ABSTRACT
Tikopia on my first visit was an isolated community, remote from anything that could be called civilization, primitive in its technology, and unsophisticated in its knowledge of the ways of the Western world. In 1952 these terms could still be applied, but their relative magnitude had decreased. Physically by improved communications, and ideologically by significant changes in attitude and comprehension, the Tikopia were more in touch with the forces of contemporary society elsewhere in the Pacific. In terms of social relationships, there was now less distance between them and their neighbours in the modern world. As a preface to the general analysis, therefore, I outline the position of Tikopia νis-à-νis these ‘modernizing’ influences, and trace their historical development.
