The Chuuk Islands, part of what is today Micronesia, were first settled in the first century CE.
[1]
The name Chuuk, meaning "high mountains", comes from the Chuukese language.
[2]
The islands’ first contact with Europeans came in 1528, when they were sighted by Spanish explorers.
[2]
In the late 19th century, the Chuuk islands became part of Spanish and German, then Japanese colonial regimes.
[2]
. After the Second World War, where the islands were a major site of conflict in the Pacific Theater, the Chuuk islands became part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration.
[2]
.
Population and political organization
During the pre-colonial period, Chuuk was extremely fragmented politically. Each district had its own chiefship, which was divided between the "oldest man in the senior female line in the chiefly lineage and the oldest man in the lineage generally."
[3]
During the colonial period, the colonial governments superimposed a colonial administration onto the native system. They appointed head chiefs to lead each of the main Micronesian islands, but the individual communities remained fragmented.
[4]
The only available population figures refer to the colonial period. In 1947, Chuuk’s population was about 9,200.
[1]
[1]: (Goodenough and Skoggard, 1999. 1) Goodenough, Ward Hunt, and Ian A. Skoggard. 1999. "Culture Summary: Chuuk." New Haven, Conn.: HRAF. http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=or19-000.
[2]: The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Chuuk Islands." Encyclopædia Britannica. August 09, 2013. Accessed June 22, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/place/Chuuk-Islands.
[3]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
[4]: (Bollig, 1927. 124) Bollig, Laurentius. 1927. "Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People." Munster I W.: Aschendorff. http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=or19-022.
| none |
| Micronesia |
| FmTrukL |
| continuity |
| UNCLEAR: [continuity] | |
| Succeeding: Chuuk - Late Truk (fm_truk_2) [elite replacement] |
| quasi-polity |
| unknown |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| absent |
| unknown |
| inferred absent |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| inferred absent |
| absent |
| Year Range | Chuuk - Early Truk (fm_truk_1) was in: |
|---|---|
| (1775 CE 1885 CE) | Chuuk Islands |
Traditionally, authority did not extend beyond the atoll and was shared among multiple chiefs on one island. Chuuk was somewhat more fragmented than other Micronesian societies: ’Throughout most of Micronesia the maximum independent autonomous political unit was the high island or the atoll, often subdivided into more than one polity. At the time of European contact, Satawan Atoll in the Mortlocks had four separate communities, each with its own leader, which sometimes fought one another. Palau had two confederations of villages or districts, each independent of the other, and the villages themselves had considerable autonomy. Pohnpei had five petty states, although traditions of a unified rule for the whole island are apparent from an earlier period. Chuuk was extremely fragmented politically, with several independent communities on each of the six larger high islands. The Marshalls and the Gilberts had larger polities and integrated groups of separate atolls under a high chief; these expansionist states achieved their fullest development after the introduction of firearms by Europeans.’
[1]
Accordingly, there was no capital.
[1]: (Kahn, Fischer and Kiste 2017) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XHZTEDKE.
’Chuuk was settled by the first century A.D. In the fourteenth century, a cult center was established on Moen Island. It was abandoned in the eighteenth century following a fresh immigration from neighboring atolls. Japan replaced Germany as the ruling power in World War I and was in turn replaced by the United States under United Nations Trusteeship in 1945. In 1986 Chuuk and its surrounding atolls became a state within the newly independent Federated States of Micronesia. Protestant missionaries and traders came in the 1880s and Roman Catholic missionaries after 1900. Japan sought to develop Chuuk economically and introduced elementary education in Japanese. Education was much expanded under American administration, and many Chuukese learned English. Some went to college in Guam, Hawaii, and the United States mainland. The American administration introduced representative government.’ [1]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward H. and Skoggard, Ian: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Chuuk
SCCS variable 84 ’Higher Political Organization’ is coded ’Absent’, not ’Peace group’, ’Alliances’, ’Confederation’, ’International organization’. Truk was in contact with other islands, although the specifics of these connections are not always known: ’The Trukic-speaking people of the Mortlock Islands still maintained active trading links with Puluwat, the Hall Islands, Truk, Nukuoro, and Ngatik when they were studied by Girschner (1912:181-183). They had made voyages to Ponape up to about two generations earlier, and the names of the last navigators to make them were still remembered. These atolls were the obvious conduit by which information and ideas must have come from Ponape to Truk. Ponapean influence on the Mortlocks and, by extension, on Truk is evident in the number of clan names that echo Ponapean names and titles. 24 The Mortlock Islanders also echo Ponapean practice regarding honorific titles in their use of the prefix sowu- ‘lord, master of’ for chiefly lineages, a practice that was not picked up in Truk for local chiefly lineages, but is reflected in the titles of the legendary island overlords, such as Sowuwóóniiras, Sowufa, and Sowumwáár.’
[1]
’In the light of evidence now available, then, it seems most reasonable to conclude that the cult of Kachaw was introduced into Truk via the Mortlock Islands from Ponape (see the discussion of this possibility by King and Parker [1984:254-256]). Whether its introduction was the work of Ponapeans in alliance with Mortlock Islanders or of Mortlock Islanders with Ponapean connections we cannot now say.’
[2]
We have assumed that no permanent alliances were present in what appears to be the period of regional disintegration that this sheet covers. However, oral traditions and archeological evidence indicate that the Chuuk islands experienced a higher degree of regional integration prior to the 18th century: ’I mention the foregoing in order to show that the present political and learned traditions of Truk derive from a set of older institutions, which they still echo. These institutions involved the political domination of Truk by a presumably immigrant clan whose patron god was Sowukachaw, for whom a shrine was maintained on Achaw Peak, the spiritual seat and source of supernatural power of that dominant clan. A dual system of titles, perhaps not unlike that in Ponape, may have been a feature of the organization of rank and authority, providing the basis for a subsequent division of Truk into the rival political and magico-religious leagues of immediate precolonial times. Truk and Ponape were not the only places in Micronesia to have a cult that associated kingship or high chiefship with a thunder god and basaltic stone. Mention has already been made of the sacred basaltic stones at Nan Moadol on Ponape and the association of one of them with the god of thunder. Basaltic peaks on Ponape were spirit places, and basaltic monoliths the abodes of spirits. This association of basalt with spirits appears [Page 561] even in the Marshall Islands. On Namu and Aur atolls, there were shrines with basaltic stones on them at the places of origin of the clans of paramount chiefs (Finsch 1893:396). The one on Namu, thrown into the sea by a zealous missionary, embodied a clan’s founder (Pollock 1977; Erdland 1914:345); and according to Erdland (1914:343), the totem of the high chiefly clan on Ebon was the thunder, Läköta (‘Sir Cloud’, see ļa- and kōd¸o in Abo et al. 1976). From Ngatik, near Ponape, the Bishop Museum has in its possession an old photograph of an altar. On top of it, according to a notation, is the “stone god,” from its appearance a block of basalt.’
[3]
The Spanish were present in Micronesia from the 16th century onwards, but did not govern the Chuuk islands directly: ’Micronesia has a complicated colonial history. Guam, the southernmost of the Mariana Islands, became the first inhabited Pacific island to be visited by a European when the Portuguese navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed there in 1521. The Marianas became the first European colony in Micronesia in 1668, when Spain took control of the island chain. In 1670 the indigenous Chamorro people rebelled, and a quarter century of sporadic warfare followed. That conflict, along with diseases introduced by Europeans, reduced the local population from about 100,000 to 4,000. Most of the survivors were relocated to colonial settlements, and many Chamorro women married Spanish or Filipino troops. In the process, much of Chamorro culture was destroyed, although the language continued to be widely spoken in the early 21st century. Other nations that staked colonial claims in various parts of Micronesia included Germany, Britain, the United States, Japan, and Australia.’
[4]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1986. “Sky World And This World: The Place Of Kachaw In Micronesian Cosmology”, 561
[2]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1986. “Sky World And This World: The Place Of Kachaw In Micronesian Cosmology”, 562
[3]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1986. “Sky World And This World: The Place Of Kachaw In Micronesian Cosmology”, 560p
[4]: (Kahn, Fischer and Kiste 2017) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XHZTEDKE.
The Chuuk islands form part of Micronesia: ’Micronesian culture, the beliefs and practices of the indigenous peoples of the ethnogeographic group of Pacific Islands known as Micronesia. The region of Micronesia lies between the Philippines and Hawaii and encompasses more than 2,000 islands, most of which are small and many of which are found in clusters. The region includes, from west to east, Palau (also known as Belau), Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (which include Saipan), the Federated States of Micronesia (which include Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae), the Marshall Islands (which include Enewetak, Bikini, Rongelap, Kwajalein, and Majuro), Nauru, and Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands, and which includes Banaba, formerly Ocean Island). Located for the most part north of the Equator, Micronesia (from Greek mikros ‘small’ and nēsoi ‘islands’) includes the westernmost of the Pacific Islands.’ [1]
[1]: (Kahn, Fischer and Kiste 2017) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XHZTEDKE.
German Colonial Government; Japanese Colonial Government. In the late 19th century, the Chuuk islands became part of Spanish and German, then Japanese colonial regimes: ’Chuuk was settled by the first century A.D. In the fourteenth century, a cult center was established on Moen Island. It was abandoned in the eighteenth century following a fresh immigration from neighboring atolls. Japan replaced Germany as the ruling power in World War I and was in turn replaced by the United States under United Nations Trusteeship in 1945. In 1986 Chuuk and its surrounding atolls became a state within the newly independent Federated States of Micronesia. Protestant missionaries and traders came in the 1880s and Roman Catholic missionaries after 1900. Japan sought to develop Chuuk economically and introduced elementary education in Japanese. Education was much expanded under American administration, and many Chuukese learned English. Some went to college in Guam, Hawaii, and the United States mainland. The American administration introduced representative government.’ [1]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward H. and Skoggard, Ian: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Chuuk
The following implies that immigration was a factor in this transition: ’Chuuk was settled by the first century A.D. In the fourteenth century, a cult center was established on Moen Island. It was abandoned in the eighteenth century following a fresh immigration from neighboring atolls. Japan replaced Germany as the ruling power in World War I and was in turn replaced by the United States under United Nations Trusteeship in 1945. In 1986 Chuuk and its surrounding atolls became a state within the newly independent Federated States of Micronesia. Protestant missionaries and traders came in the 1880s and Roman Catholic missionaries after 1900. Japan sought to develop Chuuk economically and introduced elementary education in Japanese. Education was much expanded under American administration, and many Chuukese learned English. Some went to college in Guam, Hawaii, and the United States mainland. The American administration introduced representative government.’ [1] It is unclear from this material how substantial this migration wave was. At the moment, it appears that there was no ’population replacement’ per se. We have therefore assumed continuity, but this is in need of confirmation.
[1]: Goodenough, Ward H. and Skoggard, Ian: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Chuuk
(Relationship): The following implies that immigration was a factor in this transition: ’Chuuk was settled by the first century A.D. In the fourteenth century, a cult center was established on Moen Island. It was abandoned in the eighteenth century following a fresh immigration from neighboring atolls. Japan replaced Germany as the ruling power in World War I and was in turn replaced by the United States under United Nations Trusteeship in 1945. In 1986 Chuuk and its surrounding atolls became a state within the newly independent Federated States of Micronesia. Protestant missionaries and traders came in the 1880s and Roman Catholic missionaries after 1900. Japan sought to develop Chuuk economically and introduced elementary education in Japanese. Education was much expanded under American administration, and many Chuukese learned English. Some went to college in Guam, Hawaii, and the United States mainland. The American administration introduced representative government.’
[1]
It is unclear from this material how substantial this migration wave was. At the moment, it appears that there was no ’population replacement’ per se. We have therefore assumed continuity, but this is in need of confirmation.
(Entity): A cult centre on Moen was abandoned in the 18th century: ’Chuuk was settled by the first century A.D. In the fourteenth century, a cult center was established on Moen Island. It was abandoned in the eighteenth century following a fresh immigration from neighboring atolls. Japan replaced Germany as the ruling power in World War I and was in turn replaced by the United States under United Nations Trusteeship in 1945. In 1986 Chuuk and its surrounding atolls became a state within the newly independent Federated States of Micronesia. Protestant missionaries and traders came in the 1880s and Roman Catholic missionaries after 1900. Japan sought to develop Chuuk economically and introduced elementary education in Japanese. Education was much expanded under American administration, and many Chuukese learned English. Some went to college in Guam, Hawaii, and the United States mainland. The American administration introduced representative government.’
[1]
[2]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward H. and Skoggard, Ian: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Chuuk
[2]: (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica 2013) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3CNVADQA.
The Spanish sold the islands to German colonial authorities in the late 19th century. The islands were later annexed by the Japanese: ’The islands were sighted by the Spanish explorer Álvaro Saavedra in 1528. They were visited occasionally by 19th-century traders and whalers and were included in the German purchase of parts of Micronesia from Spain (1899). Annexed by Japan (1914) and strongly fortified for World War II, the islands (known as the Truk Islands until 1990) were heavily attacked, bypassed, and blockaded by the Allies during the war. The sunken hulls of Japanese ships remain there, along with ruined weapons and fortifications on land. Together with the other islands in what are now the Federated States of Micronesia, the Chuuk group was part of the U.S.-administered United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands from 1947 to 1986.’ [1]
Traditionally, authority did not extend beyond the atoll and was shared among multiple chiefs on one island. Chuuk was somewhat more fragmented than other Micronesian societies: ’Throughout most of Micronesia the maximum independent autonomous political unit was the high island or the atoll, often subdivided into more than one polity. At the time of European contact, Satawan Atoll in the Mortlocks had four separate communities, each with its own leader, which sometimes fought one another. Palau had two confederations of villages or districts, each independent of the other, and the villages themselves had considerable autonomy. Pohnpei had five petty states, although traditions of a unified rule for the whole island are apparent from an earlier period. Chuuk was extremely fragmented politically, with several independent communities on each of the six larger high islands. The Marshalls and the Gilberts had larger polities and integrated groups of separate atolls under a high chief; these expansionist states achieved their fullest development after the introduction of firearms by Europeans.’ [1]
[1]: (Kahn, Fischer and Kiste 2017) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XHZTEDKE.
