Author Description

The similarities and differences between Tonga and Samoa have frequently been the subject of comment by Polynesianists. While the similarities are more easily understood than the differences, both invite more reflection.<br/>In Tonga and images of gender and polity four scholars who have studied one or other of the two societies from a background of ethnography or history have written essays on Tonga's or Samoa's past and present in order to throw light on the relationships that have existed in the past, and the points of divergence from each other in the present.<br/>While the essays and commentaries appear under different names, the authors, Malama Meleisea, Phyllis Herda, Kerry James and Penelope Schoeffel, and the editor, Judith Huntsman, interacted with each other in discussions and exchange of drafts in such a way that the outcome is a circular discussion that can be picked up at any point.