Strikes, insubordination, theft and disobedience.

Between the rebellion of Angata and Rapanui struggles for civil rights

of communication with the continent and the prohibition apparatus and the labor structure of the Company.8 The of Rapanui leaving the island, accelerated the cases of existence of these characters indicated the appearance permanent abuse of the islanders by the authorities (Rapa of a distinctive social sector at the heart of the society, Nui Work Group 2002). one both directly linked to the colonial presence In spite of the adverse living conditions which the and expressive of the interests of indigenous society Rapanui endured during these years, the development of a (Moreno Pakarati 2011). small-scale peasant economy, displaying strong elements Finally, one of the growing sectors of the population of traditional forms of production and exchange, ensured which during those decades became more inuential both their subsistence and their capacity to respond to was a generation of mestizos, including the children State institutions and the Company. Moreover, the fact of administrator Percy Edmunds with Rapanui women Miguel Fuentes that the Company contracted a signicant number of (Stambuk 2010). The consolidation and inuence of workers during the shearing months and fewer during this group, linked to merchants, Chileans, and foreign the rest of the year obliged the islanders to diversify and travelers, constituted a social phenomenon which, 5 strengthen their family economies. althoughcommunity present at the beginning of the colonial endeavor, After the demise of the indigenous rebellion in 1914, the Rapanui began a campaign of active resistance Between 1917 and 1936, the islands population led the Rapanui to develop new attitudes and perspectives against attempts to mold their ways of life to new socio-political patterns and norms. Their constant and varied was divided to between three main economic activities: in relation to Chilean dominance (Stambuk 2010). practices undermine and disregard the authority of the State and the functionaries of the Compaa Explotadora as de permanent or temporary workers in the CEDIP, obstacles as Isla de Pascua (CEDIP) became signicant for colonial powers, as well as marking the beginnings small scale farmers, livestock and of the struggles for Rapanuiranchers, civil rights inshermen the 1960s. Forms of Indigenous Resistance During whose production was geared towards self-sufciency the Period 1917-1936 and exchange, as workers inserted indgena into the diverse Luego de laand derrota de la rebelin de 1914, la comunidad Rapanui opuso una activa resistencia a las State institutions (school, police, and registry ofce), sucesivas tentativas por amoldarla al nuevo marco social y poltico. El desarrollo de permanentes y during variadas As we have seen, the indigenous community including domestic workers.6 From onwards, the prcticas de desconocimiento de 1930 las autoridades estatales y de los funcionarios de la Compaa this period was an enterprising one, Explotadora involved in de strengthening of these economic dynamics, underpinned Isla de Pascua (CEDIP), constituy as un continuo escollo para economic la accin de los poderes coloniales, a la vez que multiple activities and characterized by the by strong elementsantecedente of traditional forms of production and un importante del proceso de luchas reivindicativas por los civiles Rapanui deand los certain aos 60s. conservation of derechos identity based on language exchange, resulted in a considerable increase in maize aspects of their kinship system. Similarly, the Rapanui production, which even became a form of exchange exhibited a striking capacity tooccurred appropriate foreign Thus, the rebellion of 1914 within this new, Introduction between the islanders.7 This meant that in January of religious inuences and re-interpret them according post-1890s, political and social context. An important 1929 and September of 1930, for example, theaquantity their own beliefs (Castro 2006; Delsing From the 1890s onwards, the Rapanui faced new social to rebellion against the ChileanFlores colonial presence on the of and maize produced by the islanders reached 67,314 2004; Grifferos 1997). Thus, far from constituting a political reality on the island; one characterized by island, it was led by Rapanui indigenous and religious kilos (valued at 13,462.20 Chilean pesos), the majority passive community before the depredations of colonial the signicant consolidation of colonial forces (Cristino leader, Mara Angata. This uprising, which for the of et which was cultivated by 29 families. the islands society constituted was characterized bychallenge active al. 1984; Estella 1920). In indigenous the decade prior to this agents, indigenous population a direct Many other Rapanui families were involved to a lesser opposition to the successive attempts to mold them change, under the administration of Alexander Salmn to the establishment of the new colonial regimen being extent in maize production, constantly providing the toon the new social and political framework that and the Compaa Brander, the demands of livestock according imposed the island, was also the last direct and open Company withhad one been or two sacks of maize each month enforced against following the defeat of the 1914 rebellion. production somewhat compatible with the was rebellion these new forms of colonial rule. (AIV 1930a:Folio 208). From the point of view of the colonial authority, spaces of political autonomy that indigenous peoples had Inspired by mystical or messianic Christian discourses, In addition, the strengthening economies permanent opposition of the Rapanui could conserved. For instance, patternsof offamily livestock production theAngata and her followers successfully threw into was also expressed in increased for cultivatable conveniently explained away by alluding had been compatible with an demands indigenous power structure be question the very foundations of foreign presence, land on behalf the indigenous Rapanui, an increase the basic norms control of civilized life and which the based on anof ethnic king. However, from the 1890s to while also taking of the island corralling in forward, small-scale subsistence shing, and the exchange indigenous population supposedly lacked, as well those kinds of spaces became increasingly in the CEDIP administrator on his lands in Mataveri. of closed-in livestock and between Rapanui the the CEDIP (AIV to their supposed natural tendencies toward corralled. Thus, and towards end of the 19th as Their rebellion declared, among other things, total 1926:Folios 6 & 12; AIV 1927:Folios 23(12) & 24). rebellion, laziness and immorality. The Maritime century, the Rapanui community became increasingly sovereignty over the island by islanders, and demanded Handcrafted goods were used as commodities Olalquiaga concentrated and virtually contained within Hanga in Roa, Sub-Delegate the return of livestock writes: and other property then in the exchange for clothes, alcohol and other scarce goods while socio-economic patterns of livestock production hands of the Company (Castro Flores 2006; Cristino et upon the arrival of cargo (Cristino ships to the island Habiendo convivido con los isleos1919; por espacio de 5 2010; became more restrictive et al. 1984;(AIV Fischer al. 1984; Estella 1920; Routledge Stambuk 1927:Folio 26). These forms of exchange reveal the meses, he podido conocerlos perfectamente y deducir 2001; Hotus et al. 1988; McCall 1976, 1980). During Van Tilburg 2003). No action of this scale or type would maintenance ofthe a strong cultural heritage in allpower aspects que son verdaderamente ojos, pues, sta gente no the this period, concentration of political also occur again on the island in the decades following of indigenous society, including the preservation of the tiene iniciativas de trabajo ni de progreso, ellos son crystallized in the gure of the Subdelegado Maritimo, 1914 rebellion, and until at least the 1960s. native languageSub-Delegate. and cultural practices. adems inconcientes a todo sentimiento, no saben Rapanui lo or Maritime This gure was at once the As discussed previously, the traditional At the same time, the striking role played by que es amor de madre ni de hijos, y es natural que no political administrator of the island while also, after the way of life underwent important transformations at certain indigenous gures within the islands contando con los sentimientos primordiales de la vida, creation of La Compaa Explotadora de Islapolitical de Pascua the end of the 19th century. These transformations system reected another aspect of the complex social no cuentan con nada, ni siquiera con amor propio. Mis and of Merlet (future property of the British rm Williamson brought, as a consequence, new patterns of social dynamics of the period. A few examples, among many 1 estudios profundos y psicolgicos fundamentan mis & Balfour), the administrator of the company as well. political relations on the island. While valuable studies such gures, were Juan Tepano, a political leader and razones de calicarlos de inconcientes, habituados a employee of CEDIP, Nicolas Pakarati, a catechist, and la ojera, ladrones, calumniadores y revoltosos [] a series of Rapanui that were inserted into the State (AMM 1936:22). Miguel Fuentes | Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. correomiguelfuentes@gmail.com
Rapa Rapa Nui Nui Journal Journal 46 43 Vol. Vol. 26 26 (1) (1) May May 2012 2012

Strikes, insubordination, theft and disobedience. Between the rebellion of Angata and Rapanui struggles for civil rights. Forms of indigenous resistance on Rapa Nui (1917-1936)

Strikes, insubordination, theft and disobedience. Between the rebellion of Angata and Rapanui struggles for civil rights

exist that focus on the period stretching from the rst contacts between the Rapanui and Europeans in the 18th century up to the establishment of intensive commercial regimens of livestock exploitation at the end of the 19th century, many of these have lacked a focus on salvaging and emphasizing the signicant political role played by the Rapanui population during these years (Moreno Pakarati 2011).
Its a common error in the studies of Rapa Nui, to depict a passive island community in the face of the onslaught of modernity, colonialism, and the foreign exploiters of the island. The truth is that Rapanui society lived through an interesting evolution of their structures of political power, and rapid adaptations permitted them to confront these powers coming in from outside (Moreno Pakarati 2011:53).

Sufre mucho l que suscribe, ver a tantas familias pobres; sus hijos desnudos y muchas veces sin comer por falta de trabajo y el tiempo malo. Ruego al Seor Director Jeneral del Territorio Maritimo de Valparaso, pida a la Sociedad [] una caridad para sta Isla, tan abandonada de todo, espero as lo haga, anticipndole, los agradecimientos a nombre de la poblacin (AIV 1926). [One who witnesses so many poor families suffers much; their naked children often go hungry for the lack of work and bad weather. I implore the General Director of the Maritime Territory of Valparaso, to ask society some charity for this island, which is so abandoned from everything and in the hope that he will do so, I advance the populations gratitude.]

Moreover, the scarcity of documentation related to the years following the indigenous rebellion in 1914 have only made it more difcult to comprehend the diverse social and political processes occurring on the island during this time period (Moreno Pakarati 2011). This article, building from recent investigations on Rapanui society during the CEDIP period, presents new elements for analysis from this time period and moves towards a more profound characterization of the transformations of indigenous socio-political structures, while emphasizing the capacity of the Rapanui to both survive these transformations and actively respond to them.2

General Aspects of Rapanui Living Conditions

According to the census carried out by the Maritime Sub-Delegation between the years of 1926 and 1935, the indigenous Rapanui population rose from 356 to 454 inhabitants with a great part of the population involved in farming and livestock raising activities, either in family enterprises or as workers temporary or permanent in the Company (AIV 1926; AMM 1935). However, despite this growth, the majority of historical texts concur that the living conditions of the population during this era were very harsh. Without access to their ancestral lands, facing restrictions that prevented them from exploiting the islands agriculture in any signicant way, and struck by the periodic waves of illnesses brought by the arrival of new ships, the indigenous population faced a variety of shortages and many difculties. The suffering of the population did not escape the authorities on island. They described it in terms that implied a shared suffering, including their own. In 1926, Carlos Recabarren, the Maritime Sub-Delegate of Rapa Nui tells us the following:

However, neither the supposed suffering of the authorities nor their periodic campaigns for charity during this period translated into palpable improvements in the islanders living conditions. Even during the years when no famines occurred, the situation of the indigenous population could be characterized as one of systematic abandonment by the government and public institutions (Santana et al. 2011). Healthcare is a prime example of this abandonment. Aside from lacking a hospital or a medical professional on Rapa Nui, the constant requests by authorities on the island for treatment and medical supplies were also completely ignored. In 1928, after more than a year in this position and following many requests to his superiors in Chile, Recabarren himself bore the responsibility of satisfying the urgent medical needs of the islanders during his sporadic trips to Valparaso. He wrote:
[] Cundo llegu del Continente, no haba ningn remedio, muchos enfermos y muchos muertos. Me puse en campaa con la Polica, traje bastantes remedios y principi a entregar a las jentes y aplicar los remedios necesarios y combatir la ebre que haba; dando purgantes, [], aspirina, yodo, algodn y muchos otros remedios. Se complet la botica con otro regalo ms que dio la Cia Explotadora Isla de Pascua, unas pastillas que vienen de Norte America y que el ao pasado tambin regalaron y que dieron mui buenos resultados, tanto para los leprosos como tambin para todos los habitantes de la Isla [] (AIV 1928b). [... When I arrived from the continent, there were no remedies, but many sick and many dead. I embarked on a campaign with the police, I brought medicines and I started to distribute them among the people, applying the necessary treatments and ghting the fevers there were; administering purgatives... aspirin, iodine, cotton wool and many other remedies. The supplies were

