Lau - Marriage and Family

Marriage. Modern Lauan society is completely Monogamous, although before the advent of Christianity polygny was practiced by high-ranking men, especially by chiefs. Cross-cousin marriage was preferred, though not all marriages were of this ideal type. Marriages were clan- and sometimes subclan-exogamous, with a pattern of preference for some pairs of clans and subclans. Postmarital residence was patrilocal, although matrilocal residence and matrilineal Descent did occur in special circumstances, such as when there was a need to keep a clan from dying out. Separation and Divorce are not common.

Domestic Unit. The typical household unit ( vuvale ) consists of a man, his wife, their children, and often additional relatives. Each household owns a dwelling house, a kitchen hut, an oven shelter, and sometimes a men's house. The household is the basic unit of food production and consumption.

Inheritance. Property, status, and specialized knowledge such as that of medicines and spells is passed from parents to children. Most valuable property is passed from fathers to sons. Mothers pass bark-cloth designs to their daughters.

Socialization. Relations between parents and children are governed by the same principles of status and respect that govern the relations between adults and between social groups. Children respect and obey their fathers and various material possessions of the latter are taboo. Relations with one's mother, who is not a member of one's clan, are freer and easier. Grandparents play a major role in child care and have especially close ties to their grandchildren. In traditional times, boys between the ages of 7 and 13 underwent a group superincision operation followed by four days of seclusion and a feast. There was no comparable ceremony for girls. Since British colonial times, formal education has been available on most inhabitated islands.