Urban anthropology: Melanesia

This entry discusses the nature and development of Melanesian urbanity, which has been represented through anthropological research since the late colonial period. As foreigners established towns in Melanesia for colonial purposes, Melanesians were regarded as “villagers” and were assumed to lack urban sensibilities. On the basis of Western-derived criteria of urbanity, questions were raised as to the ability of Melanesians to adjust to town life, since long-standing representations of Melanesian sociality had emphasized its rural-oriented and “relational” characteristics, which were apparently retained by migrants from villages to towns. This ahistorical perspective has been obviated since the end of the colonial period by the mutable postcolonial urban sociality of Melanesians themselves. Contemporary anthropologists are exploring the increasing influence of the globalized capitalist economy and its ideations on Melanesian urban sociality.