ABSTRACT
The family situation in Tikopia might be expected to conform to the general scheme of such relations in other Polynesian communities and therefore to need no elaborate discussion. But in spite of the voluminous literature of Polynesian ethnography there is as yet little systematic material which can be utilized for a general formulation of the character of the bases of the kinship system in this area. This study of Tikopia family life, in addition to being an integral part of the description of the culture of these isolated primitive natives, will afford comparative material and challenge enquiry into the institutions of other islands.
