Malaita Province is the most populous and one of the largest of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands. It is named after its largest island, Malaita (also known as "Big Malaita" or "Maramapaina"). Other islands include

South Malaita Island South Malaita Island is the island at the southern tip of the larger island of Malaita in the eastern part of the Solomon Islands. It is also known as Small Malaita and Maramasike for Areare speakers and Malamweimwei for more than 80% of the isla ...

(also called "Small Malaita" or "Maramasike"), Sikaiana Island, and

Ontong Java Atoll Ontong Java Atoll or Luangiua, (formerly ''Lord Howe Atoll'', not to be confused with Lord Howe Island) is one of the largest atolls on earth. Geographically it belongs to a scattered group of three atolls which includes nearby Nukumanu Atol ...

. Britain defined its area of interest in the Solomons, including Malaita, and central government control of Malaita began in 1893, when Captain Gibson R.N., of , declared the southern Solomon Islands as a British Protectorate with the proclamation of the

British Solomon Islands Protectorate The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first declared over the southern Solomons in 1893, when Captain Gibson, R.N., of , declared the southern islands a British protectorate. Other islands were subsequently declared to form part o ...

. The provincial capital and largest urban center is

Auki Auki is the provincial capital of Malaita Province, Solomon Islands. It is situated on the northern end of Langa Langa Lagoon on the north-west coast of Malaita Island. It is one of the largest provincial towns in Solomon Islands. It was establi ...

, which was established as the Administrative center for Malaita Province in 1909. Tourism is largely underdeveloped in Malaita; Auki is near to the

Langa Langa Lagoon Langa Langa Lagoon or ''Akwalaafu'' is a natural lagoon on the West coast of Malaita near the provincial capital Auki within the Solomon Islands. The lagoon is 21 km in length and just under 1 km wide. The "lagoon people" or "salt wa ...

, which provides opportunities for snorkeling, and the villagers provide shell making demonstrations.Matthew Prowse blog
. 18 June 2014. Retrieved on 22 March 2015. The population of the province is 122,620 (1999). The area of the province is . The Melanesian population of Malaita has unique cultural traditions in social aspects of life. Brideprice is a tradition which is unique to Malaita compared to the other islands of the Solomon Islands. In this practice the groom's parents present customary money of shells and food to the bride's parents.

Ethnicity

The people of the main island are of

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

. The outer islands of Ontong Java and Sikaiana are of a

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

n ethnicity and are recognised as

Polynesian outliers Polynesian is the adjectival form of Polynesia. It may refer to: * Polynesians, an ethnic group * Polynesian culture, the culture of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia * Polynesian mythology, the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia * Polyn ...

Polynesian culture Polynesian culture is the culture of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. The development of Polynesian culture is typically divided into four different historical eras: *Exploration and se ...

Traditional practices

Malaitan shell-money, manufactured in the

, is the traditional currency used in Malaita and throughout the Solomon Islands. The money consists of small polished shell disks which are drilled and placed on strings. It can be used as payment for

bride price Bride price, bride-dowry ( Mahr in Islam), bride-wealth, or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the woman or the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bride dow ...

, funeral feasts and compensation, with the shell-money having a

cash In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In bookkeeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-imm ...

equivalent value. It is also worn as an adornment and

status symbol A status symbol is a visible, external symbol of one's social position, an indicator of economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols. ''Status symbol'' is also a sociological term – as part of social and soci ...

. The standard unit, known as the ''tafuliae'', is several strands 1.5 m in length. The shell money is still produced by the people of Langa Langa Lagoon, but much is inherited, from father to son, and the old traditional strings are now rare. The violation of cultural taboos and practices as well as causing personal offence is considered a cultural affront. Malaita culture calls for the exchange of valuables to ease and resolve the alienation that may thus arise. This is called ''fa abua or fa okae'' (compensation).

Reef Islands

The people of

and

Lau Lagoon Lau Lagoon is a part of the Solomon Islands. It is located on the northeast coast of Malaita Island. The lagoon is more than 35 kilometers long and contains about 60 artificial islands built on the reef. The Lau lagoon is home to a number ...

in Malaita, Solomon Islands built about 60 artificial islands on the reef including

Funaafou Funaafou or Funa'afou is an artificial island built on the reef in the Lau Lagoon off the northeast coast of Malaita Island. Administratively, it is in the Malaita Province of the Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country cons ...

, Foueda, Sulufou, Saua, Ferasubua and

Adagege Adagege, alternatively spelled Ada Gege or Ada-gege, is an artificial island built on the reef in the Lau Lagoon on Malaita in the Solomon Islands; it is located in Malaita Province. The road from Auki ends at Fouia wharf opposite the islands of ...