Rapa Nui Journal

44

Vol. 26 (1) May 2012

Strikes, insubordination, theft and disobedience. Between the rebellion of Angata and Rapanui struggles for civil rights Miguel Fuentes

complemented with another present donated by rst the exist that focus on the period stretching from the Easter Island Exploitation Company: some in pills from contacts between the Rapanui and Europeans the 18th and which last were also given and centuryNorth up toAmerica the establishment ofyear intensive commercial gave good results, both for those with of leprosy asth regimens ofvery livestock exploitation at the end the 19 well as the rest ofhave the islands population] century, many of these lacked a focus on salvaging and emphasizing the signicant political role played Eight years later, Rapa Nui wasyears still (Moreno lacking the by the Rapanui population during these most basic sanitary infrastructure. At that moment, the Pakarati 2011). islanders achieved better results by supplying themselves with equipment. Forstudies example, Esteban Hito, a Its basic a common error in the of Rapa Nui, to Rapanui, donated a little house in with two of rooms for depict a passive island community the face the the running the islands rst polyclinic. When the onslaught of of modernity, colonialism, and the foreign inexperienced practitioner and health supervisor, Adolfo exploiters of the island. The truth is that Rapanui Dussault, nally arrived, the Maritime Sub-Delegate society lived through an interesting evolution of their Manuel Olalquiga related the and importance of the Rapanui structures of political power, rapid adaptations 3 efforts andthem contributions: permitted to confront these powers coming in from outside (Moreno Pakarati 2011:53). [] a su llegada a esta [se reere a la isla] no se contaba un local para la atencin de los muchos Moreover, the con scarcity of documentation related to the enfermos que requeran sus servicios, lo have que years following the indigenous rebellion in por 1914 tuve que colocarlo provisoriamente por 6 das, en el only made it more difcult to comprehend the diverse antiguo local de la Escuela, occurring hasta que el nativo Esteban social and political processes on the island una casita de dos piezas, en during Hito this cedi time gratuitamente period (Moreno Pakarati 2011). This el practicante pudo instalar su Policlnico [] article, donde building from recent investigations on Rapanui respecto a los servicios creo elements que sera society Con during the CEDIP period,sanitarios, presents new conveniente para la Armada, designar una personaa for analysis from this time period and moves towards de mayor graduacin que el seor Dussaut, more profound characterization ofsargento the transformations of puessocio-political con ello se tendra una persona de mayores indigenous structures, while emphasizing conocimientos (AMM 1936). the capacity of the profesionales Rapanui to[] both survive these

de los leprosos y al mismo ver tiempo de investigar Sufre mucho l que suscribe, a tantas familias la slis sus en los habitantes de la Isla de Pascua, puedo pobres; hijos desnudos y muchas veces sin informarle lode siguiente: La permanencia en la comer por falta trabajo y el corta tiempo malo. Ruego Isla, me ha permitido apenas realizar una rpida de visita al Seor Director Jeneral del Territorio Maritimo de inspeccin la choza inmunda que han dado Valparaso, pida aala Sociedad [] una caridad para en llamar Leprosera, pude constatar la vida sta Isla, tan abandonada donde de todo, espero as lo haga, de miseriaslos que llevan estos infelices, por dems anticipndole, agradecimientos a nombre de la ya conocida de todos nosotros [] Sin embargo, la poblacin (AIV 1926). suerte parece favorecer a estos tristes desgraciados y la lepra que, antes al mdico visitante [One who witnesses so ofreca many poor families suffers el aspecto de sus ulceraciones enfor completo much; theirrepugnante naked children often go hungry the abandono, se presenta por elIcontrario ante el mdico lack of work and bad weather. implore the General visitante de Maritime ahora, con caracteres de cicatrizacin Director of the Territory of Valparaso, to la mayora de charity los casos. esto sea un lijero asken society some forTalvez this island, which is consuelo, para esta desgraciada jente, que por so abandoned from everything and in the hope thatsus condiciones intelijencia y sumisin,gratitude.] son dignos de he will do so, I de advance the populations una mas humana preocupacin por parte de nuestras autoridades [] (AMM 1921c). However, neither the supposed suffering of the

transformations and actively respond to them.2

[ upon his arrival [to the island] there was no building available for the treatment of the many General Aspects of Rapanui Living sick in need of his services, the reason for which Conditions I had to assign him provisionally, for six days, the building of the old school, until Esteban According to the census carried out the by native the Maritime Hito freely granted a small two room house, Sub-Delegation between the years of 1926 and where 1935, the practitioner could establishrose his polyclinic with the indigenous Rapanui population from 356 to 454 respect to the health services, I think it would be inhabitants with a great part of the population involved in convenient for the Navy, to designate a person with farming and livestock raising activities, either in family moreor experience than Sergeant Dussent, seeingas enterprises as workers temporary or permanent in then we could have a more professionally experienced the Company (AIV 1926; AMM 1935). However, despite person] this growth, the majority of historical texts concur that

authorities nor their periodic campaigns for charity [ period In fulllment of the ordered by during this translated intoinvestigation palpable improvements and with the objective Even of evaluating in the yourself islanders living conditions. during the the sanitary of those suffering from leprosy years when noconditions famines occurred, the situation of the and at the same time evaluating syphilis among the indigenous population could be characterized as one of inhabitants of Easter by Island, can report theand following: systematic abandonment the Igovernment public a short stay on et the island has barely allowed me to institutions (Santana al. 2011). undertake of this the abandonment. lthy hut they Healthcare isaaquick primeinspection example of have lacking deemed a hospital leper colony, where Iprofessional was able to Aside from or a medical witness of these already on Rapa Nui, the the wretched constantlives requests by people, authorities on known to us However, luck seems to favor these the island for treatment and medical supplies were also miserable people theafter leprosy, which previously completely ignored. In and 1928, more than a year in offered to following the visiting doctor the repulsive aspect this position and many requests to his superiors of their completely neglected On the in Chile, Recabarren himself bore ulcerations. the responsibility contrary, the condition presented to the visiting of satisfying the urgent medical needs of newly the islanders doctor, is characterized by the formation of scar tissue during his sporadic trips to Valparaso. He wrote:
in the majority of cases. Perhaps this acts as minor consolation to these people, who ningn with their [] Cundo llegu deldejected Continente, no haba intelligent and submissive condition, are muertos. deserving of remedio, muchos enfermos y muchos concern onla behalf of our authorities] Memore puse human en campaa con Polica, traje bastantes remedios y principi a entregar a las jentes y aplicar los remedios y combatir laimportant ebre que haba; Similarly, in necesarios the case of another institution, dando purgantes, aspirina, algodn y the condition of the[], public school yodo, in 1926 was described muchos complet botica con otro con as: [] otros una remedios. pieza de Se madera enla mui mal estado msy que la Cia Explotadora Isla de Pascua, 2 regalo puertas 3 dio ventanas (AIV 1926). [a room in unas pastillas vienen detwo Norte America que el extremely badque state with doors andy3 windows.] ao pasado tambin regalaron que 31 dieron mui buenos Here, 63 Rapanui, 32 men y and women, studied on resultados, tanto parairregular los leprosos como tambin para different and often days. During the year of todos the los habitantes de la Isla [] (AIV 1928b). 1926, schoolteachers were Rapanui Mariana Atan

the living conditions of the population during this era In harsh. the almost complete absence of public health were very Without access to their ancestral lands, policies, the most important social conquest of the facing restrictions that prevented them from exploiting Provisorio (Provisional Temperament) theTemperamento islands agriculture in any signicant way, and struck reached its grotesque extreme with the by of the1917 periodic waves ofmost illnesses brought by the arrival construction of the leper colony. During the period of of new ships, the indigenous population faced a variety Maritime and Sub-Delegate Exequiel Acua, one of the of shortages many difculties. medical reports by the doctor in charge of the Baquedano The suffering of the population did not escape the paints an image of the miserable conditions in which authorities on island. They described it in terms thatthe people suffering from leprosy lived: implied a shared suffering, including their own. In 1926, Carlos Recabarren, the Maritime Sub-Delegate of Rapa [] En following: cumplimiento a la comisin ordenada por Nui tells us the
Ud. con el objeto de averiguar el estado sanitario

and Andrs Chavez and their wages were paid by the [... When Sub-Delegation. I arrived from the continent, there were no Maritime remedies, but important many sick and many dead. I embarked on social Another characteristic of Rapanui a campaign with the police, brought medicines andBeyond I life during this period was I its extreme isolation. started to distribute them among the people, applying the activities of church and school, which gave the the necessary treatments of and ghting the fevers there Rapanui the possibility catching a glimpse of foreign were; administering purgatives... aspirin, iodine, cotton total life, the indigenous population lived in almost 4 wool and many isolation, other remedies. The supplies were isolation. Their heightened by the inexistence

Rapa Rapa Nui Nui Journal Journal

44 45

Vol. Vol. 26 26 (1) (1) May May 2012 2012

Strikes, insubordination, theft and disobedience. Between the rebellion of Angata and Rapanui struggles for civil rights

of communication with the continent and the prohibition of Rapanui leaving the island, accelerated the cases of permanent abuse of the islanders by the authorities (Rapa Nui Work Group 2002). In spite of the adverse living conditions which the Rapanui endured during these years, the development of a small-scale peasant economy, displaying strong elements of traditional forms of production and exchange, ensured both their subsistence and their capacity to respond to State institutions and the Company. Moreover, the fact that the Company contracted a signicant number of workers during the shearing months and fewer during the rest of the year obliged the islanders to diversify and strengthen their family economies.5 Between 1917 and 1936, the islands population was divided between three main economic activities: as permanent or temporary workers in the CEDIP, as small scale farmers, livestock ranchers, and shermen whose production was geared towards self-sufciency and exchange, and as workers inserted into the diverse State institutions (school, police, and registry ofce), including domestic workers.6 From 1930 onwards, the strengthening of these economic dynamics, underpinned by strong elements of traditional forms of production and exchange, resulted in a considerable increase in maize production, which even became a form of exchange between the islanders.7 This meant that in January of 1929 and September of 1930, for example, the quantity of maize produced by the islanders reached 67,314 kilos (valued at 13,462.20 Chilean pesos), the majority of which was cultivated by 29 indigenous families. Many other Rapanui families were involved to a lesser extent in maize production, constantly providing the Company with one or two sacks of maize each month (AIV 1930a:Folio 208). In addition, the strengthening of family economies was also expressed in increased demands for cultivatable land on behalf of the indigenous Rapanui, an increase in small-scale subsistence shing, and the exchange of livestock between Rapanui and the CEDIP (AIV 1926:Folios 6 & 12; AIV 1927:Folios 23(12) & 24). Handcrafted goods were used as commodities in exchange for clothes, alcohol and other scarce goods upon the arrival of cargo ships to the island (AIV 1927:Folio 26). These forms of exchange reveal the maintenance of a strong cultural heritage in all aspects of indigenous society, including the preservation of the native language and cultural practices. At the same time, the striking role played by certain indigenous gures within the islands political system reected another aspect of the complex social dynamics of the period. A few examples, among many such gures, were Juan Tepano, a political leader and employee of CEDIP, Nicolas Pakarati, a catechist, and a series of Rapanui that were inserted into the State
Rapa Nui Journal 46

apparatus and the labor structure of the Company.8 The existence of these characters indicated the appearance of a distinctive social sector at the heart of the society, one both directly linked to the colonial presence and expressive of the interests of indigenous society (Moreno Pakarati 2011). Finally, one of the growing sectors of the population which during those decades became more inuential was a generation of mestizos, including the children of administrator Percy Edmunds with Rapanui women (Stambuk 2010). The consolidation and inuence of this group, linked to merchants, Chileans, and foreign travelers, constituted a social phenomenon which, although present at the beginning of the colonial endeavor, led the Rapanui to develop new attitudes and perspectives in relation to Chilean dominance (Stambuk 2010).

