This is a preliminary report and consideration of adoption
customs in Micronesia. An attempt is made to clarify the realities
and functions of this custom in relation to the family-kinship
organization, land tenure system and economic mechanism in
several Micronesian societies, such as Palau, Yap, Truk (Romonum,
Ulul), Ponape (Ponape, Mokil, Kapingamarangi) and Marshall
(Majuro, Bikini).
For a comparative study of adoption customs in these societies,
seven points are proposed as indexes for analysis : i.e. (1) characteristics
of the corporate group concerned, (2) meanings of native
terms which show 'adoption', (3) motivations and factors of adoption,
(4) procedure of adoption practice, (5) relationship between
adopted children and adoptors, (6) relationship established through
adoption among kin groups, and (7) status of adopted children.
These indexes are provided, to help grasp adoption customs at the
level of kinship study or descent theory.
An examination of bibliographic data on Micronesian adoption
customs makes it clear that :
1. Adoption for the purpose of acquiring an heir (or heiress)
is closely related with the tendency that the size of a
corporate group is reduced and also that lands are privately
owned by individuals.
2. Adoption is based on the social view that everyone should
ideally have a sibling of opposite sex and that a married
couple comes to acquire social status as adults by fostering
at least one child.
3. In most cases, adoption is made between consanguineal
kinsmen, and it commonly functions as a factor of economic
support for those kinsmen with many children.
4. Adoption never changes clan membership, nor does it
produce any new kinship relation.
It seems that the approach from the standpoint of descent
theory is not satisfactory to fully understand the Micronesian
adoption customs with the above-mentioned characteristics.
In the latter half of this paper, the writer examines the data
which he obtained through fieldwork among the Ulul Islanders.
An analysis of his data makes it possible to point out the presence of
a structural relation between the adoption customs and the traditional
distribution system. For a further understanding of adoption
customs in Micronesia, emphasis must be placed on the aspect that
they also functions as one of the cultural paraphernalia which keeps
the balance of "wealth" in a society.
ミクロネシアの養取慣行 : 族制，土地所有，分配体系との関連で
KH_002_2_001.pdf
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