Polynesian Seafaring and Navigation: Ocean Travel in Anutan Culture and Society

Revised to stimulate and engage an undergraduate student audience, Feinberg’s updated account of Anuta opens with a chapter on his varied experiences when he initially undertood fieldwork in this tiny, isolated Polynesian community in the Solomon Islands. The following chapters explore cominant cultural features, including language, kinship, marriage, politics, and religion—topics that align with subject matter covered in introductory anthropology courses. The final chapter looks at some of the challenges Anutans face in the twenty-first century. Like many other peoples living on small, remote islands, Anutans strive to maintain traditional values while at the same time becoming involved in the world market economy. In all, Feinberg gives readers magnificent material for studying the relations between demography, environment, culture, and society in this changing world.