Forms of Indigenous Resistance During the Period 1917-1936

As we have seen, the indigenous community during this period was an enterprising one, involved in multiple economic activities and characterized by the conservation of identity based on language and certain aspects of their kinship system. Similarly, the Rapanui exhibited a striking capacity to appropriate foreign religious inuences and re-interpret them according to their own beliefs (Castro Flores 2006; Delsing 2004; Grifferos 1997). Thus, far from constituting a passive community before the depredations of colonial agents, the islands society was characterized by active opposition to the successive attempts to mold them according to the new social and political framework that was enforced following the defeat of the 1914 rebellion. From the point of view of the colonial authority, the permanent opposition of the Rapanui could be conveniently explained away by alluding to the basic norms of civilized life which the indigenous population supposedly lacked, as well as to their supposed natural tendencies toward rebellion, laziness and immorality. The Maritime Sub-Delegate Olalquiaga writes:
Habiendo convivido con los isleos por espacio de 5 meses, he podido conocerlos perfectamente y deducir que son verdaderamente ojos, pues, sta gente no tiene iniciativas de trabajo ni de progreso, ellos son adems inconcientes a todo sentimiento, no saben lo que es amor de madre ni de hijos, y es natural que no contando con los sentimientos primordiales de la vida, no cuentan con nada, ni siquiera con amor propio. Mis estudios profundos y psicolgicos fundamentan mis razones de calicarlos de inconcientes, habituados a la ojera, ladrones, calumniadores y revoltosos [] (AMM 1936:22).

Vol. 26 (1) May 2012

A fast yam to Polynesia: New thinking on the problem of the American sweet potato in Oceania

Miguel Fuentes

Moseley, [Having M.E. &lived R.A.among Feldman. the 1984. islanders Hydrological for 5 months, dynamics I have andcome the evolution of eld form and the to know them perfectly and use: have Resolving deduced that Knapp-Smith controversy. American Antiquity 49:403-408. they are truly lazy, since these people lack any work or Parsons, J.R. & N.P. Psuty. 1975. Sunken elds and prehispanic progress initiatives, moreover theyAmerican are unconscious of subsistence on the Peruvian coast. Antiquity any feeling, unaware of a mothers love for her children, 40:259-282. as such it isThe natural thatof in lacking the primordial Pearsall, D.M. 1992. Origins Plant Cultivation in South America. In The Origins of everything, Agriculture: An love International feelings of life, they lack even for ones Perspective . C.W. Cowan and P.J. Watson (eds):173-205. self. My rigorous and psychological studies support my Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press. conclusions in categorizing them nave, accustomed to Peters, K.M. 1975. Agricultural gardens on Moturua Island laziness, thieves, slanderous and rebellious] in the Bay of Islands. New Zealand Archaeological Association Newsletter 18:171-180. Rowe, J.H. 1969. The sunken gardens ofprincipal the Peruvian coast. Unsurprisingly, one of the tasks that Americanauthorities Antiquity 34:320-325. Chilean and the Company sought to Scaglion, R. 2005. Kumara in the Ecuadorian Gulf of undertake wasIn toThe educate, instruct, and civilize Guayaquil? Sweet Potato in Oceania: A the Rapanui, by deploying a series of disciplinary social Reappraisal. C. Ballard, P. Brown, R.M. Bourke and T. Harwood (eds):35-41. Pittsburg: University of Pittsburg regulations. Olalquiaga observes in his 1936 report that: Ethnology Monographs 19; Sydney: University of Sydney Oceania 56. puede imponerse que he [] Monographs por mi informe Scaglion, R. & M.-A. Cordero. 2011. Did ancient Americans dedicado todos mis esfuerzos por el mejoramiento reach the New World? Evaluating evidence from de the la poblacin preocupndome del bienestar de los Ecuadorian Gulf of Guayaquil. In Polynesians in America: Pre-Columbian Contacts with the New World. nativos, tomando medidas disciplinarias, con el objeto T.L. Jones, A.A. Storey, E.A. [] Matisoo Smith and J.-M. de civilizarlos poco a poco (AMM 1936:21). Ramrez (eds):171-193. Plymouth: Altamira. Spriggs, M. 2002. Taro cropping systems in the Southeast [... It is clear from my report that I haveupdate. dedicated Asian-Pacific region:An archaeological In all my efforts to theAsia improvement of .the population Vegeculture in Eastern and Oceania S. Yoshida and P.J. Matthews (eds):77-94. JCAS Series 16. concerning myself with the Symposium welfare of the natives, Osaka: Japan Center for Area Studies. taking disciplinary measures, with the objective of Spriggs,civilizing M., D. Addison & P.J. Matthews (eds). 2012. Irrigated them gradually] Taro (Colocasia esculenta) in the Indo-Pacific: Biological, Social and Historical Perspectives. Senri Ethnological Civilization versus resistance, regulation Studies 78. Osaka: National Museum colonial of Ethnology. Stevenson, C.M. & S. rebellion; Haoa. 1998. gardening versus indigenous thisPrehistoric was the context within systems and agricultural intensif ication in theduring La which the Rapanui political framework developed Perouse area of Easter Island. In Easter Island in Pacific these years. Caught between adapting to the precarious Context South Seas Symposium: Proceedings of the colonial pact which reflected the Provisional Fourth International Conference on Easter Island and Temperament of 1917 and the need to confront East Polynesia. C.M. Stevenson, G. Lee and F.J. Morinthe (eds):205-213. Los Osos: The Easter Islandsubjected, Foundationthe adverse conditions to which they were Press. community exhibited a renewed spirit in the island Stevenson, T.L. Jackson,Consequently, A. Mieth, H.-R. Bork & defense C.M., of their interests. the Rapanui T.N. Ladefoged. 2006. Prehistoric and Early Historic peoples development of a permanent strategy of not Agriculture at Maunga Orito, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), recognizing the authority of government agencies Chile. Antiquity 80:919-936. Stevenson, C.M., J. Wozniakand & S. Haoa. 1999. Prehistoric presented a continuous, systematic, obstacle for the agricultural production on Rapa Nui. Antiquity 73:801colonial authorities. Among other things, these practices 812. constituted important antecedents for the emergence of Storey, A.A., A.C. Clarke & E.A. Matisoo-Smith. 2011. Rapanui civil rightswith struggles led by Alfonso Rapu in Identifying contact the Americas: A commensallater decades. based approach. In Polynesians in America: PreColumbian Contacts with the New World. T.L. Jones, A.A. Storey, E.A. Matisoo Smith and J.-M. Ramrez Strikes and Insubordination (eds):111-138. Plymouth: Altamira. Strikes and insubordination were some of the clearest Storey, A.A., D. Quiroz, J.-M. Ramrez, N. Beavan-Atheld, forms of indigenous opposition the islands D.J. Addison, R. Walter, T. Hunt, to J.S. Athens, L. authorities Huynen that emerged during these years. By directly challenging & E.A. Matisoo-Smith. 2008. Pre-Columbian chickens, dates, isotopes, and mtDNA. Proceedings the National the power structures consolidated after of the defeat of the Academy of Sciences 105(48):E99. 1914 rebellion, the Rapanui sought to subvert the very

Summerhayes, 2007. The rise and transformations offor wage-labor G.R. conditions, requesting CLP$4 per day Lapita in the Bismarck Archipelago. From Southeast men and CLP$3 per day for womenIn and children. They Asia to the Pacific: Archaeological Perspectives on also demanded an improvement in the daily rations of the Austronesian Expansion and the Lapita Cultural food, hours of rest,and and worker prot-sharing Taipei: from the Complex . S. Chiu C. Sand (eds.):141-169. 9 shearing. This is reected in a letter to Enrique Edmunds Center for Archaeological Studies, Research Center for Humanities Social Sciences, Academic Sinica. from Carlos and Recabarren: Ugent, D., S. Pozorski & T. Pozorski. 1981. Prehistoric remains of the sweet potato from the Casma Valley of Peru. Seor Don Enrique Edmunds. Matavery. Mui Seor Phytologia 49:401-415. mio y PongoIsland: en conocimiento de Ud. que con Van Tilburg, J.amigo: 1994. Easter Archaeology, Ecology and fecha 30 de Julio del mes pasado los habitantes de Culture. London: British Museum Press. Wallin, la P., Isla C.M. T.N. Ladefoged. 2005. Sweet deStevenson Pascua se & declararon en guelga, pidiendo Potato Production on Rapa Nui. In The Sweet Potato aumento de salarios y raciones respectivamente, l in Oceania: A Reappraisal . C. Ballard, P. Brown, Seor Administrador de la Cia Explotadora Isla de R.M. Bourke and T. Harwood (eds.):85-88. Pittsburg: Pascua. Los nombraron sus representantes University of guelguistas Pittsburg Ethnology Monographs 19; a las siguientes personas: Pedro Atan, Daniel Chavez, Sydney: University of Sydney Oceania Monographs 56. West, M. 1979. Early farming on the north coast Moises Tuckiwatertable y Nicols Packomio para que se of Peru. American Antiquity 44:138-144. presentaran a sta Subdelegacin Martima hicieran Wozniak, J. 1999. Prehistoric horticultural practices on Easter sus reclamos. (AIV 1928b:Folio 51(26)). Island lithic mulched gardens and eld systems. Rapa Nui Journal 13:95-99. [Mr. Don Enrique Edmunds. Matavery. My dear 2001. Landscapes of food production on Easter Island: Successful subsistence strategies. Pacific Sir and friend: I make you awareIn that on the2000: date Proceedings of of thethe Fifth International Conference of on 30th of July past month the inhabitants Easter Island and the Pacific. C.M. Stevenson, G. Lee Easter Island declared themselves on strike, asking and F.J. Morin (eds.):91-101. Los Osos: Easter Island the Administrator of the Easter Island Exploitation Foundation. Company for a raise in their salary rations 2005. An Ethnoarchaeological Study of and Horticulture on respectively. Rapa Nui. In The International The Reaca strikersPapers: named VI the following Conference on Easter Island and the Pacific/VI people as their representatives: Pedro Atn, Daniel Congreso Internacional sobre Rapa Nui y el Pacfico. Chavez, Moises Tucki, and Nicholas Packomio. C.M. Stevenson, J.M. Ramrez Aliaga, F.J. Morin and presented their case before the Maritime SubN. They Barbacci (eds):137-152. Los Osos: Easter Island Delegation and made their demands.] Foundation. Wozniak, J. & C.M. Stevenson. 2008. Archaeological and geomorphological of Rapaof Nui One of the mostinvestigations outstanding features thegardens strike was and agricultural eld systems. In Prehistoric Rapa Nui. the rmness and commitment with which it was carried Landscape and Settlement Archaeology at Hanga Hoonu. out. The Rapanui publicly their intention C.M. Stevenson and S. Haoa declared Cardinali (eds):41-78. Los to maintain their position until the administrator accepted Osos: Easter Island Foundation. 10 Potato and Oceania: An Essay Yen, D.E. 1974. The Sweet all of their demands. In one of the strikers declarations, in Ethnobotany . B.P.disposition Bishop Museum Bulletin 236. they made clear their to prevent anyone who Honolulu: Bishop Museum. declined to support the movement from working, by Yen, D. & J. Head. 1993. Kumara remains in Pit O at P5/228. force if needed. In The Archaeology of the Peripheral Pa at Pouerua, Northland, New Zealand . D.G. Sutton (ed.):56-64. Auckland: Auckland University Press. [] Los nombrados ms arriba [se reere a los lderes Zaro, G. 2007. Diversity specialists: resource de la huelga] se presentaron staCoastal Subdelegacin a management and historical contingency in the Osmore las 2.P.M del dia 5 de Agosto y espusieron los desert of southern Peru. Latin American Antiquity siguientes puntos. 1er Punto. Mejoramiento de sus 18:161-80. hombres razon de 4$ diarios y su racin Zhang, jornales, D., G. Rossel, A.a Kriegner & R. Hijmans. 2004. AFLP assessment ofydiversity in sweet potato from en caf almuerzo, comida, horas de almuerzo 11 Latin America and 5 the Pacic region: Its implications on A.M y comidas P.M. 2 Punto. Mejoramiento de sus the dispersal of the crop. Genetic Resources and Crop jornales para los nios y las mujeres 3$ diarios y sus Evolution 51:115120. raciones y horas como los dems hombres. 3 Punto. No entrarn a trabajar ninguna persona, si l This article has been peer-reviewed. Received 20Seor Administrador n acepta nuestra peticin. 4 Punto. February 2012; accepted 7 March 2012. Para los trabajos de la esquila, que se efecta en el mes foundations of the colonial enterprise. For example, in de Octubre y Noviembre, del presente ao, se pide por July 1928, a massive strike broke out among workers l ciento de ovejunos 10$ ciento 100$ l mil, con sus of the Company. They demanded improvements in respectivas raciones. 5. Punto. Los que quieran trabajar