Inhabitants. SCCS variable 157 ’Scale 9-Political Integration’ is coded as ‘2’ or ’Autonomous local communities’. According to Ethnographic Atlas variable 31 ’Mean Size of Local Communities’, the Trukese possess groups of ’3’ or ’100-199’, smaller than 200-399, 400-1000, any town of more than 5,000, Towns of 5,000-50,000 (one or more), and Cities of more than 50,000 (one or more).
People. The population figures available refer to the colonial period only: ’In 1947 Chuuk’s population was about 9,200. By 1988 it was more than 35,000 with a density of about 385 persons per square kilometer.’ [1]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
levels.
1. Lineage Dwellings or Hamlets
Extended family households traditionally served as the primary residential units: ’The domestic unit was an extended family, based on the women of a lineage or sublineage. It consisted of at least one experienced older woman and two more younger women of childbearing age together with their husbands. Unmarried sons and brothers slept apart in their lineage’s meeting house. Extended family households continued through the periods of foreign administration.’
[1]
’These impressive sites, however, do not reflect the experience of the average Micronesian. Most lived in dispersed extended-family homesteads. On atolls, the inhabitants generally preferred the lagoon side of the larger islands for ease in launching canoes and for protection from cyclones. On the high islands, people also wanted access to lagoons, although easily defensible sites were sometimes preferred, such as the tops of steep cleared slopes.’
[2]
’In aboriginal times there used to be associated with most lineages a dwelling house, jimw. This house varied in size depending on the number of its inhabitants. Since married men normally went to live in the jimw of their wives’ lineages, the occupants of an jimw were the women of a lineage and their husbands. The only males of the lineage who resided there were boys below puberty. A large jimw was usually partitioned off into sleeping compartments along its side walls under the eaves, one for each married woman and her husband with their small children, and a separate one for the unmarried girls past puberty. The house had a sand floor spread over with coconut fronds. Its occupants slept and sat on mats plaited from pandanus leaves. The central part of the house formed a sort of living room in which minor cooking was done over an open fire, ordinary meals were taken, and where the members of the household whiled away the time before going to bed.’
[3]
’Not all houses were of this type, for some were much smaller, without partitions, and were occupied by only one or two couples. Such houses were used when a lineage had only a few women, or when a man brought his wife to live on his own land instead of going to live in her lineage household. In the latter case it was customary to build a separate house for the man and wife, since it is normally taboo for a man to sleep in the same house with his sisters. A small house might also be built alongside the main one if the latter became too crowded.’
[3]
The settlement pattern became more concentrated in the colonial period, with households merging into villages: ’Chuuk was divided into small districts, each consisting of a small island or a wedge-shaped segment of a larger one. Not clustered into villages, households were scattered on rising land back from the shore. With population growth many of the once looser neighborhoods have become more densely settled villages. Land holdings were scattered.’
[1]
’The old, large lineage house is in little use today. The Trukese now live in smaller houses of the old type or in new-style houses, raised on posts and built of planks with corrugated iron roofs. These smaller houses are still occupied by the women of a lineage, either singly or in pairs, and are clustered together either by lineage or by descent line. [Page 68] Thus the old pattern of organization is still maintained even though the physical arrangement has been somewhat modified.’
[4]
Land was held by individuals as well as lineages: ’Land was held privately both by individuals and matrilineal, corporate descent groups. Rights in undeveloped space, productive soil, trees and gardens were separable. When soil and breadfruit trees were given in grant, the grantor retained residual rights and the grantee acquired provisional rights. Grantors and grantees could be either individuals or corporations. Full rights went to the survivor on the death or extinction of the other.’
[1]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
[2]: (Kahn, Fischer and Kiste 2017) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XHZTEDKE.
[3]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 67
[4]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 67p
levels.
1. Mediums, Diviners, and Healers as well as other Ritual Specialists
’Ritual practices were conducted by their own specialists. They included spirit mediums, breadfruit summoners, fish summoners, healers, masters of spells, masters of sorcery, builders, navigators, diviners, and most importantly the masters of magic and ritual relating to war and politics. Their knowledge was private property passed down to their children and junior lineage mates.’
[1]
’Major ceremonies were those associated with death, communicating with good souls of the dead, summoning breadfruit, and making food presentations to chiefs. Ritual was also associated with divination, curing, warfare, political meetings, house building, and courtship.’
[1]
Mediums communicated with the dead: ’In traditional belief, spirit beings were widely distributed in the sky, under the sea, and on land. The important places among spirit lands in the sky were: a region under the dome of Heaven, home of the gods who could take human form; a region in the south from which came all the plant and marine life that gave people food; and a region named ’Achaw’ or ’Kachaw,’ abode of the ancestors of many Chuukese clans and particularly of the clans associated with the chiefship and the special bodies of magical lore from which chiefly power derived. Spirits could accomplish their intentions at will and were thus the source of all that was MANAMAN (mana), such as efficacious spells, medicines, and rituals. Good souls of the dead were consulted through mediums. The Chuukese also invoked in spells the spirits inhabiting the dome of Heaven, presided over by ’Great Spirit,’ and the spirits associated with particular crafts and major bodies of lore.’
[1]
Diviners, Healers, and Mediums were involved in the treatment of illness: ’Sickness was believed to result from the ’bite’ of a malevolent spirit, or of any other spirit one had offended or that was controlled by a ritual specialist one had offended or by a sorcerer. Sickness might also result from soul loss. In all but the latter case, treatment involved the use of medicines to be applied externally, to be drunk, or to be inhaled. For soul loss, a spirit medium was consulted to help find and restore the soul. Divination was used as a diagnostic aid in cases of severe or prolonged illness. Massage was used to treat bruises, local infections, and muscle ailments.’
[1]
Diviners accepted payments from apprentices in exchange for secret knowledge: ’There are systems of knowledge which are subject to special rules of their own. [Page 56] For example, to learn knot divination a pupil must pay the diviner ( sowupwe) even if the latter is his own father or mother’s brother. An jitag (a sort of lawyer, general, diplomat and orator all rolled into one, who occupies the most prestigeful position in Trukese society) is alleged never to teach his own children as much as he teaches his sister’s children. This contention does not, however, appear to be supported by the genealogical connections of the past jitag of Romonum Island. Despite special rules governing specific forms of incorporeal property, their over-all organization is analogous to that of corporeal property and does not require a new conceptual framework to make them intelligible.’
[2]
Spirit mediums were an exception to this rule, as their expertise did not rely on knowledge per se: ’All religious practitioners as well as craftsmen and magicians are owners of the knowledge necessary to exercise their specialties. The Trukese make no distinction between them and other skilled personnel. There is one important exception to this rule, the spirit medium ( wäättwa or wään ëny). His (or her) position is not based on knowledge so much as on having been possessed by a spirit. This spirit is in no way classed as the medium’s property, nor can it be inherited automatically by a son or lineage mate. The position of a spirit medium, therefore, is different from that of a property holder, except as he uses his abilities to diagnose illness.’
[2]
The Chuuk islands experienced a higher degree of regional ceremonial integration prior to the 18th century (see above under ’preceding quasi-polity’). Whatever information is available on this would have to be covered in an additional data sheet.
[1]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
[2]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 55
levels.
1. District Chiefs
2. Local Headmen and Sub-Chiefs
3. Groups of Armed Men or Citizen-Soldiers
There were no troops or police forces in the native system: ’There were no police. A chief’s brothers or sons might act on his behalf to intimidate or attack someone who had offended him. But it was control of magical power, either by the chief or one his brothers or sons, that made improper conduct liable to punishment. Major craft specialists could also make ill those who violated the taboos of their craft. Finally, members of chiefly lineages and their close associates were likely to have knowledge of sorcery. All such knowledge gave punitive power to chiefs and important specialists. People stressed maintaining the appearance of propriety in behavior so as not to give just cause for offense.’
[1]
Prior to ’pacification’, violent conflict played out in raids and battles between rival groups of armed men: ’Within districts, conflict arose over land, succession to chiefship, theft, adultery, and avenging homicide. Between districts, it arose over attentions to local women by outside men, the status of one district as subordinate to another, and rights of access to fishing areas. Formal procedures for terminating conflict between districts involved payments of valuables and land by the loosing to the winning side. Fighting involved surprise raids and prearranged meetings on a field of battle. Principle weapons were slings, spears, and clubs. Firearms, introduced late in the nineteenth century, were confiscated by German authorities in 1903. Martial arts included an elaborate system of throws and holds by which an unarmed man could kill, maim or disarm an armed opponent.’
[1]
Competition between rival chiefs over the control of land and people was a major factor: ’Traditional Micronesian life was characterized by a belief in the stability of society and culture. People suffered occasional natural disasters, such as cyclones 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 limited resource—and followers, but there were usually few casualties. Living in small communities on small territories, Micronesians learned to adjust to their neighbours, to remain on good terms with most of them most of the time, and to develop techniques of reconciliation when fights did break out. Micronesians traditionally depended on the cultivation of plant crops and on fishing in shallow reef waters. Because arable land was in short supply for the relatively dense population, Micronesians had a strong practical basis for their attachment to locality and lands. Land rights were usually held through lineages or extended family groups, often backed up by traditions of ancestral origins on the land.’
[2]
Conflict among chiefs and their followers did not terminate entirely with ’pacification’, although the population was disarmed in the early 20th century: ’In 1904 the disarming of the Truk people was undertaken by the “Kondor.” There were 436 guns and 2,531 cartridges confiscated. For better control the government appointed six head-chiefs, banished some swashbucklers who did not want to submit, and turned out the Japanese. With this a peaceful development was initiated. The missions (Protestant mission since 1879, Catholic mission since 1912) were able to work undisturbed. Unfortunately, the German government took little notice of Truk, since it was too preoccupied with the other islands. Yet many things were accomplished. Under the last director of the station, A. Überhorst, the lagoon was given new impetus in every respect. The relationship between officials and the population was usually a good one, under Mr. Überhorst even a cordial one. Anyone who was on Truk in those years certainly did not see any bad treatment of the natives. Much was done also with regard to health; in particular Dr. Mayer and his wife traveled from island to island without rest in order to take care of the sick. If during the Japanese occupation a young naval officer was not ashamed to assert that the Germans had done nothing for the islands, anyone who lived on the islands during the Japanese period can only say from the heart: “God protect the poor Truk people under the Japanese.”’
[3]
’On the main islands the German government introduced head chiefs (somol lap) who carried the flag. There were six of them, one each on Poloas, Uman, Fefan, Wöla, Udot, and Pol /Pul/. The smaller islands likewise belonged to the sphere of power of the head chiefs. But even this institution could not link the tribes together within themselves or with one another. Some of the lower chiefs sympathize with the head chief for egotistical reasons; others fight against him violently for the same reasons. One who is with him today might be against him tomorrow because he somehow stepped on his toes. It is often enough for the subchief to fight the head chief if his neighboring chief supports him. Thus the picture is constantly changing. [Page 125] There is a continuous, sometimes quiet, sometimes open, warfare of the subchiefs against the head chiefs, the lower chiefs among themselves, the common people against the chiefs. The main reason for this disagreeable phenomenon is the limitless egotism of the Truk people. Everyone strives more or less to be something of a chief also. Strong families who do not like the chief attempt to isolate themselves and choose one from their midst. In addition to this, there are also old family enmities and disputes about land. It is obvious that the islands will never be able to achieve peaceful development in this manner. It is difficult to say who is most to blame for it. In any case the chiefs are not to be pitied, because they behave themselves accordingly. They are to be blamed mostly for the exploitation of the people, their corruptibility, and partiality. Many of them unhesitatingly accept money and objects and help the giver, no matter how many times he is in the wrong.’
[4]
We have assumed that the institution of district chief predates the colonial period.
[1]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
[2]: (Kahn, Fischer and Kiste 2017) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XHZTEDKE.
[3]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 253
[4]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 124
levels.
1. District Chiefs
2. Village and Lineage Headmen
The Chuukese/Trukese were divided into multiple clans and lineages: ’Chuuk’s population is divided into a number of dispersed, matrilineal clans. Within any one district the several lineages are usually but not always of different clans. There are also personal kindreds. As a principle of clan and lineage membership, descent is matrilineal, but otherwise kinship is reckoned bilaterally.’
[1]
’The domestic unit was an extended family, based on the women of a lineage or sublineage. It consisted of at least one experienced older woman and two more younger women of childbearing age together with their husbands. Unmarried sons and brothers slept apart in their lineage’s meeting house. Extended family households continued through the periods of foreign administration.’
[1]
District chiefs were chosen from the dominant lineage of an area: ’In each district the lineage with title to its space held the chiefship. The several lineages with full or residual title to plots of soil had full residential rights. Lineages with only provisional titles to plots of soil in grant from other lineages had only conditional residential rights. Lineages with full residential rights maintained symbolic hearths where, with their client lineages, they prepared food to present to the chief in recognition of his lineage’s ownership of the space.’
