Persistence of the Gift
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Published: December 1, 2001
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 224
ISBN-13: 9780889203693
Subjects: Cultural studies; Social Science; Archaeology / Anthropology; Sociology; Tonga; Anthropology - General; Social Science / Anthropology / General; Anthropology - Cultural
Description: Tonga, the South Pacific island kingdom located east of Fiji and south of Samoa, is one of the world's few remaining constitutional monarchies. Although Tonga has long been linked to the world system through markets and political relationships, in the last few decades emerging regional and global structures have had particularly intense and transformative effects. Today, because of greatly increased labour migration, people, money, and resources are in constant circulation among Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. In Persistence of the Gift, Evans provides a detailed ethnographic and historical analysis of how, in spite of superficial appearances to the contrary, traditional Tongan values continue to play key roles in the way that Tongans make their way in the modern world.