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voluntariamente, los trabajos de la administracin y los del campo se opondrn, hsta el ltimo hsta que la Cia arregle denitivamente. 6. Punto. Si la Cia acepta nuestras condiciones y la de todos los habitantes de sta Isla, queda arreglado y todo el mundo se ir a trabajar tranquilos. 7. Punto. Quedan en sta Subdelegacin las rmas de los representantes de sta guelga jeneral. Seor Administrador; agradecer a ud contestar sobre ste particular. Sin otro particular tiene el agrado de saludar a ud su mui [] y amigo. Carlos A.Recabarrn (AIV 1928b:Folios 51(26)-52). [ Those named above [referring to leaders of the strike] presented themselves before the SubDelegation at 2 PM on the 5th of August and presented the following demands. 1st condition: Improvement of wages, the right to $4 a day for men, and a ration of coffee, lunch and food, lunch hours 11 AM and food 5 PM. 2ndcondition: Improvement of wages for women and children, $3 a day wage and the same food rations and hours as the men. 3rd condition: No one is to work if the administrator does not accept our petition. 4th: Condition: for shearing workers; to be applied during the months of October and November of the present year, $10 per hundred or $100 per thousand is asked per one hundred sheep, including respective rations. 5th condition: Those who want to work voluntarily, both administration work and rural work will be opposed until the Company provides a denite solution. 6th condition: If the Company accepts our conditions and those of all the inhabitants of the island, the agreement will be binding and everyone will go back to work without any fuss. 7th condition: the signatures of all the representatives of the general strike are presented here at the SubDelegation. I thank the honorable administrator in advance for answering the particulars mentioned here. With nothing else to add I send my greetings, and friend. Carlos A. Recabarren]

de la Cia, para los hombres 3$ diarios, para las mujeres y nios 1,50 diarios, otros se plantearon en el primer pedido, al contrario aumentando an ms en sus escijencias con respecto a la esquila, 30$ el cien de corderos, con respecto al fardo 70 c c/ uno. Como el mircoles es da de esta, resolvieron contestar para esa fecha, denitivamente [] (AIV 1928c:Folio 53(27). [My dear sir and friend: I write with the objective of informing you that I have summoned the strike representatives to inform them of your resolution with regard to their wages, and that the administration gladly accepted the conditions. The representatives gathered the people in the square to inform them: many accepted the Companys offer of $3 per day for men and $1.50 for women and children, others raising their demands in terms of the shearing, $30 per one hundred lambs, and 70 cents per bale. Since Wednesday is a festive day, they have agreed to reach a nal agreement for this date]

The Sub-Delegates encountered similar situations when certain ordinances were immediately rejected by the population. In some cases, the responses developed into active confrontations with the authorities, and produced real cases of civil insubordination by the indigenous population. Olalquiaga recounted one of these cases, during the mid-1930s, when he attempted to require the islanders to participate in a census of agricultural activity. Complaining about the rebellious nature of the Rapanui, the civil servant narrates the following episode:
El dia 19 del presente, se congregaron alrededor de 80 nativos en sta Subdelegacin y en conjunto vinieron a protestar de la rden de dar todo los datos para el Censo Agropecuario; despus de haberles explicado que era una Ley que todos tenan que cumplir por la fuerza, aunque no lo quisieran, se fueron exaltando, y despus de varios insultos que salan de diferentes lados, llegaron en el colmo de su arrebato a decir que el Gobierno y el Subdelegado queran robarles sus animales y todo lo que tenan (AMM 1936:24). [On the 19th day of the present month, around 80 natives gathered here at the Sub-Delegation to protest against the order to provide information for the agricultural and livestock census; after having explained to them that everyone was obliged to fulll the law, even if they didnt want to, they became infuriated and after hurling insults from all sides, the insolence of their outburst led them to say that the Governor and the Sub-Delegate wanted to steal their animals and everything they had.]

The duration of the strike also demonstrated its strength. Almost two weeks after starting, the workers achieved the rst concession from the administrator of the Company: a rise in the daily wage to $3 a day for the men and $1.50 a day for women and children. However, unsatisfied with these concessions, some workers radicalized their demands.
Mui Seor mio y amigo: La presente tiene por objeto de comunicar a Ud. de que hize llamar a los representantes de la huelga y les hize saber su resolucin con respecto a sus jornales, y que la Administracin aceptaba con gusto dichos jornales. Los representantes, reunieron a la jente en la Plaza para comunicarles; muchos aceptaron el ofrecimiento

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A fast yam to Polynesia: New thinking on the problem of the American sweet potato in Oceania

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Baker, H.G. 1971. Commentary: Section III. Man Across Fifteen years later and referring toIn this same issue, the Sea: Problems of Pre-Colombian Contacts. C.L. Riley, Olalquiaga commented on how generalized the act of islanders resistance, Olalquiaga was forced to admit the J.C. Kelly, C.W. Pennington and R.L. Rands (eds):4281. impossibility Heyerdahl (1952:501-504; has proposed thathis theft had become among the indigenous population, of the census,1980:230) contradicting orders from 444. Austin and London: University of Texas Press. the widely dispersed East Polynesian dog ( kuri ) was a describing at the same time their strategies own superiors on the mainland. He wrote that: Ballard, C., P. Brown, R.M. Bourke & T. Harwood (eds). 2005.for prehistoric American introduction also. However, while concealing the act. The Sweet Potato in Oceania: A Reappraisal . Pittsburg: the dog is absent from nuclear parts of Melanesia such

Note Cornered and without the strength to overcome the

En vista del giro que el asunto, que al parecer as New Caledonia and tomaba Vanuatu in European contact records (Heyerdahl 1952:504; 1980:230), linguistic and sta gente se encontraba dispuesta a no ceder y repeler archaeological links the dog (proto-Polynesian todo ataque, evidence hice que los empadronadores les tomaran *kulli to western colonists (Anderson 2003:77los) datos a los Pacic que quisieran darles, consiguiendo 78; Kirch & Green 2001:121, 129; Summerhayes de esta manera los haplotype de algunosevidence de ellos [] 2007:148). Available from (AMM limited 1936:20). mtDNA sampling also identies discrete Pacic and preColumbian American dog populations with no evidence of contact (Storey et al. 2011:129). [In view of the changes which seemingly possessed these people not to give up and in order to drive off Acknowledgements a full blown attack, I ordered the census ofcers to take the details of those who were willing to give Archaeological work in Golden Bay was approved by them, in this way achieving the registration of some iwi (tribal) authority Manawhenua ki Mohua, New of them]

Zealand Historic Places Trust and, at Triangle Flat, by the Department of Conservation as landowner and While a more profound study is needed to establish manager. Tasman District Council facilitated landowner the frequency of indigenous acts of resistance during permissions and resource management archaeological these decades, these events are important to outline work in eastern Golden Bay. University of Otago because they question central elements of colonial power Research Grants and students supported archaeological established on Rapa Nui after the indigenous defeat in investigations at Triangle Flat, assisted further by the 1914. In all respects, these events constituted the clearest Department of Conservation. Joan Wozniak and Thegn and most direct challenges that State authorities and the Ladefoged discussed archaeological cultivation sites and sheep company had to confront during this period, at evidence during Rapa Nui eld visits in 2004, and in least until the rise of Rapanui civil rights mobilizations various communications since. Les ONeill, Department of the 1960s. of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Otago, prepared nal illustrations. Theft In addition to strikes and the serious outbursts of References insubordination, the indigenous population disregarded the authority of colonial powers in other ways, including Addison, D.J. 2008. The changing role of irrigated Colocasia theft. While noton a form open confrontation esculenta (taro) Nuku of Hiva, Marquesas Islands:with Fromthe colonial regime, the proliferation of this particular an essential element of colonization to an important riskreductionrepresented strategy. Asian practice a Perspectives permanent47:139-155. problem for the 11 Allen, M.S. 2004. Bet-hedging strategies, agricultural change, Maritime Authority and the Company. It is worth noting and unpredictable environments: Historical development that the main victims were functionaries of the State, the of dryland agriculture in Kona, Hawaii. Journal of Navy and the CEDIP. As Acua relates in 1921: Anthropological Archaeology 23:196-224.
Anderson, A.J. 2003. Initial human dispersal in Remote Oceania: Patterncada and explanation. In descaro, Pacific Archaeology: Los robos dia con mas robndose Assessments and Prospects . Christophe (ed.):71-84. ultimamente 18 piezas del forro de Sand la chalupa de la Le Cahiers de lArchologie en Nouvelle Caldonie 15. Subdelegacion; para que se forme una idea U.S. le Nouma: Service des Muses et du Patrimonie. comunico que me robaron, hasta el cordel del palo 2006. Polynesian seafaring and American horizons: A de bandera, privndome del nico placer que tenia response to Jones and Klar. American Antiquity 71:759-763. Anderson, A.J, H. Martinsson-Wallin & K. Stothert. 2007. de hizar todos los das festivos la Bandera Nacional. Ecuadorian sailing rafts and Oceanic landfalls. In Vastly (AMM 1921a). Ingenious: The Archaeology of Pacific Material Culture in Honour of Janet Davidson. A. Anderson, K. Green and [The(eds):117-133. thefts are increasingly with the F. Leach Dunedin: more Otagobrazen, University Press. in the last where instance, ofis 18 pieces of the of SubArnold, theft, J.E. 2007. Credit credit due: The history the Chumash oceangoing plank canoe. American Antiquity Delegates boat lining; to give you an idea; they even 71:196-209. stole the hamstring from the ag pole, denying me my Bahn, P.G. & J. Flenley. 1992. Easter Island, Earth Island: only pleasure of raising the national ag.] A Message from the Past for the Future of Our Planet. London: Thames and Hudson.

