article

A Good man is hard to find: overseas migration and the decentered family in the Tongan Islands

Critique of anthropology12 (1) • Published In 1992 • Pages: 47-74

By: Gailey, Christine Ward.

Abstract
This is a study of migration and its impact on households in both rural and urban communities in Tonga, where migration increased dramatically after the mid-1970s, with a third of Tongans now living overseas. Through formal and informal interviews, Gailey collected information on which Tongans emigrate and why. She looks at migration's impact on marital stability, and kinship and gender relations within and between households. She has found that migration has reversed recent trends that had favored husband-wife relationship and the nuclearization of families. With their men working abroad, sisters and mothers have to depend on wider kin networks, reactivating traditional kin obligations and relationships, such as the FAHU. See her other article (document no. 117) about changes in social and gender relations in a prior historical period.
Subjects
Foreign exchange
Gender status
Household
Family relationships
culture
Tongans
HRAF PubDate
2006
Region
Oceania
Sub Region
Polynesia
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard ; 2004
Field Date
1986
Coverage Date
1975-1986
Coverage Place
Vava'u, Tonga
Notes
Christine Ward Gailey
Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-74)
LCCN
78640439
LCSH
Tongans