. The inhabitance of these lagoons call themselves ''wane i asi'' 'sea people' as distinct from ''wane i tolo'' 'inland people' who live in the interior of the island. There was a history of conflict between the bush people and the salt-water people. The people of Lau Lagoon build islands on the reef as these provided protection against attack. These islands were formed literally one rock at a time. A family would take their

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

out to the reef which protects the lagoon and then dive for rocks, bring them to the surface and then return to the selected site and drop the rocks into the water. Living on the reef was also healthier as the mosquitoes, which infested the coastal swamps, were not found on the reef islands. The Lau people continue to live on the reef islands.

Administrative divisions

Malaita Province is sub-divided into the following wards: * Malaita Province (137,596) ** Auki (5,105) ** Aimela (7,639) ** Buma (6,223) ** Fauabu (8,830) ** West Baegu/Fataleka (2,477) ** Mandalua/Folotana (2,749) ** Fo'ondo/Gwaiau (5,532) ** Malu'u (4,333) ** Matakwalao (2,760) ** Takwa (10,070) ** East Baegu (4,781) ** Fouenda (1,885) ** Sulufou/Kwarande (866) ** Sububenu/Burianiasi (5,094) ** Nafinua (4,195) ** Faumamanu/Kwai (3,592) ** Gulalofou (6,031) ** Waneagu/Taelanasina (3,478) ** Aiaisi (3,574) ** Areare (3,525) ** Raroisu'u (4,988) ** Aba/Asimeuru (4,936) ** Asimae (3,043) ** Mareho (2,550) ** Tai (4,650) ** Kwarekwareo (1,921) ** Siesie (3,747) ** Waneagu Silana Sina (5,121) ** Keaimela/Radefasu (9,634) ** Langalanga (1,922) ** Luaniua (1,396) ** Pelau (700) ** Sikaiana (249)

Islands

Alite Alite is an impure form of tricalcium silicate, , sometimes formulated as ( in cement chemist notation), typically with 3-4% of substituent oxides. It is the major, and characteristic, phase in Portland cement. The name was given by Törnebohm i ...

* Anuta Paina *

Faore Faore is an island of the Sikaiana atoll in the Malaita Province, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. The local name is Matuiloto. Geography Faore is one of four islands of Sikaiana, a remote tropical coral atoll. Faore lies in the middle of th ...

* Ferasubua * Foueda *

* Laulasi * Maana'omba * Malaita *

Matuavi Matuavi (also Mutuavi) is an island of the Sikaiana atoll in the Malaita Province, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Geography Matuavi is one of four islands of Sikaiana Sikaiana (formerly called the Stewart Islands) is a small atoll ...

* Maramasike (South Malaita) *

Mbasakana Mbasakana is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in Malaita Province Malaita Province is the most populous and one of the largest of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands. It is named after its largest island, Malaita (also known ...

* Ndai *

Ontong Java Ontong Java Atoll or Luangiua, (formerly ''Lord Howe Atoll'', not to be confused with Lord Howe Island) is one of the largest atolls on earth. Geographically it belongs to a scattered group of three atolls which includes nearby Nukumanu Atol ...

* Saua *

Sikaiana Sikaiana (formerly called the Stewart Islands) is a small atoll NE of Malaita in Solomon Islands in the south Pacific Ocean. It is almost in length and its lagoon, known as Te Moana, is totally enclosed by the coral reef. Its total land ...

* Sulufou *

Tehaolei Tehaolei is an inhabited island of the Sikaiana atoll in the Malaita Province, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Geography Tehaolei is one of four islands of Sikaiana, a remote tropical coral atoll. Tehaolei lies in the north-western end of t ...

Notes

Footnotes

References

Roger Keesing Roger Martin Keesing (16 May 1935 – 7 May 1993) was an American linguist and anthropologist, most notable for his fieldwork on the Kwaio people of Malaita in the Solomon Islands, and his writings on a wide range of topics including kinship, reli ...

, ''Kwaio Religion: The Living and the Dead in a Solomon Island Society''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982. * Roger M. Keesing and Peter Corris. ''Lightning Meets the West Wind: The Malaita Massacre''. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1980. * Janet Kent. ''The Solomon Islands''. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1972. * James Page, 'Education and Acculturation on Malaita: An Ethnography of Intraethnic and Interethnic Affinities'.''The Journal of Intercultural Studies.'' 1988. #15/16:74-81; available on-line at http://eprints.qut.edu.au/archive/00003566/. * ''Ples Blong Iumi: Solomon Islands: The Past Four Thousand Years''. Honiara: University of the South Pacific, 1989. * Harold M. Ross. ''Baegu: Social and Ecological Organization in Malaita, Solomon Islands''. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1973.

External links

Provincial Profile of Malaita by constituency, People First Network

Digital Photo Library of Malaita from the People First Network

{{Authority control Provinces of the Solomon Islands States and territories established in 1981