University of Pittsburg Ethnology Monographs 19; Sydney: ofes Sydney Oceania Este University mal del robo general en todoMonographs los isleos, a56. la Barber, I.G. 1999. Archaeological research in eastern Golden igual que los indios, pero con la diferencia que sta Bay: An interim report. Archaeology in New Zealand gente suma a su habilidad e injenio para robar, su 42:134-50. idioma, que nadie lo fish: conoce ni nadie se lo entiende, 2003. Sea, land and Spatial relationships and thede archaeology of South Islandun Maori shing. World modo que cuando cometen delito, se hacen los Archaeology 35:434-448.lo que se les pregunta y nunca lesos, no entendiendo 2004. Crops on the border: The growth of archaeological saben nada de lo que no les conviene, pero cuando knowledge of Polynesian cultivation in New Zealand. les conviene, entonces saben todo y of entienden todo In Change Through Time: 50 Years New Zealand (AMM 1936:22). Archaeology. L. Furey and S. Holdaway (eds):169-192. New Zealand Archaeological Association Monograph 26. 2009. Review of Robert Langdon, Kon-Tiki Revisited [Theft is engrained in all the islanders, equal to that . Journal of Pacific History 44:362-363. of the indians, with the only difference that these 2010. Diffusion or innovation? Investigating extensive people add to their ingenious ability for thievery lithic cultivation fields on the southern Polynesian their language, which no one knows or understands, margins. World Archaeology 42:7590. In so press Gardens of has Rongo: cross-field thata. once a crime beenApplying committed, they are anthropology to explain contact violence in New Zealand. dumbfounded, not understanding what is asked of Current Anthropology. them and never knowing anything that doesnt suit In press b. Molluscan mulching at the margins: Explaining but when suit them, then variation they know the them, development of it a does South Island Mori on everything and understand everything.] Polynesian hard mulch agronomy. Archaeology in Oceania. Best, E. 1976 (1925). Maori Agriculture . Revised Edition.Dominion Museum Bulletintendencies 9. Wellington: By not attributing strictly criminal to the Government Printer. thefts, authorities revealed an important measure Billman, B.R. 2006. Irrigation and the origins of the southern of Rapanui rebellion and opportunism Moche state on the north coast of Peru. Latin against Americanthe 12 authorities. The case of the well-known thief , Felipe Antiquity 13(4):371-400. Bork, H.-R., A. Mieth & B. Tschnochner. Nothing Teao, and his decisive manner was 2004. also mentioned but stones? by A review of the extent and technical efforts specically Olalquiaga: of prehistoric stone mulching on Rapa Nui. Rapa Nui Journal 18(1):10-14. Hecho reclamo correspondiente el Maupiti: mismo dia Cauchois, M-H. el 2002. Dryland horticulture in An por Ines Teao [] llam a Felipe Teao y le ped ethnoarchaeological study. Asian Perspectives 41:269-283. Clarke, me A.C., M.K. Burtenshaw, P.A. McLenachan, explicara el cargo que se le haca, a lo D.L. que Erickson & D. Penny. Reconstructing the origins inmediatamente me2006. confes que esto lo haba hecho and dispersal of the Polynesian bottle gourd (Lagenaria [el robo de un corte de gnero] para que yo no lo siceraria). Molecular Biology and Evolution 23:893900. salir en libertad [debido a que como recluso Coil, J.dejara & P.V. Kirch. 2005. An Ipomean landscape: tena asegurada su alimentacin y otras garantas]. Archaeology and the sweet potato in Kahikinui, Maui, Hawaiian Islands. In aThe Sweet falta Potato A En consideracin su nueva y ain suOceania: confesin Reappraisal . C. Ballard, P. Brown, R.M. Bourke and T. espontnea [] le conden a 15 dias mas de prisin, Harwood (eds):71-84. Pittsburg: University of Pittsburg siempre con trabajo forzado, pena que cumpli con Ethnology Monographs 19; Sydney: University of Sydney un buen comportamiento. Oceania Monographs 56. Al terminar me pidi que lo dejara en la Subdelegacin, a lo que acced gustoso, Delgado-Espinoza, F. 2002. Intensive Agriculture and Political Economy of the Yaguachi Chiefdom of Guaya dejndolo de ordenanza de la Subdelegacin, con $20 Basin, Coastalpero Ecuador. Unpublished PhDtenido dissertation, mensuales, a los 15 dias de haberlo como University of Pittsburgh. empleado, me v en la necesidad de despedirlo, a Denevan, W.M. 2001.Cultivated Landscapes of Native Amazonia causa de que durante su Oxford permanencia comoPress. empleado, andthe Andes . New York: University se D.L., llev un recipiente de erro enlozado un balde de Erickson, B.D. Smith, A.C. Clarke, D.H. y Sandweiss & N. Tuross. 2005. Asian origin for a 10,000-year-old pertenencia deAn esta Subdelegacin, por lo cual rm domesticated plant in the Americas. Proceedings the compromiso de devolver pagar estas especiesof [] National Academy of Sciences 102(51):1831518320. Aparte de todo y no satisfecho este individuo con Gongora, J., N.J. Rawlence, V.A. Mobegi, H. Jianlin, J.A. todas las cometidas, en la del dia 3 de Alcalde, J.T. faltas Matus, O. Hanotte, C. noche Moran, J.J. Austin, Febrero seAnderson, present alG. Guardian y al Marinero S. Ulm, A.J. Larson Casas & A. Cooper. 2008.

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Jara, dicindoles que y le haba mandado para que se sacara un traje de loneta de la sala de la Escuela, y el Domingo 9, a la salida de misa en la Plaza Libertad, en presencia de mis subalternos y de muchos nativos, me conrm lo dicho, que era verdad que y lo haba mandado a ello. Ante tan grave calumnia, le hice apresar y lo puse en el calabozo, de donde se fug esa misma noche, llevndose entre otras especies, un par de pantalones de loneta, sin que hasta la fecha sepa y donde se encuentra y nadie quiera dar razones de l [] aunque yo he sabido que anda en el pueblo y an ha mandado solicitar permiso para salir a pescar (AMM 1936:6-7). [Having received the corresponding claim on the same day by Ines Teao I called Felipe Teao and asked him to explain the charge pressed against him to which he immediately confessed responsibility [for the theft of a cut of cloth] so as not to be set free [seeing as a prisoner he was provided with food and assured other guarantees]. In view of his offence and his spontaneous confession... I condemned him to 15 more days in prison, with forced labor, a punishment he completed with good behavior. At the end of his term he asked me to keep him at the Sub-Delegation, which I gladly accepted, keeping him with the SubDelegations ordnance of $20 monthly, but after 15 days of his services I saw it necessary to re him, the cause being that during his stay as a worker, he took a glazed iron ask and a bucket belonging to the Sub-Delegation, items which he promised to return or pay costs Furthermore, on the night of the 3rd of February, not being satised with the offences he had committed, he presented himself to the Caretaker Casas and the Sailor Jara, saying that I had sent him to retrieve a sailcloth suit from the school hall, and on Sunday the 9th, upon leaving Mass in Liberty Square and in the presence of my subordinates and many natives, he conrmed the latter, saying verily that I had sent him to that effect. Before such a grave slander, I had him arrested and put him in prison from where he escaped that same night, taking with him among other items a pair of sail cloth trousers, which until the present day I have been unable to trace and nobody is willing to testify his whereabouts even though I know he is somewhere in the town having even applied for a shing permit.]

camotes pltanos, por ropas, cigarrillos, comestibles licores, pero muchos otros van a aprovechar las aglomeraciones que se producen a bordo, para substraerse lo que pueden, como sucedi en esta ocasin, cuyos protagonistas fueron Miguel Teao, Felipe Chavez y Gabriel Tuko. (AMM 1936:8). [On the 14th day of February the Maipo put into port, and as is custom of the islanders upon the arrival of any ship, they approach to exchange woodcarvings, sweet potato, bananas for clothes, cigarettes, food and liquor, but many others go to take advantage of the large gatherings produced aboard, to take what they can, as was the case on this occasion and whose protagonists were Miguel Teao, Felipe Chavez and Gabriel Tuko.]

Finally, livestock theft gured as one of the most frequent forms of robbery, and one that damaged the Companys interests. On certain occasions, those robberies even involved the complicity of foremen and the police, who often had family ties to the perpetrators.
Se present un denuncio de robo de un cordero a la Cia. E. I. de Pascua con fecha 2 de Agosto; inmediatamente el Sr. Administrador me dio el aviso por telfono, que su capataz Alberto Paoa saba quien era y que por ser su pariente n comunicaba l lo sucedido. Ese aviso lo hizo l Sr. Prefecto a la Cia, dandole el aviso en la tarde del dia 20, sin pasar a la Subdelegacin Maritima [] Llam a mi ocina, al Capataz, Alberto Paoa y a Isaias Fatti [] quin era el ladrn, segn el denuncio y a quin el capataz apollava [] a Pedro Atan y Sra; [] a Hotus y a Marta Paoa de Fatti. Todos declararon que n haba robo y que lo nico que se trataba era cuestin de celo entre Ins de Atan y Marta Paoa de Fatti [] (AIV 1930b:Folios 169(97)-170). [The theft of a lamb was reported to the Company E.I. of Easter Island on the 2 nd of August; the Administrator immediately informed me over the telephone, that his foreman Alberto Paoa knew who was responsible, but because he was a family member could not tell him what had happened. The report was transmitted by the Prefect to the Company, on the afternoon of the 20th day, without attending the Maritime Sub-Delegation I summoned the foreman, Alberto Paoa and Isaias Fatti to my ofce, who according to the charges was the thief and aided by the foreman by Pedro Atan and his wife; by Hotus and by Marta Paoa Fatti. All present declared that there had never been a robbery and that jealous rivalry between Ines Atan and Marta Paoa Fatti was all the event was about ]

The arrival of ships to the island presented another auspicious opportunity for theft, mainly targeting the ships marines. As Olalquiaga describes:
El da 14 de Febrero recal en sta el Transporte Maipo, y como es costumbre de los isleos, llegando cualquier barco, van a cambiar sus toromiros,

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While it is unclear whether the episode actually dealt with the theft of livestock or a domestic squabble, this incident highlights the high incidence of animal theft, and illustrates the high levels of mistrust on behalf of the authorities with respect to the indigenous Rapanui, including those who, like the foreman, occupied positions of responsibility within the Company.

Through cunning practices, the indigenous community even came to take advantage of the internal divisions of colonial power, thereby subverting it. Olalquiaga states:
Los nativos bien conados en el gran apoyo que tienen en los Srs. Ociales y comandantes de buques, que todo reclamo acompaado de calumnias que hacen en contra del Subdelegado, es odo y credo, no quieren obedecer las rdenes que imparte la Subdelegacin, haciendo ver que ellos no cumplen otra orden que la que les dijo el pap comandante (AMM 1936:24).

