THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO CHILDREN HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE: DECEPTION, AGE, AND AVOIDING GIVING IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT BY ELISE CHERTOFF BERMAN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS AUGUST 2012 Copyright © 2012 Elise Berman All rights reserved. Table of Contents UTable of Figures U .......................................................................................................................... vii UAcknowledgements U .................................................................................................................... viii UNote on Orthography ................................................................................................................... x UAbstract U ....................................................................................................................................... xii UIntroduction U .................................................................................................................................. 1 UThe Circulation of Things U .......................................................................................................... 6 UThe Problem of Giving U ........................................................................................................... 6 U Inalienable Possessions U .......................................................................................................... 9 UThe Circulation of Signs U ........................................................................................................... 12 URisk and Face U ....................................................................................................................... 13 UTruth and Deception U ............................................................................................................. 15 UThe Identity of Interlocutors U ................................................................................................. 18 UChildren and Age U ...................................................................................................................... 20 UExchange and Childhood U ...................................................................................................... 21 UAge and the Analysis of Difference U ..................................................................................... 23 U Language Socialization and the Performance of Difference U .................................................... 27 UFieldwork in the Republic of the Marshall Islands U .................................................................. 31 UMethods U ................................................................................................................................ 33 U Limitations U ............................................................................................................................ 39 UChapter Outline U ........................................................................................................................ 41 UChapter 1: The Value of Giving U ................................................................................................ 44 UThe Social Environment of Giving U .......................................................................................... 47 URelationships of Power U ......................................................................................................... 47 URelationships of Solidarity U ................................................................................................... 67 UGiving and Possessing U .............................................................................................................. 73 UGivable Goods U ...................................................................................................................... 75 UGoods For Which One Should Not Ask U ............................................................................... 78 UPossessions That One Can Not Give Away U ......................................................................... 83 UThe Language of Possession U ................................................................................................ 87 UA Moral Imperative To Give U .................................................................................................... 90 UA Culture of Sharing U ............................................................................................................ 91 iii UConclusion U ................................................................................................................................ 92 UChapter 2: Morality’s Price U ....................................................................................................... 93 UThe Problem of Giving U ............................................................................................................. 93 UGiving Is Not Always Good U ................................................................................................. 94 UNot-Giving is Dangerous U ...................................................................................................... 99 UThe Problem of Asking U .......................................................................................................... 101 UA Life on Stage U ................................................................................................................... 102 UGossip About Goods U .......................................................................................................... 104 UAsking U ................................................................................................................................ 105 UAsking is Dangerous U .......................................................................................................... 107 UThe Need to Ask U ................................................................................................................. 108 UFace and The Realm Of Exchange U ......................................................................................... 109 UShame ( Āliklik )U ................................................................................................................... 110 UĀliklik To Ask U ..................................................................................................................... 116 UĀliklik and The Loss of Face U .............................................................................................. 118 UThe Danger of Exchange U .................................................................................................... 121 UChapter 3: Hiding U ..................................................................................................................... 123 UHiding Goods U ......................................................................................................................... 126 UHiding Signs of Existence U .................................................................................................. 127 UHiding Social Possession U .................................................................................................... 131 UChanging the Nature of the Good U ....................................................................................... 134 UThe Power of Physical Possession U ..................................................................................... 142 UHiding Commitments and Feelings U ........................................................................................ 143 UHiding Commitments U ......................................................................................................... 143 UHiding Feelings U .................................................................................................................. 145 UHiding Requests U ..................................................................................................................... 149 UJoking U ..................................................................................................................................... 151 UAllowing Others to Hide U ........................................................................................................ 155 UThe Control of Speech U ............................................................................................................ 159 UAsking and Giving Information U ......................................................................................... 160 UThe Danger of speech U ......................................................................................................... 161 UHiding Words U ..................................................................................................................... 163 U Lying, Truth, and the Morality of Giving U .............................................................................. 167 iv U Lies, Mistakes, and Truths U ................................................................................................. 167 UMoral Evaluations of Lies and Speech U ............................................................................... 172 UThe Danger of Lying U .......................................................................................................... 176 UConclusionU .............................................................................................................................