"Advance into Past tells the story of Christians who tackle contemporary social issues and repatriate traditional indigenous values in an increasingly modernised French Polynesian society. Pursuing the past in the present means grappling with ongoing existential issues as an indigenous people, such as the dismantling of the kinship community, the decline of domestic agriculture and the loss of indigenous cultural heritage. Maòhi Christians strive to reconnect with a perceived Indigenous, sacred past within a present they experience as alienated. This book illustrates how indigenous Christians perceive social change and how their historical perceptions inform the creation of their own Christianity"-- Provided by publisher.