Insubordination and Disobedience One of the central concerns of the State authorities and the Company was the implementation of a series of ordinances designed to control the daily lives of the indigenous population. These had as their objective [The natives are trusting in the great support they have the regimentation of the lives of Rapanui inhabitants in the ofcials and commanders of the Navy, where categorized as thieves, rebellious, and lazy all their grievances and slanderous complaints against in order to force the inhabitants to abandon their the Sub-Delegation are heard and believed, and as a bad habits and reach a civilized condition in their result refuse to obey the orders of the Sub-Delegation, activities, beliefs and morale. With this in mind, Chilean Figure 7. Photograph of planting pit section from Triangle Flat pit cluster (A-B saying that they will not receive orders other than functionaries deployed a series of disciplinary strategies at Figure 6). The topsoil presents a black sand Ap-Horizon incorporating discrete those received from their father commander.] on the indigenous population that ranged from coercive beach shell deposits (interpreted as mulch surfaces in Barber in press b). The central planting pit is capped by a beach shell lens and intrudes from the Ap-Horizon into measures, including prohibitions, restrictions, and a natural ridge at of beach shell the and islands lighter colored sand (Photo by Ian Barber, 2001). expressed a similar punishments, to others aimed co-opting The Sub-Delegate Recabarran population. Beyond the already known restrictions on opinion a few years earlier, manifesting his discontent free circulation, navigation the 50cm strict deep rules that powdery over the obstinate discipline among the comparable to taro are identied and in a rare pit and dry, thelack earthof was heaped into small prevented the 2004:189-190 Rapanui from and leaving the island, these mounds indigenous Rapanui: (Figure 6; Barber Figure 8.5, in press only, with sweet potato slips placed vertically measures also included coercive strategies that prevented b; Horrocks et al. 2004:149-51, 155). A minimum age in holes made with the digging stick so that the base the indigenous peoples from walking the [] hay la verdad de las cosas; esta jente for Triangle Flat planting pits is derived from a streets cluster of of the cutting is que six decir to eight inches in the ground (see abusa de ms, n se contenta con lo que se le d, Hanga Roa after nine at night and obliged them to of calibrated marine dates from midden deposited above, also Handy et al. 1991:137 for a traditional account of 13 sino que quierenholes). ms y se hacen mal unos con otros, community work called scal Mondays. butperform not in direct association with, several pit features. At sweet potato planting molestando cada momento areinforce sta ocina; y muchos On top of that, nes were charged failing to adhere two sigma, these Triangle Flat middenfor dates all overlap Other Hawaiian observers the point. de ellos con atropellos etc [] Hay varias personas, to hygiene and cleanliness norms, and punishments were about the sixteenth century AD (Barber in press b). Kamakau (1976:24) described excavations for sweet que ni piden permisos sacan while terrenos y abusan dems. dealt out that ranged from forced labor, to whipping, and potato slips These northern South Island planting pits may well as planting holes, Malo (1951:205) 14 Lo que necesita aqu son carabineros hacer the shackling of prisoners. represent a cognate, early Polynesian agronomy. Beyond noted that these soil was raised into hills orpara the stems cumplir rdenes (AIV 1929c:Folio 58-59(30)). The colonial institutions also spearheaded attempts the Rapa Nui evidence discussed above, comparable might merely be thrust into the ground anyhow, and the to co-opt islanders, by attempting to feed aHawaii feeling of hilling done after the plants were grown. The reports archaeological dry soil features are recorded on [ et The must besuggest told; these people take national identity among theand islanders in the Island hopes of by Handy Island (Allen 2004:198, 216) from North al. truth in particular that sweet potato advantage, they are discontent with what is given creating a framework for social consensus between the Mori cultivation sites in the Hamilton region of the planting holes were dug in very dry soil conditions (cf. 15 and demand more, pittingof one against the authorities and the indigenous spaces Handy to Waikato River basin (Gumbleypopulation. et al. 2004)Certain and (with et them, al. 1991:131 on the practice sweet potato other and bothering this ofce at every opportunity; of indigenous participation, under the watchful eye of the a little less certainty) on Moturua Island, northern Bay high mounding in damp soils). This evidence is many of them impatience, there are many Maritime Sub-Delegation, were created in the school consistent of Islands (Peters 1975). It is of particular comparative with the with convergence ofetc Oceanic yam and people who take land, not even bothering for and the church. These included the creation ofsome whistle kmara note that kmara were cultivated in light soils in planting techniques identied above to in apply the early permits all the while demanding bands made up of students performed public Polynesian early, shallow Rapa Nui pits andwho in sandy soils inat early, archaeological record. even more. What is needed here is a police force to impose law and order.] events, awards ceremonies for the Island most accomplished and similarly shallow, northern South pits. Ethnobotanical accounts also highlight important students, urbanization plans, the construction of houses growth advantages of sweet potato over dry yam and Moreover, many of the decrees issued during this for indigenous families, and the election of municipal taro. In Ethnobotany particular, Leach (2005:69) has observed, and religious event representatives (AIVin 1926:Folios period werecould simply The rich Hawaiian ethnographic record particular 16 sweet potato beignored plantedby at the anyislands time ofinhabitants. the year example can be using seen in the constant & 18; AIV 1927:Folio 39(20); AMM 1936:12). identies kmara plantings in pits as well as mounds, [in An tropical Polynesia], sections of vine,complaints in contrast of However, even within context, the islands theyam islands State, and church, functionaries of the bad frequently in combination. Fromthis dry slopes on Maui and with which was planted seasonally using tuber authorities not at group, liberty Handy to confront obstinacy of sections. examples many adulterous Rapanui couples were Hawaii in thewere Hawaiian et althe . (1991:131) Forthat planters in Old Hawaii, Handy et al . the islanders. When considered together, the emergence setting and which the authorities sought unsuccessfully reported kmara cultivation in small pockets of (1991:127) noted, sweet potato was more valuable of strikes, insubordination, and thene simultaneous and than to taro regulate. As the Sub-Delegate Acua mentioned in disintegrating lava where fertilizer, gravel and in three ways: constant robberies, mainly of livestock, represented one of his reports to the continent: stones were gathered around the vines without much a tenacious resistance on the part of indigenous mounding. Further to the observation that ancient It can be grown in much less favorable localities, communities to potatoes the disciplinary measures of et control Tengo el honor informar que in la three moral y both with respect to de sun and soil;aitU.S., matures Hawaiians planted in mounds, Handy al. conducta de los naturales de esta, deja mucho implemented by the State and Company institutions. to six months (as against nine to eighteen months forque (1991:130-131) also observed that where the soil was
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Strikes, insubordination, theft and disobedience. Between the rebellion of Angata and Rapanui struggles for civil rights

desear debido tan solo a la falta de polica para hacer cumplir el Reglamento vijente. Los matrimonios que en nota anterior d cuenta a U.S., siguen separados como si el adulterio no fuese un delito castigado por la ley (AMM 1921a). [I have the honor of informing you that the conduct and morals of the natives leaves much to be desired due to the lack of police to enforce the legislation currently in force. The married couples that I mentioned in a previous correspondence to you are still separated, as though adultery was not an offence punishable by law.]

the orders of the Sub-Delegate and refused to kill or hand over the dogs:
En vista de este nuevo denuncio de la Compaa, sus determinaciones, y la resistencia de los nativos para entregar o matar los perros, les llame a todos a la Subdelegacin a cuya citacin no asisti nadie, vindome obligado el Domingo ha hablarles en la Plaza Libertad a las 10 de la maana, hacindoles comprender en forma terminante, que aprobaba en todas sus partes la resolucin de la Compaa, a la que se haca solidaria esta Subdelegacin y que a partir de esa fecha, la Subdelegacin no le dara permiso a nadie para salir a pescar, mientras no terminaran los nativos con todos los perros [] (AMM 1936:6). [In view of these new charges pressed by the Company, the determination, and resistance of the natives to hand over or kill the dogs, I summoned them all to the Sub-Delegation, however they never turned up at the meeting, obliging me to talk to them on Sunday in Liberty Square at 10 in the morning, making them understand completely, that I approved the Companys resolution in all its parts, and which the Sub-Delegation also supports, that from this day onwards, the Sub-Delegation will ban all shing permits, until the natives deal with those dogs]

Fifteen years later, Olalquiaga still lamented the unsuccessful attempts of the authorities to remedy this ill, and even appealed to the islanders themselves to reach a solution to the problem.
[] En vista de la situacin por que atraviesan estos matrimonios, que juntamente con ser impropia, es hasta inmoral en algunos casos donde existen nios de cierta edad en que ya se dan cuenta de los malos actos de sus padres, que siendo casados viven pblicamente los hombres con otras mujeres y las mujeres con otros hombres, comprend que era necesario arreglar esta situacin [] En vista del fracaso de mis propsitos, proced a nombrar para que consiguieran de unir los matrimonios en desacuerdo, una Junta de conciliacin, sea una Junta de hombres buenos, recayendo este nombramiento en las personas mas serias, de mayor edad y mayor respeto [] La labor desarrollada por esta Junta, fue nula, la lucha por conseguir el objetivo que se deseaba, fue estril [] (AMM 1936:12). [ In view of the situation experienced by these marriages, which are not only improper, but even immoral in those cases involving children of a certain age and who are aware of the deplorable acts of their parents; seeing as married men live openly with other women and women with other men, I saw it necessary to nd a solution to the problem in view of my objectives failures, I proceeded to name a reconciliation council in an attempt to reunite the marriages in disagreement, that is to say a council of good men, choosing in particular, respectable individuals of a mature age the effort undertaken by this council came to nothing, and the ght for the desired objectives, proved unproductive]

Further manifestations of indigenous disobedience can be seen in the relations of production. Here, the Rapanui were capable of confronting the western economic model with their own practices of production and exchange, inuenced by ancient cultural traditions.16 In this sense, the preservation of their cultural heritage constituted, among other things, an important challenge to the establishment of work regimes that had been designed in accordance with the criteria of modern economic organization that Chilean functionaries and the Company wanted to impose.
Es algo innato en los nativos el no trabajar, pues estn tan habituados a la ojera, que si tienen 10 hectareas de terreno, siembran solo 3, lo suciente para tener un poco de maz, camotes y platanos, agregndole unas pocas sandas, todo lo cual es lo suciente y lo necesario para todo el ao, ayudados por cierto, con las higuieras de las calles, porque hay das que estas gentes no comen otra cosa que brevas [] Sobre el vestuario, no se preocupan, porque saben que se los regalan se los enva la Marina del Continente [] ahora si desean una novedad, cigarrillos licores que les gusta en exeso, lo cambian por monos [se reere a guras talladas], platanos o camotes, obteniendo de esta manera lo extraordinario que desean. (AMM 1936:22).

The Rapanui responded similarly to another of Olalquiagas decrees, produced on the occasion of the killing of livestock by dogs, which the Company claimed belonged to indigenous peoples. They ignored
52

Rapa Nui Journal

Vol. 26 (1) May 2012

A fast yam to Polynesia: New thinking on the problem of the American sweet potato in Oceania

Miguel Fuentes

South wall in the natives, to work is inherent since they are so accustomed to laziness that were they to have ten hectares of land, they would sow only three, enough to grow a bit of maize, sweet potato and bananas, adding some watermelon, all of which is enough for the whole year, helped of course by the gs in the streets, because there are days that these Plaggen soil people only eat gs Neither are 172 30' 173 E they worried about clothing, since they know these are 0 sent as 10 gifts by 20km 40 30' S Farewell Spit the Navy on the continent when in want of some M24/11 novelty, such as cigarettes and alcohol, which they Triangle Flat Garden pit excessively indulge in, they obtain what they desire by exchanging them for monkeys [carved gures], bananas, or sweet potato.] Golden Bay

East wall [Unwillingness

Lithic mulch

have nothing theirlithic earnings on soil during the Figure to 3. spend Typical mulch prole by Wozniak (1999:Figure whole published year. In view of these calculations2A) andfrom for the Te Niu sampling Nui (see other reasons, I can assurearea, you Rapa that there are Figure many 2). The lithic mulch layer is 30-40cm deep above nativesan who have a considerable ofis money agricultural plaggen amount soil that dark saved, brown... which provides proof material that these natives rich in organic and... light are and neitherporous wanting poor, (Wozniak as a result1999:96, it is necessary in nor texture Figure 2A). Two pits of darker soil intrude to underline thatplanting the charitable enterprise of sending from the lower plaggen horizon into a clay rich them clothes and gifts only succeeds in encouraging B-Horizon. The B-Horizon is characterized them to the vice formed of laziness thievery] by pores by and Jubaea palm roots from the pre-agricultural forest (Wozniak 1999:97,

Figure 2A; also Stevenson et al. 2006). have What benets or see incentives would the Rapanui obtained had they accepted the levels of productivity, and the work discipline, which the authorities wished to impose? If we accept the above information as correct, Basalt rocks the answer is none. As we have seen on other occasions However, in the same document, State functionaries Obsidian and core in a variety of areas, the islands community R re A or e members demonstrated sharp intelligence and a practical recognized that the Rapanui capacity to develop successful Pores left by palm roots Takapou Tata intuition in defense of their own interests. and productive commercial activities afforded them not Beach Ligar Bay inconsiderable surplus. only subsistence but also a not Takaka R.
.

Bedrock is 2 meters below the surface

[] en conformidad a las estadsticas mensuales pasadas por la Compaa, puedo decir que las entradas en dinero efectivo que perciben los nativos en el ao, Moturua Is. Bay of Islands por captulo de sueldos, jornales, maz, etc., etc., alcanza a CINCUENTA MIL PESOS ($50000.), de North Island los cuales invierten en la Compaa en azcar, t, Waikato R. Hamilton arroz, harina, etc., etc., la suma de TREINTA MIL PESOS porque sta gente para alimentarse, T a s m (30000.), an Sea emplean pescado, pltanos, camotes y otros artculos Golden Bay como as mismo la ropa que no les cuesta nada, para vestirse se las mandan de regalo, y sus vicios los adquieren South Island cambindolos N epor w Zmonos e a l a n d[se reere a guras talladas], de manera que no tienen en qu Banks Peninsula gastar todo el dinero que perciben durante todo el N ao. En vista de todos estos clculos y por varias otras razones, puedo asegurar a US. que hay muchos nativos que tienen bastante dinero guardado, lo que deja de 200km 0 Stewart Island maniesto que sta gente no es pobre ni necesitada, asi que esa obra caritativa que se cre hacer envindoles ropas y regalos, es preciso que se sepa, que con ello 17230' no se consigue otra cosa, que 173E fomentarles el vicio de 0 10 20km la ojera y el robo [] (AMM 1936:31). 4030'S Farewell Spit
Triangle Flat [ In line with the monthly statistics compiled by the Company, I can say that the income in cash the natives receive per year, accounting for salaries, wages Golden Bay and corn, etc., etc., reaches FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS ($50,000), of which they invest THIRTY R THOUSAND ($30,000) in sugar, tea, rice, our, etc., re A or e Takapou etc., in the Company, because these people in order to Tata Beach feed themselves, use sh, bananas, sweet potato and Ligar Bay Takaka R. other produce which does not cost them anything, even the clothes they use to dress themselves are sent to them as gifts, and their vices are obtained by Figure 4. New Zealand and northwestern South Island (Golden exchanging monkeys discussed [carved gures], Bay) maps showing locations in text. so that they M24/11

