This chapter examines tourism and socio-cultural change in Ngadha. As I suggested in Chapter 1 it is not possible to disaggregate change brought about by tourism from other influences. Instead tourism is seen as one of the many factors affecting change in the lives of the villagers. The chapter begins with an examination of the dangers and ambiguities of equating globalisation with westerisation and the importance of tourism as a localising force in identity affirmation and the commodification of the villagers’ otherness.

The chapter then unwraps the onion skins around the Ngadha cultural core and illustrates how tourism is incorporated within a complex nexus of forces that shape Ngadha society. The story of the ordination of a village priest is used to illustrate how nationalism, Catholicism and adat are intertwined: how the beliefs are at once syncretised while also competing for legitimacy and authority in the villagers’ lives. The layers are then stripped away for closer examination. A detailed account of Reba in Bena, in 1998, is provided to illustrate how tourism is utilised, accommodated and appropriated within the competition for legitimacy and authority in the lives of the Ngadha villagers. The chapter examines how tourism is affecting the balance of power between the competing forces in the villagers’ lives.

Tourism and Gobalisation in Ngadha

Visual signs of globalisation do exist in Ngadha villages. Coca-Cola bottles are on sale in the village shops. Sales are largely to tourists but also occasionally to locals. Tourists and locals buy biscuits. This, originally, western import has little to do with tourism. The Catholic Church introduced the baking of cakes, biscuits and bread into Ngadha. Sponge cakes are prized as they are considered essential at church weddings (but not at traditional marriage ceremonies). One of the most frequently purchased items in the village shops is instant noodles. Although now widely available in western supermarkets, instant noodles are a Chinese not a western product.