Ideology and social inequality in the Tongan kinship system

Bibliographic Data

ID2846375
AuthorsPaul Grijp (1. [email protected]), Paul Van Der Grijp (Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, corresponding author)
Year1988
Volume144
Issue4
Pages445-463
Publication date1988-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBijdragen tot de taal- land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0006-2294 • E-ISSN: 2213-4379
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/22134379-90003280
OpenAlexW1993219487
LanguageEN
References cited15

Tonga is a highly stratified Polynesian society.1 A clear indication of this is found in the emphasis Tongans put on the tua-eiki distinction. They continually rank each other as lower (tu'a) or higher ('eiki). By means of this ideological distinction not only the social status and the correspond ing power position of any individual within the kinship system are defined, but also the important difference between commoners and aristocracy (chiefs) is indicated. It is a matter of relative position, of relational logic. For example, a chief (='eiki) may be tu'a as well, not only vis-?-vis still higher chiefs, but also with respect to certain catego ries of kinfolk who do not necessarily belong to the chiefly class (the hou feiki). To be able to understand this ideology, we have to go into the background of the Tongan kinship system. But first the concept of ideology as it is used here will be defined

Aristocracy (class · Genealogy · Ideology · Inequality · Kinship · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Rank (graph theory · Social class · Social science · Social stratification · Sociology · Anthropology · Gender Studies · History · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Law · Mathematics

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