Children of the Land : Exchange and Status in a Hawaiian Community.

Abstract

Even an apparently acculturated community may remain surprisingly traditional in ideology and social organization. This study considers a modern Hawaiian community in terms of the categories, symbols, and cultural precedents that order social relations. In the village studied, Hawaiians participate simultaneously in two systems of exchange: one the Western market economy, the other a non-Western mode of exchange-in-kind that is rooted in traditional Hawaiian culture. Unlike other Hawaiian communities described in the literature, this village is distinctive for its unbroken settlement, for the time-depth of the present population, and for a long history of taro-growing in the area. Traditional exchange categories define the terms of reciprocity among relatives and neighbors, with food, land , and service the essential commodities. This study presents an exchange model of modern Hawaiian social organization, and analyzes Hawaiian social values and notions of relatedness. Hawaiian kin and affinal ties evidence a contrast between jural importance and sentimental favoritism. The Hawaiian scheme of relationships is considered with regard to the interplay of jural structure and sentimental patterns. An ethic of equivalence guides reciprocity with non-kin, but short-term cycles of exchange may assume a competitive ethos as individuals engineer their relative status by giving to create obligation. Village big-men achieve local importance and influence over others by manipulating traditional notions of obligation while overtly observing the egalitarian ideal. Keanae will survive as a Hawaiian place as long as the residents refuse to alienate their lands, and as long as criteria for esteem rest upon traditional Hawaiian values.