For an update about life on Sikaiana as of , see note 18 at the end of this chapter. I arrived on the atoll just before several major holiday celebrations. Then there are week-long celebrations at Christmas and New Year. Many Sikaiana emigrants who are working in other parts of the Solomon Islands return to the atoll at these times for their yearly holidays or work leaves. There is a long school break during this time and students also return. During each of these festive weeks, most work is forbidden by the church regulations.
People fish and harvest for their daily needs but they are forbidden from working on long-term projects such as making gardens, building houses or canoes. These week-long celebrations are devoted to worshiping, feasting, dancing, and singing. The Sikaiana also celebrate by drinking fermented coconut toddy.
From my first arrival, there was heavy drinking which became more vigorous during the holiday celebrations. To the extent that I was able, I participated in the drinking. By Sikaiana standards, my drinking habits are unusually restrained. The Sikaiana normally drink either until the beverage is finished or they pass out. At times, they become quite drunk. The Sikaiana shyness towards outsiders is abated by drink, and I often found drunken people coming to the courthouse to engage me in conversations.
These conversations could be stressful. Their heads bobbing and eyes bloodshot, people asked about my motivations for coming to Sikaiana or warned me about being manipulated by other Sikaiana. With all the stress of adjusting to a different way of life and of developing relationships in a different culture, I also had the problem of trying to begin my research project. My initial exhilaration at finally doing fieldwork and actually meeting the Sikaiana passed as I began to think about researching their social life: what questions to ask; what to observe; what to record.
I had read a lot of academic publications about other cultures as a graduate student. Unfortunately, such publications leave exactly the wrong impression for beginning fieldworkers. A book or journal article is the end result of fieldwork and presumably the author has come to some conclusions. After reading books and articles, the naive student, such as myself, is left with the impression that human behavior is coherent and organized.
