Rereading Relationships: Changing Constructions of Identity among Kubo of Papua New Guinea

Through a ten-year period and in contexts of increased sedentism and monetization, Kubo people have altered the emphases of identity construction. An emphasis upon the social identity of individuals as a basis for action has shifted toward expressions of the importance of groups. An emphasis upon the future in the constitution of personal relationships and identity has shifted toward expressions of the importance of the past. And an emphasis upon personal action as the basis for establishing relationships and rights to land has shifted toward expressions of the importance of prior convention. These changes are seen as reflecting the disembedding tendencies of modernity. (Kubo, Papua Nesv Guinea, social identity, social change, modernity)