ABSTRACT
Leeward Villagers consider a family composed of a legally married couple and their children as the Ideal arena for sexual expression, procreation, child rearing, cohabitation, domestic group life, and economic cooperation. This household arrangement is highly evaluated since it originates from adherence to both societal and lower-class-specific norms of respectable mating and because it implies the economic viability and independence of the family group through the efforts of the husband-father. A description of the demographic and morphological characteristics of households can be a useful first step in determining the generation, maintenance, transformation, and functioning of domestic groups. Villagers hold that a man in the role of husband/father ought to head his household and rule its members if he owns the dwelling and is responsible for the support of its members. As head he is ultimately responsible for everything that goes on in the home and acts as final arbiter in household decision-making.
