The politics of tradition in Baluan social change and the construction of the past in a Manus society

Abstract

In this thesis I explore the recent historical development of Saluan culture. I begin by arguing that the sphere of cultural phenomena must not be regarded as a coherent unity. Instead, several domains of loosely interrelated institutions and idioms may be distinguished. Although the domains - as fields of meaning - are defined in contrast to each other, there exists no necessary logical or functional relation between them. The particular configuration of cultural domains is the result of a society's specific history, in which non-cultural factors play a major role. The three dominant cultural domains of contemporary Saluan society are gavman (institutions and concepts pertaining to Western type government, education and development), lotu (institutions and symbols of the Christian churches) and kastam (cultural entities which are regarded as belonging to tradition). These domains are evident in the cultural practice of Saluan people as well as in their discourse. Saluan Islanders refer to them as different 'ways of doing things'. In the thesis I am concerned with the genesis of these three cultural domains in the colonial history of Saluan Island. My focus is on kastam which was first developed as a negative category through the comparison of Western and indigenous cultures. Since the 1960s a remarkable revaluation of tradition has taken place. Throughout the thesis I endeavour to link cultural changes to other developments of a political, economic and demographic nature. In addition, I pay attention to the way in which individuals contributed to the social and cultural changes through their conceptual and practical innovations. An important source for my reconstruction of the Saluan past is the oral tradition maintained by the islanders. I try to convey some of the richness and diversity of this tradition, while at the same time investigating its relation to the three cultural domains discerned. In the conclusion I try to clarity the theoretical conceptions that have informed my analysis and presentation of data.