Book
Illness and cure in Tonga: traditional and modern medical practice
Vava'u Press • Nuku'alofa, Tonga • Published In 2002 • Pages:
By: Bloomfield, Siosiane Fanua.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a study of maternal/child health and family planning in Tonga. These two topics are closely related in their concern with the well-being of women and their children. It is important to look at the relationship between indigenous beliefs and practices, and introduced Western ones. Notions of birth control and mother and child care were present in indigenous Tongan society in the form of elaborate care of mother and child before and after birth; and the great emphasis placed on the virginity of women before marriage. Such beliefs and practices often differ considerably from those that have been introduced more recently. Thus, children traditionally are considered MONū (blessings) and any idea of reducing the number of children a woman bears after marriage is contrary to this belief. But traditional and modern beliefs and practices need not always be seen as contradictory and one of the goals of this study is to explore the extent to thich they do and can complement one another (p. 1). The text presents a short discussion of Tongan etiologies relating to health, sickness and curing, the curers themselves, and several case studies of individuals in Nukunuku village and on Tafahi Island.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Tests and schedules administered in the field
- Flora
- Morbidity
- Population policy
- Pharmaceuticals
- Theory of disease
- Magical and mental therapy
- Medical therapy
- Medical personnel
- Luck and chance
- Conception
- Pregnancy
- Childbirth
- 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
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Sociologist
- 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
- John Beierle; 2004
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1983 (January-May)
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1983
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Nukunuku Village, Tongatappu Island and Tafahi Island, Tonga
- NotesAdditional notes
- Siosiane Fanua Bloomfield
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 161-164) and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 2003495483
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Tongans