South Malaita Island Province. South Malaita came under effective control of the colonial administration after the Solomon Islands was declared a British Protectorate in 1893. The administration included the collection of taxes from the islanders. During the colonial days, the island was divided by the colonial government and missionary establishments into the "Asimeuri", "Asimae", and "Raroisu'u" districts. Away from Malaita, most people from "Small" or "South" Malaita usually just say the word "South", everyone knows what they mean. People on the island, however, preferred to identify only with members of their extended families, where ties are the strongest, and with members of their
Malaita Kwaio and 'Are'are regions, which may be a dialect of Kwaio. Sa'a, spoken on South Malaita, is also a member of the family. Mutual intelligibility is also aided by the large degree of trade and intermarriage among the groups. The peoples of Malaita share many aspects of their culture, although they are generally divided into ethnic groups along linguistic lines. In pre-colonial times, settlements were small and moved frequently. Both agnatic descent (patrilineal lines from a founding ancestor) and cognatic descent (through links of outmarrying women) are important. These lineages determine rights of residence and land use in a complex