socially the Tikopian are divided into four clans. ( kainanga.) Each clan is comprised of about six different lineages, and is led by it's own chief. The position of chief is passed down from generation to generation. The four clans, Kafika, Tafua, Taumako, and Fangarere, each have their own roots in certain individual religious rituals.

The clans dwell in grouped residentialdistricts, the largest of which are the Ravenga, on the east side of the island, and the ...

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