Fortified upland sites dating from the last millennium are found on many Pacific islands, but few such sites have been described in detail. The results of the excavation of an unusually large, multi-unit stone-walled fortification (Vatutāqiri) located on the Vatia Peninsula, northern Viti Levu Island, Fiji are presented here. The current study represents the first systematic mapping and excavation of a fortification in this region. The proto-historic site has six stone walls, scarping, and a ditch protecting the citadel and occupies a 400-m–long, steepsided elongate ridge line. Pottery sherds and edible-shellfish remains are scattered throughout the site and were recovered from excavations for analyses. The results show that the inhabitants of Vatutāqiri exploited nearshore marine resources and suggest that specific ceramic decorations were associated with discrete areas of activity at the site. Vatutāqiri is one of several complex fortifications dating to a similar period on the Vatia Peninsula that are associated with upland ring-wall mounds (interpreted as defensive units) in the area, which suggests that conflict was endemic around AD 1700, possibly earlier, in this area. This conclusion agrees with others from regional surveys of inland/upland fortified sites on many tropical Pacific islands.

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This paper deals with conflict that is commonly referred to as “ethnic tension” in the Solomon Islands. The conflict caused a number of people to become internally displaced. There have been continual studies of the migration patterns and livelihood strategies of displaced people in Malaita. However, little attention has been given to how the people in northeastern Guadalcanal, where some of the most severe fighting took place, lived under conflict. In this article, I consider how the internally displaced people lived with and avoided becoming involved in the ethnic tension by analyzing their daily lives. This article has 2 aims. First, I offer an ethnographic description of the people of northeastern Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Second, I discuss their everyday struggles and choices during the conflict and social unrest, referred to as “ethnic tension.” Specifically, I examine their living conditions during the turbulence as well as their strategies for avoiding conflict. In conclusion, I state 2 key points describing the living situation of people in northeastern Guadalcanal during turbulence: First, the subsistence economy played an important role in their livelihood under the conflict. Second, they avoided becoming involved in the tension by providing foods and goods to militants along with physically keeping a distance from the conflict itself.

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This paper aims to understand continuity in the transformation of peoples’ practice of iconographic representation, beginning with the colonial era in the early 19th century, and continuing through contemporary Palau. It focuses receptivity to the carving skills propagated during the time Japan governed Micronesia, and the recent representation approach using modern paintings, to discuss the situation of “cultural objectification” through the material culture in Palau, taking the diachronic view. First, the argument around “cultural objectification” in Oceania is described, and the way in which the methodology was actualized is reviewed, with respect to how the strategic vitality of the society of Oceania is revealed through the material culture and to decipher the practical connotations and imitation of foreign cultures. Next, the deficiencies and shortcomings of the arguments around “cultural objectification” as understood through the material culture in Palau are indicated. The present paper then uses a case study of peoples’ practices of iconographic representation to present how they dramatically shifted a way of representing and interpreting the Palauan oral traditions. In conclusion, cultural connotations and the presence of imitation in Palau are discussed.

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Raijua Island is a unique area of Indonesia, both in terms of its remoteness and its extremely minimal precipitation. A previous ethnographic study reported that the inhabitants have developed a subsistence dependent on the drought-resistant Borassus palm. The present study explored how people in the village of Kolorae, Raijua Island, survive during the dry season. It assessed household-level livelihood, energy intake, daily activities, and social relations, in an effort to understand dietary and behavioral patterns. Dietary intake of energy and proteins were far below the international average, and malnutrition was prevalent. Major sources of energy included palm sugar (harvested during the dry season), and products of seasonal agriculture (harvested during the wet season); rice was also provided via a governmental aid program. Palm sugar and crops were frequently shared among the community, to provide for vulnerable people (e.g., the elderly), but rice and remittance money were usually not shared with others. Although support from outside the island is likely to be necessary in the future, residents of the village of Kolorae use two main survival strategies as safety nets: (1) production of palm sugar during the dry season and crops during the wet season; and (2) reciprocal food-sharing relationships.

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The aims of this study were to describe both the role of small-scale freshwater aquaculture practices and the livelihood of fish farmers in Indonesia. Focusing on freshwater aquaculture, aquaculture practices and fish farmers’ capital (livelihood) were compared based on 3 types of pond practices, i.e., raceway, excavated, and paddy field ponds. The impacts of aquaculture practices on the environment (water quality) were also examined. Data were collected from 98 fish farmers (households) in West Sumatra province using structured questionnaires, and water quality was analyzed using 15 outlet-water samples from 3 kinds of ponds. Results showed that the excavated pond farmers had better livelihood capitals than the other types of pond farmers. Fish production in raceway ponds was generally higher than excavated and paddy field ponds, but many limitations were observed in the raceway-culture. The main problem among raceway pond and paddy field farmers was the high price of feed, while that of excavated pond farmers was a high cost of pond construction. In the dry season, most of the water quality variables of the three types of ponds were significantly different from those in the rainy season. Some variables of water quality (chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nitrite, in particular) exceeded the safety level of good aquaculture practices in all types of ponds, and this may result in public concern in the near future. Generally, the water quality of raceway ponds was better than that of other pond types.

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The floating net culture is a major aquaculture activity in Maninjau village in West Sumatra, Indonesia. This study aimed to determine the typology of fish farmers on the basis of the livelihood capital variables. Data were collected from 118 fish farmers (households) in surrounding Lake Maninjau in West Sumatra province using structured questionnaires interviews with stakeholders. Factor and cluster analysis were used to establish the farmer typology, which included 3 groups of farmers. Group 1 included farmers with relatively poor access to aquaculture supplies who had another source of income. Farmers in this group had moderate capital and reported low fish mortality. This group seemed to have a sustainable livelihood as fish farmers as long as donors or government paid attention to the distribution of aquaculture supplies. Group 2 was characterized by high accessibility to physical capital and financial aid, but limited access to natural capital, and no other source of income. The second group of farmers was seen to be highly vulnerable to production failure and price shock. Group 3 had higher capital than the other groups, but often encountered massive fish mortality and needed to reduce the density of fish to avoid this outcome. The typology created from this study will help in prioritizing intervention needs.

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