20 cm Conclusions

Moturua Is. Bay of Islands

The 1914 rebellion of Angata was a direct on confrontation with occupation between AD 1400-1700 the at against the Puhi consolidation of the colonial Maunga Puko hilltop (Stevenson & Haoa presence 1998; on RapaetNui. As a product of the this rebellion and the Stevenson al. 1999), although extent of mulch need to spearhead a new colonial pact between construction there is unclear. Below the hilltop, datedthe State, the Rapanui, andpit thebeneath Company , the government charcoal from a planting (and not clearly established nominally Maritime associated with)the a lithic mulch independent soil is calibrated AD Sub-Delegate CEDIP in 1915. At the same time, the 1149-1398, whilefor a single carbon eck from a planting Temperament, inAD 1917, represented pit Provisional associated with lithic mulchsigned is dated 1460-1632 an important change in the and framework of 2008:62, the islands (2-sigma calibration) (Wozniak Stevenson 17 social 72,existing 77; cf., pp. 72,relations. 77). The emergence of a more complexand, political system Planting pits lled with fertilizing perhaps, on Rapa Nui took on greater relevance during these moisture-retaining materials would have ensured the decades. In contrast to the previous period that was availability of a nutritious matrix around the plant. characterized by a centralized apparatus of colonial These pits may have been deepened in drier years power with single political head, during these decades (Stevenson et a al. 2006:934). The identity of cultigens power split into two branches: the economy and political within these features is not directly conrmed. Probable administration, with their respective charges represented Ipomoea microbotanical remains are reported from in the administration of the CEDIP and the Maritime the anthropogenic Te Niu soils (along with yam and Sub-Delegation. These twono branches supported and fed taro ), although there is as yet unequivocal botanical each other; of thesweet Sub-Delegation acting the agent for identication potato from earlyas agricultural the regulation of social relations and as the guarantor features (Horrocks & Wozniak 2008). Stevenson et of the smooth functioning of the economic system, and al. (2006:922, 934) propose that sweet potatoes were the Company administration, at while the same time, exerting cultivated in shallow planting pits, deeply rooted a paternalistic authority over State institutions.18 crops were grown in deeper pits. From the perspective the indigenous population, Crop identification is of more straightforward in the workings of State institutions were a direct archaeological elds of cooler central New Zealand exercise to of eastern power, South whether implemented through the extending Island Banks Peninsula. Sub-Delegates, Navy missions, or the rest of the islands Here pre-contact Mori cultivation was restricted to State institutions. contrast totaro the is previous period gourd and kmara in In general. Dry reported in where power had been concentrated in the one archaeological situation only while yam willCEDIP not administrator and the inuence of the Company , during grow in this relatively cool New Zealand region (Barber these years the true epicenter of colonial power on Rapa 2004; Leach 1984). Nui as power behind power. other words, Asappeared discrete site types, planting pits and In constructed, from then on the power of CEDIP was hidden behind rocky cultivation soils that retained heat and assisted
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Rapa Rapa Nui Nui Journal JournalNorth Island

Waikato R.
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Strikes, insubordination, theft and disobedience. Between the rebellion of Angata and Rapanui struggles for civil rights

State functionaries who operated with the approval of the administrator, and behind the supposedly fair framework of wage-labor relations of production established between the business and the Rapanui. As a result, the Company was able to disassociate itself from its previous responsibilities of governing the island, and instead, was able to concentrate on its main objective: the economic exploitation of the island and its inhabitants. All of this not only made it more difcult for the Rapanui to identify who was responsible for their intense oppression in the Company, which not only presented itself as a social institution that offered work and commercial opportunities for a large part of the population, but also played an important role in preventing a new social revolt such as the one in 1914. Despite this, the indigenous population was not only capable of spearheading a protable economic enterprise, but also of assuring their own subsistence and a significant level of economic independence , regardless of State institutions and the Company. Equally, the islands inhabitants were capable of preserving and promoting a rich cultural heritage which can be seen in the maintenance of their native language and a good number of indigenous cultural practices. Similarly, the adaptive capacity of the Rapanui to respond to the new conditions and ongoing and complex social relations was reected in the prominent roles acquired by certain indigenous gures within a series of institutional spaces: the Sub-Delegation, the police, the Company and the church, etc.19 Moreover, while caught between adapting to the situation imposed by the precarious colonial pact constituted by the Provisional Temperament in 1917 and the need to confront the adverse conditions to which they were subject, the island community, once again, renewed efforts in defense of their interests. The growth of practices that negated the recognition of authorities, such as rebellion, livestock theft, insubordination, and strikes, represented a continuous challenge to the workings of colonial power. In some cases, the very precariousness of the islands institutional structure and the existence of signicant social tensions between the indigenous community and the colonial agents stimulated the Rapanui to organize forms of resistance which led them to a simultaneous confrontation with both authorities of colonial power: the State and the Company. This was the case, for example, during the general strike of 1928. During these episodes, while confronting the unity of the State-Company duo, the indigenous population even came to threaten albeit in a partial and limited sense one of the main pillars of the colonial presence on Rapa Nui: livestock prots. At the same time, an incipient process that integrated the Rapanui population under the framework of the Chilean State began to roll onward. State institutions, as well as the support given to the CEDIP and the Catholic
Rapa Nui Journal 54

Church, all played important roles in the development of this process.20 Another signicant factor contributing to this was the role played by the group of islanders mentioned above, who, collaborating closely with State institutions or the Company, came to act as real mediators between the population and the authorities. To summarize, while the forms of resistance deployed by the Rapanui during the period 1917-1936 did not reach the intensity of previous decades, they represented, at any rate, a clear obstacle to the advancement of colonial power. At the same time, these forms of resistance, post-Angata rebellion, constitute not only an important antecedent to the struggles for Rapanui civil rights led by Alfonse Rapu in later decades, but also represent a distant, but vital, referent for the recent struggles for justice which this indigenous community has led in demand of their land and national sovereignty.

Notes
1. La Compaa Explotadora de Isla de Pascua, hereafter referred to as CEDIP, or the Company. 2. For examples of recent works, see, for example: Castro Flores 2006; Foerster 2010, 2011; Moreno Pakarati 2011; Pakarati 2010, 2011; Stambuk 2010. 3. Medical work was undertaken, during these years, by successive practitioners who established themselves on Rapa Nui as Navy functionaries. 4. During these years this institution successfully played an important educative role, coming to consolidate the inuence acquired during the years of the rst missions. The Sub-Delegate enthusiastically mentions: without any exception, they are a good and religious people who attend Church every Sunday and on festive days. They come clean and it is a pleasure to see their devotion and respect in the house of God (AIV 1926:Folio 16). 5. The preservation of Rapanui economic practices of the traditional type mentioned occurred, even in the context of simultaneous processes of modernization, which affected the islands economy during these decades. 6. According to the 1929 census, work professions on the island were the following: Maritime Sub Delegate (1), general administrators (2), workers (4), labor (86), farmers (39), foremen (2), teachers (2), servants (1), carpenters (6), cooks (1) and shermen (18). The total inhabitants in the census come to 384 and were composed of 83 men, 98 women, 106 male children and 97 female children. At the same time the census mentions 14 lepers, 110 infants and 67 school children. The term labor possibly refers to essentially domestic tasks (the workers in this case are only women) (AIV 1929a:Folios 60-72). 7. The Rapanui use of maize as a form of exchange connects with the already mentioned process of monetization of the islands economy (Delsing pers. comm. 2012). These crops were used by the Company as food on the pig farms near Mataveri. 8. Among the group of Rapanui close to State functionaries we can mention, apart from Juan Tepano, were Juan Araki, Pedro Atan, Rubn Hotus and Nicols Pakomio Angata. In the case of islanders close to the CEDIP, the mestizo children of the following families stand out: Paoa Bornier, Tuki Kaituoe and from a later date, the children

Vol. 26 (1) May 2012

A fast yam to Polynesia: New thinking on the problem of the American sweet potato in Oceania

Miguel Fuentes

ofthe the Moche CEDIP managers: Percy Edmunds and Lachlan Around Valley, for example, the largest Mackinnon Rapanui women (Moreno Pakarati pers. irrigation works with undertaken in South America were comm. 2012). constructed under the central administration of Chan 9. This consisted of workers receiving $10 for every 100 Chan, the capital of the Chimu polity, between sheep or $100 forimperial every thousand. It is worth keeping AD 500-1000 Moseley in mind (Billman that at the 2006; beginning of the 1983). 1940s, the Rapanui wageselds did not reach pesos and annually, while on the Sunken that were100 naturally in some cases, continent a workers salary couldPeruvian reach 60 pesos per week articially water-fed supplemented irrigation (Hotus 2011). systems (Kautz & Keatinge 1977; Knapp 1982; Matheny 10. Documents relate the following leaders of the strike: & Gurrmain 1983; Moseley Moseley & Feldman strikers 1969; are the following people:1984; Moiss Parsons & Psuty 1975). West (1979) documents two Tucki, Nicolas Chavez, Juan Chavez, Andrs Chavez, Bery, Gabriel Beryfrom Bery,ca. Pedro groups Timoteo, of simpleTimn waterBery table farming plots Atan (Policia), Carlos Teao, Manuel of Bery Hito, Nicols 2000 BP at Viru, suggesting the antiquity this method. (Policia), Jos Pat, Jorje Rirorocko, Juan A 1550Packomio Spanish account describes the valley of Chilca, Aracki, Pat Pablo (AIV 1928b:Folio 52). where no water is seen to fall the of sky nor does 11. The practice of robbery asfrom a form rebellion and any river or stream pass through it, yet the greater part resistance, for example the so called cangalla miner in the context ofof early industrialization thetubers north of Chile of the valley is full plantings of maizein and and during the 19th 20th centuries, been common fruit trees (Pedro de and Cieza de Leon ashas cited inaRowe topic in a series of recent social history case studies in Chile. 1969:321). Knapp (1982) has also argued that raised 12. In 1929 a list of the main thieves was compiled, identifying embankments at Chilca were designed to trap water for the following natives: [] Jos Packarati: long time planting surfaces (but see Moseley & Feldman 1984). robber; Pedro Hucke, Enrique Hey, Carlos Teao, Daniel Icka, Bautista Tori, Jorje Teao: Theft of lamb in Angapico; From the southern Peruvian coast, agricultural eld Carlos Teao, Ramon Hey: theft in Mataveri;canal Alberto systems including stone-faced terraces, irrigation Thepije: known robber; Felipe Teao Arancibia (excessive systems and stone alignments are recorded between AD robber); Pedro Ito Ito: spice robber to Esteban Ito (AIV 900-1400, although the association of these features with 1929b:Folio 97(49). any particular seed root crops alone 13. According to and Recabarren, the (let days mainparticular hours, 8 am, 12 am, and pm, should be announced to the population potato species) is 9 not conrmed (Zaro 2007). a bell, and that transit of Rapanui by night was In with the hypothetical first meeting of Polynesian completely prohibited (AIV 1926:Folio 18-19(10)). The and South American agronomists, water-loving taro practice of scal Mondays where Rapanui were obliged would be unlikely to appeal to Peruvian cultivators in atthe to give their unpaid services was institutionalized least, while the relatively Pacic yam growing 1930s, and consistedlengthy of one obligatory days work each (Pakarati 2010). season week would compare unfavorably to potato varieties. 14. Recabarrens narrativeroot can be consulted concerning home Consistently, Asia-Pacic crops are not recorded inspections ensuring that sanitary norms were being in any pre-Columbian American context. The coconut maintained by the Rapanui (see AIV 1927:Folio 35(18)). (Cocos nucifera ) central represents the only plausible, still 15. One of the concerns of the Maritime if authority debated, pre-Columbian plant introduction from the was the up-keeping of national festivities such as the 21st May or2005; the 18th of September (see AIV , Memoria Pacic of (Green Irwin 2011:257-258; Storey et y Balance Jeneral del ao 1926,visitors, Folios 15(8)-16). al. 2011:129-132). For Polynesian in contrast, 16. The existence of these traditions presents rich pickings for Peruvian agriculture offered a range of new fruit, seed future anthropological investigation. While seen through and tuber crops that could begaze grown successfully in the recalcitrant Eurocentric of Olalquiagas narrative, sunkenthe gardens comparable to yam and taro planting weight of these traditions is apparent: Furthermore, they are ignorant of a mothers love for her children, which pits and wetland or raised bed Oceanic elds and puke . are a human beings greatest expression of emotion, which This variety highlights the problem that only a single they do not know. The proof of this can be found in that they American cucurbit and a solitary tuber were transferred do not feel sadness when a mother dies, since for them, it on present perhaps along with one orafter twoher is theevidence, most natural thing that she had to die, and other minor (Langdon 1996; Storey et al. 2011). death, crops they must celebrate with a great curanto (a typical roast) of 30 or 40 In of relation the children, For Green (2005:47), theanimals. selection sweetto potato and theybe arerelated given to as one would a valueless gourd can toothers, root and seed crop gift familiarity dog, which demonstrates the lack of parental sentiments, and ease of transfer (as rootstock and seeds). Leach and when speaking of their own personas, they do not (2005:63, still puzzled this limited selection, care70) for is themselves at all,by even when it comes to feeding however, especially when South American root themselves, because if other today they have no food, tomorrow they have will visit some others house and are satised with crops must been available. eating sweet potato and bananas (AMM 1936:22). 17. Another relevant factor is the application of Law 3220 East Polynesians already had a good variety of tree in 1917, which asserts the jurisdiction of the Valparaso crops and a Authority handful of root did the they Maritime over thecropsWhy island, excluding Rapanui bother a new and unfamiliar one? And fromwith the constitutional rights applicable to why the rest of

