FROM SISTERS TO WIVES AND SLAVES - REDEFINING MATRILINY AND THE LIVESOF LAKESIDE TONGA WOMEN, 1885-1955

This article explores the interconnected historical processes of the r edefinition of matriliny and the progressive loss, between 1885 and 19 55, of the authority exercised by Lakeside Tonga women. Primarily base d in a re-reading of the work of J. van Velsen, it details the adoptio n by the Tonga of practices such as bridewealth and virilocal residenc e that are more commonly associated with patrilineal groups, and analy zes their impact on the role of women as sisters and mothers. It contr asts the standing of a sister with that of a wife, and identifies the migrant labor system as the primary reason why Tonga women and their h usbands' kin came to conceive of the position of a wife as roughly ana logous to that of a slave. It argues that this designation furnishes e vidence for the declining status of women as a whole within Tonga soci ety during this time.