Kanak people
The Kanaks are the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific. Kanak peoples traditionally speak diverse Austronesian languages that belong to the New Caledonian branch of Oceanic. According to the 2019 census, the Kanaks make up 41.2% of New Caledonia's total population – corresponding to around 112,000 people. The other populations are the Caldoche, who are European born in New Caledonia; the Zoreille, who were born in metropolitan France and live in New Caledonia, in addition to about 10% that are non-Kanak Polynesians and 10% that are mixed race.
The earliest traces of human settlement in New Caledonia go back to the Lapita culture, about 3000 BP, i.e. 1000 BCE. In addition, Polynesian seafarers have interbred with the Kanaks over the last centuries. New Caledonia was annexed to France in 1853, and became an overseas territory of France in 1956. An independence movement, which led to a failed revolt in 1967, was restarted in 1984, pursuing total independence from French rule. When the 1988 Matignon agreements were signed between the representatives of France and New Caledonia to decide on holding the referendum for independence, Jean-Marie Tjibaou, the Kanak leader of the independence movement, had mooted a proposal to set up an Agency for the Development of Kanak Culture. After Tjibaou's assassination in 1989, the French President François Mitterrand ordered that a cultural centre on the lines suggested by Tjibaou be set up in Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia; it was to be the last of Mitterrand's Grands Projets of François Mitterrand. The Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre was formally established in May 1998.
Although ancient Lapita potteries date back to 1000 BC, and the people of the island have long been involved in the arts, since the establishment of the ADCK, Kanak arts and crafts have become more popular in New Caledonia. Wooden carvings in the shape of hawks, ancient gods, serpents and turtles are popular as is flèche faîtière, a carving which resembles a small totem pole with symbolic shapes. Music, dance and singing are part of many a Kanak ceremonial function and dances are performed during the traditional Kanak gatherings with the objective of cementing relationships within the clan and with ancestors.
Etymology
The word Kanak is derived from kanaka maoli, a Hawaiian phrase meaning 'ordinary person' which was at one time applied indiscriminately by European colonisers, traders and missionaries in Oceania to any non-European Pacific islander. Kanaka in Hawaiian descends from the Proto-Polynesian root *taŋata meaning 'person', a root which is not used in New Caledonian languages. Prior to European contact, there were no unified states in New Caledonia, and no single self-appellation used to refer to its inhabitants.In 1984, Melanesian leaders adopted the modern spelling Kanak as a preferred alternative to the old spelling Canaque, which was associated with the colonial period. The new form "kanak" does not inflect grammatically in French: e.g. the plural is “les Kanak” ; “les traditions kanak”, etc.
Other words have been coined from Kanak in the past few generations:
- Kanaky is an ethno-political name for the island or the entire territory.
- is a musical genre associated with the Kanak, stylistically a form of reggae with added flutes, percussion and harmonies. Kaneka often has political lyrics and is sung in Drehu, Paici or other Melanesian languages, or in French.
History
Origin
Melanesian settlement on Grande Terre dates back at least as far as the Lapita culture. The origin of Kanak people is unclear. Obsidian transported from New Guinea was found with the earliest New Caledonian Lapita pottery. In addition, some researchers have claimed there is evidence of New Caledonian human habitation dating from 3000 BC, while others claim to have found pre-Lapita pottery. At the Fourth Lapita Conference, held in June 2000, in Canberra, Australia, the question was posed: "Is Lapita Kanak, or is Lapita the oldest and first ancestor of a later culture that is labelled Kanak?" Still another problem in determining the origin and early history of Kanak people is that the archaeological interpretation is in conflict with the views of Kanak people which have become politicized subsequent to colonial rule.European settlers
The earliest history of Europeans arriving on these islands is when Captain James Cook of the Kingdom of Great Britain landed in 1774 at a time when there were reportedly 70,000 Kanaks living in the archipelago. Cook gave the name "New Caledonia" to these islands, named after Caledonia, the Latin name for Scotland.Fifty years later, the Protestants of London Missionary Society came to New Caledonia, which was followed by entry of the French Catholics to the island, in 1843. This resulted in a conflict between the two religious factions and eventually the French Catholics' control of the islands prevailed. The island nation was thereafter annexed by France, in 1853.
During the colonial period, in the 19th century, Kanaks were employed as forced labour, to perform work in places such as Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the U.S. state of California, Canada, Chile, Fiji and South Africa. During the 3,000 years that Kanaks lived in the remote islands, they were unprepared for the arrival of European viruses and bacteria. The Kanaks were uprooted from the land and were employed as forced labour on French plantations, ranches and public works.
Revolt
When Kanaks were forced to move to reserve areas of the island, closer to the mountains, they occupied only 10 per cent of the area of their ancestral territories given that their population had declined so dramatically due to disease, and their living conditions became very hard. This situation arose consequent to induction of 20,000 convicts by the French government between 1864 and 1897, most of whom settled permanently in the country, and who were employed to extract nickel and copper from 1875 onwards. This caused serious resentment among the Kanaks who revolted in 1878 against the French colonial rule, which was suppressed by the French who were better armed. The Kanak leader was decapitated, and his head was put on display in the Museum of Natural History.After World War II
After World War II, the Kanak independence movement again picked up momentum when the United Nations placed New Caledonia on its Decolonisation List of Non-Self-Governing Territories in 1946. A major progression occurred when Kanaks and French settlers in the country obtained voting rights in 1951, shortly before it became an overseas territory of France in 1956. The Kanaks were then also allowed to move out of their reserve areas. This was followed by the establishment of the Territorial Assembly in 1957, but this was short-lived; Charles de Gaulle abolished it after he became the President of France, in 1958.Agitation for independence
In 1981 the movement for Independence began, following the murder of Pierre Declercq, the secretary general of the Caledonian Union on 19 September 1981. A national forum titled "Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak Socialiste" was established in 1984. This forum refused to participate in elections to the Territorial Assembly and even declared its own Provincial Government; it met with opposition by the French. FLNKS "organized a boycott of the territorial elections in New Caledonia, smashing ballot boxes and setting up roadblocks to prevent people from voting." The FLNKS persisted with their agitation and unilaterally announced on 7 January 1985 that a referendum on independence would be conducted in July 1985. After the death of Kanak leader Eloi Machoro in 1985, Kanak activists took 27 gendarmes hostage on the island of Ouvéa, igniting a French response.The Kanak movement proposed a self-government in January 1986. An interim arrangement was announced by Mitterrand who moved to give greater autonomy in the colony. Prime Minister of France Jacques Chirac stationed troops in the islands and the autonomy issue was shelved. The FLNKS, backed in their campaign for a referendum by regional organizations such as the "Groupe du fer de lance mélanesien", the Pacific Forum, and the Nonaligned Countries Movement, were successful in getting the UN Resolution 41-41 A of 2 December 1986 passed; it re-inscribed New Caledonia on the Decolonisation List of Non-Self-Governing Territories. But this resolution did not mitigate the violence as what ensued was more confrontations with the authorities: the "Ouvéa cave hostage taking" resulted in 21 deaths including 19 Kanaks. Following the battle, there was an international outcry that resulted in initiation of talks for settlement between the French government, the Kanaks and the French settlers.