By Gordon Leua Nanau*
Abstract
Understanding the wantok system as a socio-economic and political network in the Western Pacific is critical to understanding Melanesian societies and political behavior in the context of the modern nation-state. The complex web of relationships spawned by the wantok system at local, national and sub-regional levels of Melanesia could inform our understanding of events and development in Melanesian states in the contemporary period. This paper will analyze the concepts and historical roots of wantok and kastom in Melanesia, with particular reference to the Solomon Islands. It will also assess the impact of colonialism in the development of new and artificial wantok identities and their (re)construction for political purposes. It concludes with a contextual analysis of wantok as an important network in the Solomon Islands emphasizing its central role to people’s understanding of social and political stability and instability.
Introduction
Wantok is used in this paper to refer to distinct cultural and resource controlling ideological groupings that connect
pre-contact and post colonial periods. It also includes artificial wantok political units established by legislative processes like wards, provinces and constituencies. In fact, the term “wantok” could mean slightly different things to different people depending on the context and circumstances under which it is used. Nevertheless, wantok is an important concept associated with networks of distinct tribal, ethnic, linguistic, and geographic groupings in Melanesia. The paper will highlight the history of wantok relationships; its frontiers, the relationships between and
within wantok groups and within wantoks groups from an anthropological position. In other words, what holds wantoks together and what separates them and may instigate hostility? It should be stressed that the term wantok is a recent creation as it was formed with the development of the Melanesian pidgin during the 1800s. However, its moral structure and spirit are integral parts of Melanesian societies since time immemorial