MICRONESIAN CULTURE

the beliefs and practices of the indigenous peoples of those Pacific Islands grouped as Micronesia. The islands include Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands), Guam, Nauru, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the Federated States of Micronesia (Yap, Phonpei , Chuuk , and Kosrae of the Caroline Islands), the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau (Belau). Seven major high-island cultures can be distinguished in Micronesia: those of the Chamorros, most of whom live on the four southern islands of the Marianas; the Palauans; the Yapese; the Trukese, inhabiting about 12 high islands of varying size in the large Truk Lagoon; the Pohnpeians; the Kosraeans; and some of the inhabitants of the isolated island of Nauru, which is geologically a raised atoll (without exposed volcanic rock). The inhabitants of most of the low islands or atolls in Micronesia are culturally distinct from the high islanders, though in contact with them. In the east are found two culturally distinctive groups of atolls, the Marshalls and the Gilberts (politically constituted as the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Kiribati, respectively), ranging from the northwest to the southeast over about 1,400 miles. The culture of Banaba (formerly Ocean Island), a raised atoll, is quite similar to that of the Gilberts and will be treated herein as a variant of Gilbertese culture. Three atolls within sailing distance of PohnpeiMokil, Pingelap, and Ngatikshow closer cultural relationships to the people of Pohnpei than to any other large population but are clearly distinct from them. The Hall Islands, atolls to the north of Truk, and the Mortlock (Nomoi) Islands, atolls to the south, are culturally closest to Truk. The remaining low islands to the west of Truk also show linguistic and cultural relationships to Truk, with the differences becoming more and more marked as distance increases. The low islands between Namonuito and Yap were once part of a ceremonial exchange system called the Yapese Empire by anthropologists. Linguistically and culturally, however, these low-island people were closer to the Trukese than to the Yapese. The cultural diversity of Micronesia is indicated by the number of mutually unintelligible languages in the area. The following all have mutually unintelligible languages: Nauru, the Gilberts, the Marshalls, Kosrae, Pingelap, Mokil, Pohnpei, Ngatik, the Mortlocks, Truk, the Puluwat area, the Woleai area, Yap, the Palaus, and the Marianas. The languages of the islands from the Marshalls and the Gilberts through the Woleai area in the above list appear to be somewhat more closely related to each other than to the remaining languages and have been referred to as Nuclear Micronesian. The languages of the Palaus, Yap, and the Marianas are relatively distinct from each other and from other Micronesian languages, although they are clearly Austronesian in their general affiliation. The Chamorro language, spoken in the Marianas, has undergone much influence from Spanish and probably also from the Philippine Tagalog language after more than four centuries of Western contact. Traditional Micronesian cultures were characterized by a belief in the stability of society and culture. People suffered occasional natural disasters, such as typhoons or droughts, but their goal after encountering one of these was to reconstitute the previous state of affairs. Wars occurred in most areas from time to time, mainly at the instigation of competing chiefs. At stake was the control of land (a very limited resource in the tiny islands of Micronesia) and followers, but there were usually few casualties. Living in small communities on small territories, Micronesians learned to adjust to their neighbours and remain on good terms with most of them most of the time and to develop techniques of reconciliation when fights did break out. In general, Micronesians valued good manners. Even today, Micronesian adults and children are likely to impress the outsider as unusually quiet, polite people. Micronesians traditionally depended on the cultivation of plant crops and on fishing in shallow reef waters. Because both arable land and reef were in short supply for the relatively dense population, the Micronesian had a strong practical basis for his attachment to his locality and lands. Land rights were usually held through some sort of lineage or extended family group, often backed up by traditions of ancestral origins on the land. The strong local loyalties of the Micronesians may also be partly explained by the difficulty of traveling to any place very far from home, especially for the high islanders who lacked oceangoing canoes. Of the high-island peoples, only the Yapese practiced very much navigation in the open seas at the time of their discovery by Europeans, sailing to Palau and to some of the atolls in the central Carolines. The remaining high-island peoples mostly sailed around their home islands without losing sight of land, although they were visited from time to time by low islanders. The low islanders had reason to visit the high islands, with their more fertile soil and greater elevation; they could obtain food and other items not found on their home islands or seek refuge after a typhoon or drought. Low islanders also had reason to visit other low islands in search of mates outside the limits of the incest taboo and for help after typhoons. Some of the low islanders, especially in the storm-swept central Carolines area between Truk and Yap and in the Marshalls, were skilled navigators of oceangoing canoes. The populations of the Micronesian islands appear to have been in good balance with the natural resources at the time of their discovery by the Europeans. Because the climate is equable and varies little during the year, moderate amounts of labour were sufficient for comfortable survival, and much leisure was available for activities such as dancing, feasting, romantic affairs, and visiting friends and relatives. Some kinds of subsistence activities, especially fishing, were regarded as something like play. The period of youth was often prolonged, since the older people could afford to indulge their children. This positive attitude toward the enjoyment of leisure was especially characteristic of the high islanders, with their more fertile soil and more secure life. Additional reading A general overview is offered in William H. Alkire, An Introduction to the Peoples and Cultures of Micronesia, 2nd ed. (1977). John L. Fischer, The Eastern Carolines (1957, reprinted 1966), is a regional study. Special topics are discussed in Mark R. Peattie, Man'yo: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese in Micronesia, 18851945 (1988); Donald F. McHenry, Micronesia, Trust Betrayed: Altruism vs. Self Interest in American Foreign Policy (1975); and David Nevin, The American Touch in Micronesia (1977). A good island history is David Hanlon, Upon a Stone Altar: A History of the Island of Pohnpei to 1890 (1988). For further study, see Mac Marshall and James D. Nason, Micronesia, 19441974: A Bibliography of Anthropological and Related Source Materials (1975).