article

Sickness, ghosts and medicine in Tonga

journal of the Polynesian Society32Published In 1923 • Pages: 136-142

By: Collocott, E. E. V. (Ernest Edgar Vyvyan).

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This short article is a discussion of Tongan concepts of sickness. It is by a missionary of long residence among the Tongans (p. 142) and contains information on theories of disease, the relation of ghosts to disease causation, diagnosis, treatment (usually massage and/or herbal medicines), and medical practitioners. It is not a detailed study, and ignores some relevant areas such as sorcery. Collocott's skeptical attitude reflected in his writing, as well as his role as a missionary, may have affected what and how much people were willing to tell him.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Bodily injuries
Theory of disease
Magical and mental therapy
Medical therapy
Medical personnel
Eschatology
Revelation and divination
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Tongans
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2006
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Oceania
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Polynesia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Missionary
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Martin J. Malone; 1978
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
not specified
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Tonga
NotesAdditional notes
By E. E. V. Collocott
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
08012644
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Tongans