Household Composition in the Tonga Islands: A Question of Options and Alternatives

Type Journal Article - Journal of Anthropological Research
Title Household Composition in the Tonga Islands: A Question of Options and Alternatives
Author(s)
Volume 31
Issue 3
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 1975
Page numbers 235-259
Publisher University of New Mexico
URL https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/jar.31.3.3629942
Abstract
The composition of households in Tonga (Western Polynesia) does not conform with ideal patterns, nor does the statistical description of household types reveal clear principles of household structure. Instead, Tongan household structure is most clearly understood within a decision-making framework as the outcome of different ways of satisfying the material and social demands on the individuals and family groups who make up the households, considered in relation to the resources available to them. This analysis directs attention to some of the conceptual problems associated with the use of terms like "option" and "choice" in constructing decision models for discussing the diverse behavior of different people in a society.