Book
Wage, trade, and exchange in Melanesia: a Manus society in the modern state
University of California Press • Berkeley • Published In 1989 • Pages: xvii, 257
By: Carrier, James G., Carrier, Achsah H..
Abstract
Ponam is a small island off the north coast of Manus Island, Papua, New Guinea. In the late 1970s, the inhabitants of this island found a relatively prosperous economic niche for themselves, in contrast to the standards of many villages in Papua, New Guinea, based on the ability of the islanders to do well in school and use their educational credentials to get well-paying off-island jobs, primarily with the civil service. As the result of these jobs the migrants were able to send enough money home to their families so that the island residents were able to buy both the necessities and a number of the minor luxuries of life (p. xi). Despite their improved standards of living, many aspects of life on the island remained relatively unchanged, such as fishing, marketing, and ceremonial exchange, primarily in the form of gifts to mark the stages of marriage, birth, death, and a host of other less momentous occasions. All of the above aspects of Ponam ethnography are examined in great detail in this monograph.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2005
- Region
- Oceania
- Sub Region
- Melanesia
- Document Type
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- John Beierle ; 2004
- Field Date
- 1978-1986
- Coverage Date
- ca. 1870-1980s
- Coverage Place
- Ponam Island, Manus Province, Papua New Guinea
- Notes
- James G. Carrier and Achsah H. Carrier
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 247-253) and Index
- LCCN
- 88015576
- LCSH
- Manus (Papua New Guinea people)