Between Gifts and Commodities: Commercial Enterprise and the Trader's Dilemma on Wallis ('Uvea)

Abstract

Recently, the model of the trader’s dilemma was developed as an analytical perspective and applied to Southeast Asia. This article seeks to apply the model in Western Polynesia, where many islanders, after earning wages in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, or New Caledonia, return to open a small shop in their home village. Usually, after one or two years of generous sharing, such enterprises have to close down. Here, I analyze this phenomenon through case studies of successful indigenous entrepreneurs on Wallis (‘Uvea), with special attention to strategies they have used to cope with this dilemma.