Sloan, Sean (2005) 'You can only do that "outside the village"': envy, communal pressure, spatiality and the accumulation of agricultural land around Nairukuruku, Naitasiri, Viti Levu, Fiji. Journal of Pacific Studies, 28 (2). pp. 246-268.

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Abstract

Some authors have suggested that agricultural land in Fiji is ever scarcer and concentrated in the hands of a relative few, while others suggest that social forces owing to a felt land scarcity in native Fijian villages repress and reverse accumulation. This paper explores this idea by examining the relationships among felt land scarcity, communal forces for equality, and tenure transformations in native Fijian villages. With a case study of the village of Nairukuruku, the findings suggest a felt land scarcity can lead a community collectively to use denigration to deter its members from accumulating land or, in the face of land accumulation, to reinforce communal principles. Three implications are then discussed. First, accumulation and commercialism are not automatically detrimental to communal practices on the land. Secondly, the processes of and reactions to accumulation where commercial agriculture is largely absent may be distinct from the processes and reaction in more commercialised villages. Finally, persistence in the communal deterrence of accumulation until all available land is 'communally' occupied may be short lived as the individual consolidation of land holdings may rise up and transform the rural Fiji's tenure system.

Item ID:	38613
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1011-3029
Keywords:	commercial agriculture; communalism; customary tenure; Fiji; individualism; land scarcity; land tenure
Date Deposited:	16 Mar 2016 22:47
FoR Codes:	16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1604 Human Geography > 160401 Economic Geography @ 60% 20 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 2002 Cultural Studies > 200210 Pacific Cultural Studies @ 40%
SEO Codes:	96 ENVIRONMENT > 9609 Land and Water Management > 960904 Farmland, Arable Cropland and Permanent Cropland Land Management @ 25% 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9607 Environmental Policy, Legislation and Standards > 960705 Rural Land Policy @ 25% 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9607 Environmental Policy, Legislation and Standards > 960702 Consumption Patterns, Population Issues and the Environment @ 50%
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