Chilean only one of citizens. the South American root crops?While 18. For can a more detailedaoverview of candidate these points, the manioc be considered most unlikely forthcoming article can be consulted: Estado most of the others could be grown from seed. y Compaa Explotadora. Apuntes para una caracterizacin del poder colonial (1917-1936). AnYam interesting article which expands on this point is in A 19. New for Polynesia preparation by Moreno Pakarati and refers to the role of the in that the islands police force. agronomic There is noRapanui evidence specialist American 20. The registration of Rapanui territory as State property technologies were transferred with the kmara (Barber in 1933, the declaration of the island as a historical 2010), monument consistent with the thesis that sweet potato was and its national park status in 1935 were selected as a variation on a Pacic cultigen. In particular, all part of this process (see Foerster 2011).

it would seem that sweet potato was not cultivated in irrigated elds or reticulated raised beds anywhere in Acknowledgements Polynesia (Best 1976; Handy et al. 1991; Kirch 1994; Yen 1974).the This is in contrast to archaeological and I thank members of the research project for their historical evidence of raised bed or mounded sweet collaboration: The Easter Island Extraction Company. potato cultivation in at least some Patrimony, Memory and Identity in water-fed Rapa Nui South (directed American eld systems (Denevan 2001; Yen I 1974:65, by Claudio Cristino and Miguel Fuentes). also thank 148-53). The relationship between kmara and and yamthe Alberto Hotus, Christin Moreno Pakarati agronomy in early Polynesia can be evaluated further anthropologist Rolf Foerster for their support. I am from archaeological and ethnobotanical evidence. grateful to Elizabeth Grant (linguist) for her support and Riet Delsing (anthropologist) for insightful comments. I Archaeology also thank Jimena Montero, Daniel Platt, and Nancy Egan. Two early dry eld trajectories are identied in Rapa Nui and New Zealand at the subtropical eastern and References temperate southwestern Polynesian margins respectively (Figure 1). del OnMinisterio Rapa Nui, early dry cultivation ofdel Archivos de the Marina (AMM). 1921a. Carta Subdelegado Acua Director Jeneral del Territorio plants in purpose-dug pitsal and the surface application Martimo de Pascua, 15 December of stone covers. Isla to act as a lithic mulch 1921. have Volumen been 2503. recognized only since the 1990s (Stevenson & Haoa 1921b. Informe de bienes scales. Isla de Pascua, Hanga Roa. 1998; Stevenson etde al. 1999:808; Wozniak 1999). These Contador Io. Cargo. 26 December 1921. Volumen 2503. practices are identied sequence, and sometimes 1921c. Informe de in condiciones sanitarias . En la mar. Cirujano Io. De Cargo. 29 December 1921. Volumen 2503. in combination, at sites investigated across the island 1935. Copia del censo la poblacin Isla de Pascua (Figure 2). It is proposed thatde stone surfacesde were applied efectuado el 3 de Noviembre de 1935. Volumen 3501. as 1936. a later development to regulate temperature, Memorias del Subdelegado Martimoboost Manuel fertility and conserve cultivation soils and moisture Olalquiaga. Hanga Roa, Volumen 3675. against winds and erosion, especially Castrodesiccating Flores, N. 2006. Rapa Nui: El Diablo, Dios y la Profetisa. Evangelizacin y Milenarismo Nui, following island-wide deforestation (Bork et en al.Rapa 2004; 1864-1914 HangaLouwagie Roa: Rapa et Nui Press, MAPSE. Ladefoged et al. .2010; al. 2006; Mieth & Cristino, C., A. Recasens, P. Vargas, E. Edwards & L. Gonzlez. Bork 2003, 2005; Stevenson et al 1999, de 1984. 2004:83-84, Isla de Pascua: Proceso, Alcances y .Efectos 2006; Wozniak 1999, 2001, 2005). la Aculturacin. Santiago: Instituto de Estudios Isla de Stevenson et al. (2006) a south coast Maunga Pascua, Universidad dedate Chile. Cristino, C. 2011. Colonialismo y Neocolonialismo en Rapa Orito cultivation sequence from the twelfth century AD In La Compaa Explotadora de Isla de Pascua. where Nui. pre-AD 1700 planting pits without mulch are Patrimonio, Memoria e Identidad en Rapa Nui. C. Cristino succeeded veneer (grain size 10-20cm) and and by M. stone Fuentes (eds.):19-52. Santiago: Escaparate boulder (30-40cm) gardens. Gardens with a 20-40cm Editorial. thick stone R. cover (grain size 5-20cm) above a in 25-50cm Delsing, 2004. Colonialism and Resistance Rapa Nui. Rapa Nui Journal 18(1):24-30. thick cultivation soil with planting pits are identied Estella, B.d. 1920. LosTe misterios de la Isla de Pascua in a north-west coast Niu sequence that may. Santiago: begin Editorial Cervantes. about the thirteenth century AD (Figure 3; Wozniak Fischer, H. 2001. Sombras sobre Rapa Nui: Alegato por un 1999; 2001; 2005:141). CharcoalLOM is dated AD 1428-1645 pueblo olvidado. Santiago: Ediciones. (2-sigma calibration) from aExplotadora possible vrs. Te Niu planting Foerster, R. 2011. Compaa Obispo Edwards y sus archivos fotogrcos, la Armada y & su archivo naval. pit in a lithic mulch garden (Horrocks Wozniak Una aproximacin al colonialismo en Rapanui. In La 2008:130). From the north-east coastal La Perouse Compaa Explotadora de Isla de Pascua. Patrimonio, locality, an extensive (30ha) lithicNui mulch system Memoria e Identidad en Rapa . C. eld Cristino and M. with a dense cover (grain size 5-20cm) is associated Fuentes (eds.):121-134. Santiago: Escaparate Editorial.
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Foerster, R. 2010. Voluntary Trip or Deportation? The Case of King Riroroko and Policies of Deportation on Easter Island (1897-1910). Rapa Nui Journal 24(2):36-46. Grifferos, A. 1997. La otra cara del paraiso. Comunidad, tradicin y colonialismo en Rapanui 1864-1964. Unpublished masters thesis, Universidad de Valparaso. Hotus, A. 2011. Dos relatos en la vida de un isleo: El salir de la isla y la lepra en Rapa Nui. In La Compaa Explotadora de Isla de Pascua. Patrimonio, Memoria e Identidad en Rapa Nui. C. Cristino and M. Fuentes (eds.):279-285. Santiago: Escaparate Editorial. Hotus, A. & el Consejo de Jefes de Rapa Nui. 1988. Te Mau Hatuo Rapa Nui: Los Soberamos de Rapa Nui. Pasado, presente y futuro. Santiago: Editorial Emision. McCall, G. 1976. Reaction to Disaster: Continuity and Change in Rapa Nui Social Organization. Unpublished PhD thesis, Australian National University. 1980. Rapanui. Tradition and Survival on Easter Island. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Moreno Pakarati, C. 2011. Rebelin, Sumisin y Mediacin en Rapanui (1898-1915). In La Compaa Explotadora de Isla de Pascua. Patrimonio, Memoria e Identidad en Rapa Nui. C. Cristino and M. Fuentes (eds.):75-89. Santiago: Escaparate Editorial. Pakarati, F. 2010. Papa Tuu I Hanga Kao-Kao. Hanga Roa: CONADI. Rapa Nui Work Group. 2002. Historic Truth Commission and the New Treaty. Hanga Roa: Work Document (Unofcial report on le). Routledge, K. 1919. The Mystery of Easter Island. London: Hazell, Watson, and Viney. Santana, F., R. Retamal & M. Fuentes. 2011. Modos de vida y condiciones de salud en Rapa Nui durante el periodo de la Compaa Explotadora. In La Compaa Explotadora de Isla de Pascua. Patrimonio, Memoria e Identidad en Rapa Nui. C. Cristino and M. Fuentes (eds.):193-212. Santiago: Escaparate Editorial. Stambuk, P. 2010. Rongo. La historia oculta de Isla de Pascua. Santiago: Pehun Editores.

Valparaso Intendancy Archive (AIV). 1926. Memoria y Balance Jeneral del ao 1926. Folios 1, 5(3), 11, 12, 15(8), 16, 18-19(10). Volumen 919, Aos: 1926-1947. 1927. Resumen Jeneral del ao 1927 en Isla de Pascua. Folios 23(12), 24, 26, 35(18), 39(20). Volumen 919, Aos: 1926-1947. 1928a. Resumen, Inventario Jeneral del ao 1928. Folios 34-35(18), 47(24), 48. Volumen 919, Aos: 1926-1947. 1928b. Carta de Carlos Recabarren a Enrique Edmunds. Hanga Roa, 5 August 1928, Folios 51(26)-52. Volumen 919, Aos: 1926-1947. 1928c. Carta para el Seor Administrador de la Cia E.I. de Pascua. Hanga Roa, 13 August 1928, Folio 53(27). Volumen 919, Aos: 1926-1947. 1928d. Trabajadores para la esquila en Baitea (Octubre de 1928), Folio 54. Volumen 919, Aos: 1926-1947. 1929a. Censo de la poblacin de la Isla de Pascua. Ao 1929. Folios 60-72. Volumen 919, Aos: 1926-1947. 1929b. 1929. Lista negra, ladrones conocidos . Folio 97(49). Volumen 919, Aos: 1926-1947. 1929c. Comunicacin del Subdelegado Recabarren sobre la entrega de terrenos a los rapanui. Hanga Roa, 20 April 1929, Folios 58-59(30). Volumen 919, Aos: 1926-1947. 1930a. Lista de vecinos vendedores de maz a la Compaa Explotadora (1929-1930). Folio 208. Volumen 919, Aos: 1926-1947. 1930b. Informacin del Subdelegado Recabarren con respecto a un posible robo de ganado. Hanga Roa, 21st of August 1930, Folios 169(97)-170. Volumen 919, Aos: 1926-1947. Van Tilburg, J.A. 2003. Among Stone Giants: The Life of Katherine Routledge and her Remarkable Expedition to Easter Island. New York: Scribner. Vergara, V . 1939. La Isla de Pascua: Dominacin y Dominio. Public Law Seminar, Memoria de Prueba, BA in Law. Santiago: National Library.

This article has been peer-reviewed. Received 15 February 2012; accepted 15 March 2012.

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