ABSTRACT
Incorporation of the new to fashion an ongoing sense of tradition and remaining essentially Pollapese was not confined to material culture. A strategy for bridging or balancing the tension between remaining true to tradition yet playing a role in the contemporary world has been the manner in which they have embraced Catholicism while making it their own. Although Pollapese had a history of mobility, patterns and reasons for movement have changed over the years. Pollapese have become increasingly aware of, and sensitive to, outside interests, values, and opportunities, and these have had some intriguing consequences for the islanders as they have attempted both to retain an identity as being traditional while manoeuvring to find a place for themselves in the contemporary world. Men traditionally had been the mobile ones, with women needing a particular reason to travel, such as visiting a sick relative.
