PACIFIC STUDIES A multidisciplinaryjournal devoted to the study ofthe peoples ofthe Pacific Islands SEPTEMBER 1994 Anthropology Archaeology Art History Economics Ethnomusicology Folklore Geography History Sociolinguistics Political Science Sociology PUBLISHED BY The Institute for Polynesian Stt dii s BRIGHAMYOUNG UNI\ I.KSin 11 \\\ Ml IN ASSOCIATIONWITHTHEPOLYNESIANCULT! RA1 I ENT1 R EDITORIAL BOARD Paul Alan Cox Brigham Young University Roger Green University ofAuckland Renee Heyum University ofHawaii FrancisX. Hezel, S.J. Micronesian Seminar Rubellite Johnson University ofHawaii Adrienne Kaeppler Smithsonian Institution Robert Kiste University ofHawaii Robert Langdon Australian National University Stephen Levine Victoria University Barrie Macdonald Massey University Cluny Macpherson University ofAuckland Leonard Mason University ofHawaii Malama Meleisea University ofAuckland Norman Meller University ofHawaii Richard M. Moyle University ofAuckland Colin Newbury Oxford University Douglas Oliver University ofHawaii Margaret Orbell Canterbury University NancyPollock Victoria University Karl Rensch Australian National University Bradd Shore Emory University Yosihiko Sinoto Bishop Museum William Tagupa Honolulu, Hawaii Francisco OrregoVicuna Universidadde Chile EdwardWolfers University ofWollongong Articles and reviews in Pacific Studies are abstracted orindexedin Sociolog- icalAbstracts, Linguistics and Language BehaviorAbstracts, America: His- tory and Life, Historical Abstracts, Abstracts in Anthropology, Anthropo- logical Literature, PAIS Bulletin, International Political Science Abstracts, InternationalBibliography ofPeriodicalLiterature, InternationalBibliogra- phy ofBook Reviews, and International Bibliography ofthe Social Sciences. PACIFIC STUDIES Editor Dale B. Robertson Associate Editor Book Review Editor Gloria L. Cronin Gale L. Ward Book Review Forum Editor Books NotedEditor Robert Borofsky Riley M. Moffat Technical Editor Sharlene Rohter Editorial Policy: Pacific Studies is published quarterly by The Institute for Polynesian Studies, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Laie, Hawaii 96762-1294, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is U.S. $30.00, payable to The Institute for Polynesian Studies. Articles submitted to the editor must not be submitted else- where while under review by Pacific Studies and should be the original typewritten copy, completely double-spaced (including quotations, ref- erences, and notes). Authors maywrite to the editorforastyle sheet and information on computer-disk submissions. Books forreviewshould also be sent to the editor. The Institute for Polynesian Studies is an organization funded by Brigham Young University-Hawaii. The Institute assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, and publication. The Institute cooperates with other scholarly and research institutions in achieving their objectives. It publishes monographs, produces films, underwrites research, and spon- sors conferences on the Pacific Islands. Further information on the activities ofthe Institute maybe obtained bywritingto the editor. © 1994 Brigham Young University-Hawaii. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States ofAmerica. This publication is printed on acid-free paper and meets the guidelines for pennaneiKv and durabilityoftheCouncilonLibraryResources. ISSN0275-3596 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from Consortium of Church Libraries and Archives http://archive.org/details/pacificstudiessep9400poly Volume 17 September 1994 Number3 CONTENTS Articles The Truth and OtherIrrelevantAspectsofNukulaelae Gossip Niko Besnier 1 HomeAlone: The Effects ofOut-Migration on Niuean Elders' LivingArrangements and Social Supports Judith C. Barker 41 Changing PatternsofCommitmentto IslandHomelands: A Case Study ofWestern Samoa Cluny Macpherson.. 83 From Sea and Garden to Schooland Town: Changing Genderand HouseholdPatterns among PollapAtollMigrants Juliana Flinn 117 The Track ofthe Triangle: FormandMeaning in the Sepik, Papua New Guinea Brigitta Hauser-Schaublin 133 Reviews Alfred Gell, Wrappingin Images: Tattooingin Polynesia (Peter Gathercole) 171 Greg Dening, MrBligh's BadLanguage: Passion, Power, and Theatreon the "Bounty" (Karen Stevenson) 177 — vi Pacific Studies, Vol. 17, No. 3 September 1994 Brij V. Lai, Doug Munro, and Edward D. Beechert, eds., Plantation Workers: ResistanceandAccommodation (Colin Newbury) 180 Books Noted RecentPacific Islands Publications: SelectedAcquisitions, February-May 1994 Riley M. Moffat 185 Contributors 194