Book
The nobility and the chiefly tradition in the modern Kingdom of Tonga
The Polynesian Society • (42) • Published In 1978 • Pages: 166
By: Marcus, George E..
Abstract
This is a study of the adjustment of Tonga chiefs to modern society. In the traditional Tonga chiefdom, parallel lines of authority and rank passed through male and female lines, respectively. Chiefs controlled land and labor as titled heads of territorial-based bilateral kindreds (KAINGA). In 1875, under Western influence, a constitutional parliamentary monarchy was established to centralize power and control chiefly privilege, although not eradicate it altogether. Twenty chiefly titles with landholding rights and political representation in parliament were retained. Marcus examines the plight of these titleholders in a modernizing society and their status in regard to the old disenfranchised aristocracy and a newly emerging elite of commoners. In what he calls a compromise culture, he shows how chiefly privilege, or what's left of it, is negotiated in a value system that still partly adheres to a sacred honor ('EIKI) but also cleverness (POTO).
- HRAF PubDate
- 2006
- Region
- Oceania
- Sub Region
- Polynesia
- Document Type
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard; 2004
- Field Date
- 1972-1975
- Coverage Date
- 1875-1975
- Coverage Place
- Tonga
- Notes
- by George E. Marcus
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-166)
- LCSH
- Tongans