Becoming Tongan: An Ethnography of Childhood

By Helen Morton

Book Overview

In this first detailed account of growing up in Tonga, Helen Morton focuses on the influence of anga fakatonga ("the Tongan way") in all facets of Tongan childhood, from the antenatal period to late adolescence. Childhood is a crucial period when cultural identity and notions of tradition are constructed, as well as beliefs about self, personhood, and emotion. Based on her anthropological fieldwork and her experiences in Tonga over several years, Morton traces the Tongan socialization process--from being vale (ignorant, socially incompetent) to becoming poto (clever, socially competent)--in fascinating detail. The socialization of emotion is also given detailed attention, especially the management of anger and emphasis on emotional restraint.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0824817958
• ISBN13: 9780824817954
• Release Date: August 1996
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Good Book

I found the book very interesting and stimulating. It consists of the information about the Tongan culture and people, especially the Tongan children and how they absorb the Tongan culture through socialization or "becoming" process. It gives the whole picture of the Tongan society with implicit and explicit views of their traditions, thoughts, and behaviors. I would recommend anyone who wants to undestand the Tongan culture to reak this good book.

Becoming Tongan: An Ethnography of Childhood.

Thank you, Helen Morton! This is an understandable description of the Tongan culture from pre-missionary times to the current trends! Helen Mortan is in a unique position to introduce the Tongan culture to the Western Mindset. She is Australian and was married to a Tongan Man, and has his child. She presents her facts in a scholarly manner. I found this book to be much more than an ethnography of Childhood. It made the very different "Tongan Way" completely comprehensible to me.