essay
Change in rank and status in the Polynesian kingdom of Tonga
Psychological anthropology • The Hague • Published In 1975 • Pages: 559-575
By: Urbanowicz, Charles Francis.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Urbanowicz uses an ethnohistorical methodology to delineate the aboriginal system of ranks and titles in Tonga and to trace the changes in these resulting from European influence. He argues that in the aboriginal system the concept 'EIKI' referred to nobility by birth and should not be confused with the concept of chief or title. The statuses related to titles were, in his view, originally partially or wholly achieved. The system of hereditary titles found in present day Tonga was codified in the Tongan Constitution of 1875, but the author traces changes in the status system further back to the beginnings of European missionary activities. His article carries a warning about the ahistorical nature of much of the anthropological literature on Tonga.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Sociocultural trends
- Status, role, and prestige
- Classes
- Chief executive
- Executive household
- Missions
- 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
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnographer
- 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.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Eleanor C. Swanson; 1978
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1970-1971
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1616-1970s
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Tonga
- NotesAdditional notes
- Charles Francis Urbanowicz
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 575)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 76364265
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Tongans