ABSTRACT
The two most important types of cultivable land in Minazini are bush land and meadow land. The former lies outside the village, mainly on higher ground, and supports a variety of crops including hill rice, corn, millet, beans, and pumpkins. The latter, which is situated within the village wards, is low-lying and therefore flooded during the wet season; here only rice and sweet potatoes are grown, and coconut trees planted. While bush land can be cultivated for only a short period, and then must lie fallow, meadows can be cultivated on a semi-permanent basis. Bush land is cultivated on a five-year cycle; after a year's cultivation, it is left fallow for four years. This chapter shows how people make choices about cultivation over a period of time, and discusses whether people always cultivate with the same descent group each year, or whether they utilize all the descent groups in which they can claim membership, in order to obtain land rights.
