article

Dealing with the dark side in the ethnography of childhood: child punishment in Tonga

Oceania • 63 • Published In 1993 • Pages: 313-329

By: Lee, Helen Morton.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document

This is a study of child abuse in Tonga, starting with the first reports of such behavior by the anthropologists, Ernest and Pearl Beaglehole in the 1930s. Physical punishment is a widely accepted form of disciplining children and part of the socialization process in Tonga. Lee examines the fine line between maltreatment and punishment, and discusses child punishment in context of wider ideas regarding Tonga personhood and child development, and Tonga's hierarchical society. Punishment is a means to mold the child to values associated with the ideals of Tonga personhood, such as cleverness (POTO) and love ('OFA). There are laws against child abuse although charges are seldom laid. Lee notes that Westernizing trends and rapid social change have influenced families to be either stricter with their children or more relaxed. Problems of child abuse have risen in Tongan migrant communities.

SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF

Child care

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.

Ethnologist

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

Ian Skoggard; 2004

Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document

1979-1989

Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to

1938-1988

Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)

Tonga

NotesAdditional notes

Helen Kavapalu

Includes bibliographical references (p. 327-329)

LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number

38017490

LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings

Tongans