Clan squabbles over Ariki title

By Florence Syme-Buchanan

In a country whose people

pride themselves on being

able to recite their Cook Islands lineage, to call some one “puti”- bastard child - is the worst insult.

And puti insults have recently been thrown in the face of some members of one Rarotonga’s most noble families - the Makea clan.

All this because of a squabble over the clan’s title of Ariki - paramount chief.

The latest Makea controversy sees the family line disputed because of illegitimate children whose apparent descendants have laid claim to the Ariki title.

Local historian, former prime minister Sir Thomas Davis wrote in Cook Islands News that the majority of Makea descen dants reacted strongly to the illegitimacy issue. “Presumably because none of past

traditional titleholders were blessed with a Christian marriage” he says. “The Makea titleholder at European contact had three wives. The Makea Ariki title has under gone some changes under the influence of European contact, especially as it involves the missionaries,” wrote Sir Thomas.

There are currently at least four claimants to the title of Makea Ariki. Being an Ariki in the Cooks gives mana and is lucrative. It means ownership of lands and

collecting rentals.

A series of meetings this month failed to resolve the matter. The conflict could last for years tying up tenancy of the Makea palace, Para O Tane on the fringe of capital Avarua. Vast (by Cook Islands stan dards) quantities of land belonging to the clan will also be tied up. This includes most of the lands in Avarua. Land and title disputes are not unusual in the Cooks.

Especially in Rarotonga - an island of just

67.2 square kilometres there are bitter fights over family land as less becomes available to share. Land claims are settled more amicably in the outer islands as some retain the traditional ways of distribution instead of through the land court.

Land and titles are inherited in the Cook Islands. The Cook Islands land tenure sys tem is unique in that no lands can be sold on a freehold basis. Leases for a maximum of 60 years are often sold with the consent of the majority of landowners. Upon expi ration of leases, the land reverts back to the family. Some families have failed to agree to a majority vote over the fate of a large number of family homes built in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Sadly, this has seen these once beautiful homes fall into disrepair. All that remains of many of these houses are the limestone walls, built from scratch by the hands of the forefathers of today’s squabbling descendants. ■