People Life

In Tonga, men and women play equal roles in society. The childcare activities involve both parents. When women prepare food, men also assist. In villages, only the male family members are responsible for preparing the umu, a traditional underground cooking oven. Outside of the home, both men and women work. In rural places, males typically tend to livestock and harvest crops while women typically manufacture bark cloth or wave mats. People of both sexes work in offices, banks, and retail establishments in urban regions.

In the life of a Tongan, kinship relationships are significant. Many people still have deep relationships with their familial and extended families. In contrast to families in urban settings, those in villages are typically nuclear in character. In extended families, additional family members—especially grandparents—also help raise children in addition to the parents, who are the primary caregivers. In Tongan society, women hold a greater social status than men. On the other hand, inheritance is patrilineal.