[1]
’A district chiefship was divided between the oldest man in the senior female line in the chiefly lineage and the oldest man in the lineage generally. The latter was executive chief, or "chief of talk," and the former symbolic chief, or "chief of food." Food presentations were made to the symbolic chief. Sometimes the symbolic and executive functions fell to the same individual; often they did not. The symbolic chief was surrounded by his lineage brothers and by his sons, who acted as his agents. These followers and his sisters and daughters were of chiefly rank, distinct from commoners. Through conquest, a lineage might gain the chiefship in more than one district and establish a junior branch as the chiefly lineage in the conquered district. The now subordinate district rendered food presentations to the superordinate one. Most districts were linked in two rival leagues based on competing schools of magic and ritual relating to war, politics, and rhetoric. A chief’s authority derived from two things. His lineage’s ownership of the district’s space entitled him to presentations of first fruits at stated times of the year. More importantly, it gave him authority over the conservation and use of the district’s food resources. His authority also derived from his connection with the sky world, its gods, and their superhuman power to accomplish purposes. There was, therefore, a degree of sacredness associated with chiefs.’
[1]
Traditionally, authority did not extend beyond the atoll and was shared among multiple chiefs on one island. Chuuk was somewhat more fragmented than other Micronesian societies: ’Throughout most of Micronesia the maximum independent autonomous political unit was the high island or the atoll, often subdivided into more than one polity. At the time of European contact, Satawan Atoll in the Mortlocks had four separate communities, each with its own leader, which sometimes fought one another. Palau had two confederations of villages or districts, each independent of the other, and the villages themselves had considerable autonomy. Pohnpei had five petty states, although traditions of a unified rule for the whole island are apparent from an earlier period. Chuuk was extremely fragmented politically, with several independent communities on each of the six larger high islands. The Marshalls and the Gilberts had larger polities and integrated groups of separate atolls under a high chief; these expansionist states achieved their fullest development after the introduction of firearms by Europeans.’
[2]
There was a degree of differentiation between chiefs and ritual specialists: ’No regular religious duties were attached to the chief’s office. They were performed, instead, by various specialists. A chief was concerned, however, that the proper specialists [Page 144] engage in their respective activities at appropriate times, at least when the welfare of the entire district was involved. He also used to set the times for dances, which were a popular form of entertainment before the missionaries banned them.’
[3]
We have assumed that the institution of district chief predates the colonial period.
[1]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
[2]: (Kahn, Fischer and Kiste 2017) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XHZTEDKE.
[3]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 143
Prior to ’pacification’, violent conflict played out in raids and battles between rival groups of armed men: ’Within districts, conflict arose over land, succession to chiefship, theft, adultery, and avenging homicide. Between districts, it arose over attentions to local women by outside men, the status of one district as subordinate to another, and rights of access to fishing areas. Formal procedures for terminating conflict between districts involved payments of valuables and land by the losing to the winning side. Fighting involved surprise raids and prearranged meetings on a field of battle. Principal weapons were slings, spears, and clubs. Firearms, introduced late in the nineteenth century, were confiscated by German authorities in 1903. Martial arts included an elaborate system of throws and holds by which an unarmed man could kill, maim or disarm an armed opponent.’ [1] Competition between rival chiefs over the control of land and people was a major factor: ’Traditional Micronesian life was characterized by a belief in the stability of society and culture. People suffered occasional natural disasters, such as cyclones 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 limited resource—and followers, but there were usually few casualties. Living in small communities on small territories, Micronesians learned to adjust to their neighbours, to remain on good terms with most of them most of the time, and to develop techniques of reconciliation when fights did break out. Micronesians traditionally depended on the cultivation of plant crops and on fishing in shallow reef waters. Because arable land was in short supply for the relatively dense population, Micronesians had a strong practical basis for their attachment to locality and lands. Land rights were usually held through lineages or extended family groups, often backed up by traditions of ancestral origins on the land.’ [2]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
[2]: (Kahn, Fischer and Kiste 2017) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XHZTEDKE.
’Ritual practices were conducted by their own specialists. They included spirit mediums, breadfruit summoners, fish summoners, healers, masters of spells, masters of sorcery, builders, navigators, diviners, and most importantly the masters of magic and ritual relating to war and politics. Their knowledge was private property passed down to their children and junior lineage mates.’ [1] S’All religious practitioners as well as craftsmen and magicians are owners of the knowledge necessary to exercise their specialties. The Trukese make no distinction between them and other skilled personnel. There is one important exception to this rule, the spirit medium ( wäättwa or wään ëny). His (or her) position is not based on knowledge so much as on having been possessed by a spirit. This spirit is in no way classed as the medium’s property, nor can it be inherited automatically by a son or lineage mate. The position of a spirit medium, therefore, is different from that of a property holder, except as he uses his abilities to diagnose illness.’ [2]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
[2]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 55
Prior to ’pacification’, violent conflict played out in raids and battles between rival groups of armed men: ’Within districts, conflict arose over land, succession to chiefship, theft, adultery, and avenging homicide. Between districts, it arose over attentions to local women by outside men, the status of one district as subordinate to another, and rights of access to fishing areas. Formal procedures for terminating conflict between districts involved payments of valuables and land by the losing to the winning side. Fighting involved surprise raids and prearranged meetings on a field of battle. Principal weapons were slings, spears, and clubs. Firearms, introduced late in the nineteenth century, were confiscated by German authorities in 1903. Martial arts included an elaborate system of throws and holds by which an unarmed man could kill, maim or disarm an armed opponent.’ [1] Competition between rival chiefs over the control of land and people was a major factor: ’Traditional Micronesian life was characterized by a belief in the stability of society and culture. People suffered occasional natural disasters, such as cyclones 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 limited resource—and followers, but there were usually few casualties. Living in small communities on small territories, Micronesians learned to adjust to their neighbours, to remain on good terms with most of them most of the time, and to develop techniques of reconciliation when fights did break out. Micronesians traditionally depended on the cultivation of plant crops and on fishing in shallow reef waters. Because arable land was in short supply for the relatively dense population, Micronesians had a strong practical basis for their attachment to locality and lands. Land rights were usually held through lineages or extended family groups, often backed up by traditions of ancestral origins on the land.’ [2]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
[2]: (Kahn, Fischer and Kiste 2017) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XHZTEDKE.
Traditionally, Chuukese lineages had meeting-houses rather than administrative buildings: ’A large and important lineage might have a meeting house, wuut. In some districts only the chief’s lineage has one; in others only the well established lineages. At one time or another every lineage on Romonum has had its own wuut. When a man’s lineage is without a meeting house, he attends that of his father’s or his wife’s lineage.’ [1] ’Under aboriginal conditions a lineage’s wuut was not necessarily located near its jimw. It frequently stood by the shore, where it served as a canoe house ( wutten waa) as well as a meeting house ( wutten mwiic). A meeting house was not in itself taboo to women, although normally they did not enter it if men other than their husbands were present. Both men and women, however, could be present together at such feasts and dances as did not exclude one sex and were held in the meeting house. During certain ceremonies, men kept away from the meeting house and it was used exclusively by women. The women of a lineage could hold meetings of their own in its wuut.’ [1] ’Its wuut was the place where the unmarried young men of a lineage slept. Its older men, and at times the husbands of its women, also slept there whenever they were observing important sexual taboos. A meeting house was the lounging place for men during the evening, where they visited and told stories. In it visitors from other islands and districts were received, entertained, and put up for the night.’ [1]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 68
ineage generally. The latter was executive chief, or "chief of talk," and the former symbolic chief, or "chief of food." Food presentations were made to the symbolic chief. Sometimes the symbolic and executive functions fell to the same individual; often they did not. The symbolic chief was surrounded by his lineage brothers and by his sons, who acted as his agents. These followers and his sisters and daughters were of chiefly rank, distinct from commoners. Through conquest, a lineage might gain the chiefship in more than one district and establish a junior branch as the chiefly lineage in the conquered district. The now subordinate district rendered food presentations to the superordinate one. Most districts were linked in two rival leagues based on competing schools of magic and ritual relating to war, politics, and rhetoric. A chief’s authority derived from two things. His lineage’s ownership of the district’s space entitled him to presentations of first fruits at stated times of the year. More importantly, it gave him authority over the conservation and use of the district’s food resources. His authority also derived from his connection with the sky world, its gods, and their superhuman power to accomplish purposes. There was, therefore, a degree of sacredness associated with chiefs.’ [1]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
Chuukese lineages and chiefs were not organized bureaucratically. ’A district chiefship was divided between the oldest man in the senior female line in the chiefly lineage and the oldest man in the lineage generally. The latter was executive chief, or "chief of talk," and the former symbolic chief, or "chief of food." Food presentations were made to the symbolic chief. Sometimes the symbolic and executive functions fell to the same individual; often they did not. The symbolic chief was surrounded by his lineage brothers and by his sons, who acted as his agents. These followers and his sisters and daughters were of chiefly rank, distinct from commoners. Through conquest, a lineage might gain the chiefship in more than one district and establish a junior branch as the chiefly lineage in the conquered district. The now subordinate district rendered food presentations to the superordinate one. Most districts were linked in two rival leagues based on competing schools of magic and ritual relating to war, politics, and rhetoric. A chief’s authority derived from two things. His lineage’s ownership of the district’s space entitled him to presentations of first fruits at stated times of the year. More importantly, it gave him authority over the conservation and use of the district’s food resources. His authority also derived from his connection with the sky world, its gods, and their superhuman power to accomplish purposes. There was, therefore, a degree of sacredness associated with chiefs.’ [1]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
ineage generally. The latter was executive chief, or "chief of talk," and the former symbolic chief, or "chief of food." Food presentations were made to the symbolic chief. Sometimes the symbolic and executive functions fell to the same individual; often they did not. The symbolic chief was surrounded by his lineage brothers and by his sons, who acted as his agents. These followers and his sisters and daughters were of chiefly rank, distinct from commoners. Through conquest, a lineage might gain the chiefship in more than one district and establish a junior branch as the chiefly lineage in the conquered district. The now subordinate district rendered food presentations to the superordinate one. Most districts were linked in two rival leagues based on competing schools of magic and ritual relating to war, politics, and rhetoric. A chief’s authority derived from two things. His lineage’s ownership of the district’s space entitled him to presentations of first fruits at stated times of the year. More importantly, it gave him authority over the conservation and use of the district’s food resources. His authority also derived from his connection with the sky world, its gods, and their superhuman power to accomplish purposes. There was, therefore, a degree of sacredness associated with chiefs.’ [1]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
SCCS variable 89 ’Judiciary’ is coded as ‘1’ or ’absent’. Writing in the colonial period, Bollig describes the resolution of disputes in public meetings: ’The chief does all these duties in the kobu[unknown], the public meeting. Men as well as women are invited to this kobu[unknown]. All the participants are called together by the blowing of the large shell from the chief’s house. The kobu[unknown] takes place in the udd, the large men’s house. All the dealings of the tribe are discussed in it, marital matters, land matters, quarrels, in short, all the linen, whether clean or dirty, is spread out before all eyes. Everybody is allowed to talk and present his complaints. Of course there is no lack of amusing scenes too. Sometimes the people become so excited that the parties insult each other, grab each other, and come to blows, so that the meeting has to be dissolved. The following remark was made in a kobu[unknown] which I attended: “He is a bad fellow because he stole my log.” The person insulted in such a manner jumped up angrily and defended himself so convincingly that the accuser let his head sink and replied dejectedly: “ Kinisou, mei bu[unknown]me rem, excuse me, you are right.” In another kobu[unknown] a subchief said to the head chief: “I do not like you as head chief, for you put some into paradise, others into hell.” With this plain allusion to his partiality, the head chief became very excited, while the audience laughed. From the same chief came the familiar quotation: “ siwilin ni efot, ni efot; siwilim mas eu, mas eu, ina Lamalamen Moses, /116/ tooth for tooth, eye for eye, that is the religion of Moses.” As one sees, the chief concerned had not read the Protestant Bible in vain and knew very well how to cloak his thirst for revenge very nicely. Things go along quite pleasantly in the kobu[unknown] of the Truk people. Each one chatters as long and as [Page 127] much as he likes. If he uses sharp, objectionable expressions, wiser ones will certainly call out to him: “ a emuen, it is enough.” Some smoke, some eat. One sits on the floor, another one on an upturned bowl, or anywhere else. Here and there one also sees some who are asleep, tired from listening for a long time. In short it goes along in true Kanaka fashion, and the result of the kobu[unknown], usually lasting for hours, is “much ado about nothing.” The matter at issue remains as it was, or it has become even more complicated. The government has often tried to give the kobu[unknown] a more serious air, but quite in vain. The main person at the kobu[unknown] is the chief, who makes the decision in the individual cases. Formerly his decision was absolutely decisive for all questions. In more recent times appeal to a higher authority, to the head chief and the government, has been possible. The government has also pruned the jurisdiction of the chief. Some things are reserved solely for the head chief, some solely for the government representative. During the kobu[unknown], the chief is surrounded by his relatives and advisors who watch over him. If he wants to say something that does not suit them, they call out to him: “ a niku[unknown], that is too much.”’ [1]
[1]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 126
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’. Bollig, writing in the colonial period, claims that tribal laws were fluid rather than fixed, although the colonial administration increasingly sought to impose its own regulations: ’The main task of the chief is the laying down and execution of the bu[unknown]un fanu, that is, the tribal laws. In practice the bu[unknown] is usually illusory, since nobody wants to follow it. Not for nothing do the Truk people say sarcastically about the conditions on their islands: “ en sob me bu[unknown]un, each district has its own laws,” or what is even worse: “ en me bu[unknown]un,” freely translated: “So many heads, so many meanings.” Moreover, it is a duty of the chief to communicate to the people the regulations of the government, to see that they are carried out, and to collect the head tax.’ [1] Apparently, many customary regulations were no longer enforced under foreign administration: ’The effect of this ruling was to deprive the granting corporation of its residual title; once the grant was made, the grantee had full title. The grantee need not now render first fruits or obtain the grantor’s approval for transactions he wished to arrange. The head of the granting corporation could no longer claim to be sowuppwún; this title now belonged to the head of the recipient corporation if he wished to claim it. Some people on Romónum continue to follow traditional practice and continue to render gifts of first fruits to the traditional sowuppwún as a matter of courtesy, and there are some who still try to assert their right to first fruits under the traditional system. No one is compelled to follow traditional practice and a number of people no longer do so. It is my impression that scarcely anyone would do so if he felt that he would be seriously inconvenienced by it.’ [2] ’The value of residual title to tracts of “soil” had helped to hold lesser corporations of immediate siblings together in lineages in the traditional social system. Except as other interests countervail, Romónum’s traditional lineage organization has been weakened. Indeed, before I learned about rulings of the courts, I had gained an impression that Romónum’s lineages were less frequently a unit of reference in community affairs than they had been in 1947. Talk of dissension within the lineages led me to the intuitive judgment that the lineage organization was weaker and looser than it had been. I cannot pretend to have examined all the different possible causes of this, but if my impression was correct, the court’s ruling regarding the jural relations of grantor and grantee in land transactions seems likely to have been an important contributing factor.’ [2] Accordingly, inferences are difficult here. We have decided to follow the SCCS codes in this case.
[1]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 126
[2]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1974. “Changing Social Organization On Romónum, Truk, 1947-1965”, 80
Traditionally, swidden farming was the norm: ’In the past, swidden gardens with dry taro, turmeric, and sugar cane were few and small. Breadfruit, supplemented by wet taro, was the staple. Being seasonal, breadfruit was preserved by fermenting in pits. Copra has become the only export. Fishing was important.’ [1]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
According to SCCS variable 20 ’Food Storage’ ’Individual households’, not ’Communal facilities’, ’Political agent controlled repositories’, or ’Economic agent controlled repositories’ were present, coded in the SCCS as ‘2’.
Islanders used rainwater and freshwater springs rather than drinking water supply systems even in the colonial period: ’A supply of drinking water is kept in every house. At the present time a converted gasoline drum, with the lid removed by cutting with a cold chisel, is placed just outside the house to catch rainwater from the corrugated iron roof; or else water is carried from springs and kept in glass bottles. In former times, fresh water springs located on high ground inland constituted the chief source of supply and water was carried from these springs in coconut shell containers. In former times also, short breadfruit logs were occasionally dubbed out and placed beneath the eaves to catch rainwater.’ [1]
[1]: LeBar, Frank M. {nd}-/. “Material Culture Of Truk”, 223
According to SCCS variable 14 ’Routes of Land Transport’ ’2’ or ’improved trails, for porters or animal carriers’ were present. We are unsure whether this applies to the late 18th and early 19th centuries as well. The following implies that improved trails and roads were absent prior to colonization: ’The number of the Truk people, taken together, will not exceed 12,000. They live together for the most part in small villages on the seashore. Isolated families also live scattered in the mountains on their plantings. Thanks to the German government, there are good roads around the island. On the mountain slopes, on the other hand, one finds only narrow Kanaka paths, which lead from hut to hut, from planting to planting. They are usually in such a condition that only a native can venture to walk on them.’ [1]
[1]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 249
According to SCCS variable 15 ’Water Transport’ ’5’ or ’Sail powered craft’ were present. We are unsure whether pre-colonial seafaring practices would include ports in our own sense of the term. We have provisionally assumed that this was not the case. We have found information on canoe houses (see below). Islanders traditionally used canoes for sea travel: ’All Micronesians relied heavily on water travel, although the high islanders used canoes principally in the sheltered coastal waters of their home islands. Micronesian canoes had a single hull with one outrigger. Canoes used in protected waters were often simple dugouts, but the oceangoing vessels, found especially in the central Carolinian atolls, the Marshalls, and the Gilberts, had sides built up of irregular planks that were caulked and sewn together with cord made from coconut-husk fibre.’ [1]
[1]: (Kahn, Fischer and Kiste 2017) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XHZTEDKE.
According to SCCS variable 14 ’Routes of Land Transport’ ’2’ or ’improved trails, for porters or animal carriers’ were present. We are unsure whether this applies to the late 18th and early 19th centuries as well. Writing in the colonial period, Bollig mentions bridges: ’The Truk natives have the reputation of being the laziest and dirtiest people of the South Seas. /220/ Actually they do not hurt themselves with work. Most of them work only as much as they have to. Eating and sleeping, and eating again, fill up their time. And their uncleanliness is indescribable. It is almost as if they had no feeling at all for any order and cleanliness. Around the house filth, rags, food remains; in it, the same. To be sure, they have a word for broom ( böbö), but rarely use it. They also bathe, even several times a day, and yet are never clean. If a tree falls across the path, it remains there. Everybody who takes the path has to climb over it. If a bridge collapses, it remains for months and years, until it is replaced. [Page 243] Training the islanders in orderly activity, punctuality, and cleanliness will take much time and effort.’ [1] We have assumed that tree or liana bridges were present in some form in the pre-colonial period as well. This is open to re-consideration.
[1]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 242
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
Orally transmitted tribal laws were fluid rather than fixed: ’The main task of the chief is the laying down and execution of the bu[unknown]un fanu, that is, the tribal laws. In practice the bu[unknown] is usually illusory, since nobody wants to follow it. Not for nothing do the Truk people say sarcastically about the conditions on their islands: “ en sob me bu[unknown]un, each district has its own laws,” or what is even worse: “ en me bu[unknown]un,” freely translated: “So many heads, so many meanings.” Moreover, it is a duty of the chief to communicate to the people the regulations of the government, to see that they are carried out, and to collect the head tax.’ [1] Islanders performed poetry and storytelling: ’Performing arts included dancing, storytelling, playing the noseflute and bamboo Jew’s harp (in courtship serenading), singing, and poetry and rhetoric. Other arts were associated with tattooing, woodworking, weaving, and warfare.’ [2] These may have been rather fluid as well. But Goodenough describes oral traditions that cover myth and past migrations (see also ’general variables’ for material about Chuukese prehistory): ’IN THE ORAL HISTORY OF TRUK AND PONAPE in the Caroline Islands of Micronesia (see Figure 1), a place called Kachaw is the source of some clan ancestors and, especially, of politically important immigrants. Kachaw also appears as a place in Carolinian navigational lore. Until very recently, at least, most Micronesian scholars have accepted as fact that Kachaw is the island of Kosrae (Kusaie), situated about 560 km east southeast of Ponape. This identification has led to historical inferences about the role of Kosrae in Ponapean and Trukese prehistory. Critical examination of the linguistic and contextual evidence, however, indicates that in traditional Micronesian lore Kachaw referred to something quite different, namely the sky or a region of sky. It is as such that Kachaw was important in Trukese and Ponapean cosmology, religion, and legends of origin. Before I develop this argument, let me summarize how Kachaw is talked about in Trukese and Ponapean lore.’ [3]
[1]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 126
[2]: Goodenough, Ward and Skoggard 1999) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5IETI75E.
