This remarkable book explores questions of identity and value posed by people living on (or near) the small Pacific island of Karavar in Papua New Guinea. The complex social and cultural changes that occurred during the century after Europeans first arrived in the area have led Karavarans to wonder about-and to assert-who they are and who they might become as citizens of a developing country that is striving to create national coherence across some seven hundred linguistic and cultural groups. Focusing on how the Karavarans' long-term preoccupation with identity and worth has played out in...