How Many Layers of Silence Can One Context Hold? (Micronesia)

Abstract

The topic here concerns silence in relation to time, in four ways. Firstly, silence expresses influences of the past on the present: tension between modernity and tradition, and between traditional and changing gender roles. Next, two kinds of “present” silence were noted: (a) between an NGO and the values and expectations of the indigenous people they serve, and then (b) silence with regard to how certain individuals conducted themselves with others within the group. Lastly, silence looks toward the future, to climate change and uncertainty about sustainable practices. Moreover, in this case silence is encountered from the inside out, as the context within which an individual begins and within which she must establish herself.