Tokelau: A Historical Ethnography

The distinguished authors of this handsome work of immaculate scholarship are virtually synonymous with Tokelau, three sparsely populated Pacific atolls north of Samoa. Since 1967 they have researched the history, social organization, and distinctive language and culture of this remote territory, now part of New Zealand. Their efforts have made Tokelau one of the best understood societies in the Pacific Islands. Judith Huntsman is associate professor of social anthropology at the University of Auckland. Antony Hooper is now engaged in independent research in Polynesia. Together they translated and edited the English version of the Tokelau islanders’ considered view of their...