Kinship organisation and behaviour in a contemporary Tongan village

Aoyagi, Machiko

article

Kinship organisation and behaviour in a contemporary Tongan village

journal of the Polynesian Society • 75 • Published In 1966 • Pages: 141-176

By: Aoyagi, Machiko.

Abstract
This is a 'descriptive study on the kinship organisation and behaviour of Tongan commoners in a contemporary Tongan village' (p. 141). It is specifically in contrast to the findings of Gifford (document #1) on kinship among the nobility. Commoners are organized into bilateral 'famili,' loose kindreds drawn upon as they are needed, and lack the unilineal 'ha'a' of the nobility, which Gifford thought were characteristic of all Tongan society. Aoyagi discusses the structure of the village, household composition, post-marital residence, the kindreds-famili and kāinga, and their functions, religion, land use, marriage regulation, kinship terminology and norms of kin behavior between the various dyad, e.g., husband and wife, uncle and nephew, etc. sleeping places, name giving, weddings, funerals, and the rather loose internal stratification of the village.

Real property

Naming

Status, role, and prestige

Visiting and hospitality

Avuncular and nepotic relatives