Document Type
Thesis
Date of Degree Completion
Summer 2015
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Resource Management
Committee Chair
Lene Pedersen
Second Committee Member
Kathleen Barlow
Third Committee Member
Mark Auslander
Abstract
Through the analysis of a Marquesan family in a touristic setting in Tahiti, this thesis explores the notion of the Polynesian body as a site of struggle between the gaze of cosmopolitan French tourists on the exotic other, and the resistance and self-interiorizing of the body by Marquesans. Many contemporary Marquesans choose to migrate to the more urbanized, popular tourist destination of Tahiti, for work, schooling, and medical procedures. Removed from their native land, Marquesans build upon traditional cultural practices and worldviews, while simultaneously actively creating innovative aspects of their experience in the new setting, on and within the body. Based on data gathered through ethnographic research, participant observation and interviews in August, 2014, Pape’ete, Tahiti, I analyze how tourist performances, food preparation, consumption and distribution, as well as tattooing create and affirm Marquesan culture in the diaspora.
Recommended Citation
Molohon, Patrick E., "Small Islands, Big Heart: Reproducing the Marquesas Islands Through The Body" (2015). All Master's Theses. 278.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/278
Language
English
Included in
Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Other Anthropology Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons