Compares divorce reasons and family involvement in divorce decisions in USA and Indonesia (Toraja)

What is it about?

By examining Toraja (Indonesia) responses to the news of her impending divorce, the author examines the unexpected insights that emerge from these personal exchanges, as well as broader Toraja and American cultural understandings of divorce. The article details Toraja and American conceptions of marriage and its unravelling, and culturally-acceptable reasons for ending a union. The article also illustrates how cultural knowledge can derive from a personally revealing approach to fieldwork.

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Why is it important?

This article reveals new insights into Toraja (Sulawesi, Indonesia) ideas about divorce and the nature of family obligations to couples who are struggling in their marriages. American and Torajan culturally-acceptable reasons for divorce are compared, and ultimately readers gain a richer understanding of their own culturally-shaped perceptions concerning families and divorce.