article
Thy kingdom come: the democratization of aristocratic Tonga
contemporary Pacific • 6 (2) • Published In 1994 • Pages: 414-428
By: Hau'ofa, Epeli.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a noted article by a Tongan elite about the decline of the aristocracy and the rise of the commoner class in the Post-Constitution era. The process actually began earlier with the wars that raged in the first half of the 19th century to centralize power around the king. According to Hau'ofa, the wars resulted in the 'emasculation and dispossession of the hitherto largely autonomous and multi-centered aristocracy.' Aristocratic power was further eroded with the Code of 1862 and Constitution of 1875, which reduced the number of estate-holding titled chiefs from over 100 to around 30. Also, a constitutional edict stipulating primogenital succession deprived chiefs from selecting the most able heirs from among their kin groups. The abolition of tribute, the rise of a market economy, universal education, and churches all helped to create a new class of wealthy commoners. Hau'ofa argues that the deliberate emasculation of the aristocracy unintentionally removed a political buffer between the monarchy and the people. The recent rise of a pro-democracy reform movement gives weight to this assertion.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Classes
- Form and rules of government
- Chief executive
- Political movements
- 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.
- Indigenous Person
- 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
- unknown
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1862-1992
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Tonga
- NotesAdditional notes
- Epeli Hau'ofa
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 428)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 89646841
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Tongans