[3]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1986. “Sky World And This World: The Place Of Kachaw In Micronesian Cosmology”, 551
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
SCCS variable 149 ’Writing and Records’ is coded as ‘1’ or ‘None’, not ‘Mnemonic devices’, or ‘Nonwritten records’, or ’True writing, no records’, or ‘True writing; records’.
According to SCCS variable 17 ’Money (Media of Exchange) and Credit’, ’4’ Foreign coinage or paper currency was present, not ‘1’ ’No media of exchange or money’, ’Domestically used articles as media of exchange’ or ’Tokens of conventional value as media of exchange’ or ’Indigenous coinage or paper currency’. There may have been shell money in use, but further information is needed. Goodenough mentions turmeric: ’Perhaps the closest thing to a standard medium of exchange was processed turmeric. Turmeric was usually grown by a corporation as a cooperative undertaking, and when processed became corporate property under the mwääniici’s control. Individuals presumably were allotted shares for personal use.’ [1] More information on turmeric as a possible medium of exchange is needed. The variable was coded absent for the time being.
[1]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 57
ccording to SCCS variable 17 ’Money (Media of Exchange) and Credit’, ’4’ Foreign coinage or paper currency was present, not ‘1’ ’No media of exchange or money’, ’Domestically used articles as media of exchange’ or ’Tokens of conventional value as media of exchange’ or ’Indigenous coinage or paper currency’. Money was introduced by the colonial administration: ’The impact of these economic changes upon the Trukese was great. Just as under the Germans law and order were made the province of the administration, a step which can be reversed (without chaos) only by a long and intelligently directed course of evolution, so under the Japanese the step to a money economy and dependence upon some categories of imported goods was carried far enough beyond the German beginnings so that it too has become irreversible. While the Trukese were not indoctrinated in the more skilled techniques, such as deep-sea fishing and boat-building, there were many jobs available at manual labor, an ever-increasing flow of trade goods upon which to spend the earnings thereof, and head taxes to assure that those who did not work cut copra. The Trukese began to travel more and more on Japanese boats (many of which they have now taken over and operate), to use a wider variety of Japanese tools, to eat (although not depend upon) rice and canned fish, and to wear clothese exclusively of foreign material.’ [1]
[1]: Gladwin, Thomas, and Seymour Bernard Sarason 1953. “Truk: Man In Paradise”, 43
According to SCCS variable 17 ’Money (Media of Exchange) and Credit’, ’4’ Foreign coinage or paper currency was present, not ‘1’ ’No media of exchange or money’, ’Domestically used articles as media of exchange’ or ’Tokens of conventional value as media of exchange’ or ’Indigenous coinage or paper currency’. Islanders traditionally engaged in trading expeditions and barter trade: ’At the present time, sailing canoes suitable for long trips remain in use only in the small islands of the Caroline group scattered widely over the ocean from Truk westward. The language and culture found on these islands relate them clearly to Truk, whereas most of them fell historically under the hegemony of Yap to the west—a tie which Lessa (1956) has demonstrated is by no means completely extinct. Both Truk and Yap possess volcanic soils which can support crops impossible of cultivation on the sandy coral islets which lie between. Trade therefore provided the impetus for travel to and from the high islands, and there was in addition considerable social visiting back and forth between all the islands. Some voyages, apparently of exploration, have also been recorded extending over hundreds of miles to Guam and even remoter islands. Trips of up to 200 miles or so are still made, although with reduced frequency. Canoes are also used on a few islands other than those mentioned above for interisland, but essentially local, travel to Truk and Ponape.’ [1] ’The acquisition of property on Truk is usually done by means of barter. Lands, houses, and canoes are bartered. Smaller units of exchange are sebi (wooden bowls), deig (curcuma), faupar (red shell disks), hip mats, modesty bands, fishing nets, aromatic oils, coconut cord, home-grown tobacco, and sleeping mats. These products of native industry are not present in like quantity or in like quality on all the islands. Thus, Sapesis on Fefan is famous for its fine bowls, Pol for curcuma and oils, Iluk for its fine hip mats.’ [2] ’Weaving generally takes place at certain times, especially when the canoes from the low islands are expected, the inhabitants of which barter for things. In former times not very nice [Page 186] customs were associated with weaving. When the women had completed their work, they put on the new mats and gathered on the shore.’ [3]
[1]: Gladwin, Thomas 1958. “Canoe Travel In The Truk Area: Technology And Its Psychological Correlates”, 893
[2]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 135
[3]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 185
Traditionally, messages were communicated through shell signals rather than couriers: ’A custom destroying marital fidelity in a really systematic fashion is the mosou. That is, on a shell signal all the men must gather in the men’s house, so that their wives are alone at home. Anyone can go to them at night without being punished, since, indeed, his wife too is abandoned.’ [1] ’The chief does all these duties in the kobu[unknown], the public meeting. Men as well as women are invited to this kobu[unknown]. All the participants are called together by the blowing of the large shell from the chief’s house. The kobu[unknown] takes place in the udd, the large men’s house. All the dealings of the tribe are discussed in it, marital matters, land matters, quarrels, in short, all the linen, whether clean or dirty, is spread out before all eyes. Everybody is allowed to talk and present his complaints. Of course there is no lack of amusing scenes too. Sometimes the people become so excited that the parties insult each other, grab each other, and come to blows, so that the meeting has to be dissolved.’ [2] ’It is said of the old chiefs that they always had the blow shell beside them. When the puk, puk of the shell resounded from the chief’s house, the people knew its meaning immediately. They quickly came running in order to /117/ learn the wishes of the tyrant. At one time he would desire kon (pounded breadfruit), at another time fish, then [Page 128] bananas, then coconuts to drink. The chiefs today no longer dare commit these outrages but they still have sufficient means to obtain some things on the side. They announce a dance, for example, or hold an efilul (celebration in connection with house-building, held when the frame is erected). They certainly do not come out short at the feast connected with this. As a matter of fact, most chiefs understand very well how to entice from their people whatever they might like to have.’ [3] ’The risks of nocturnal trysts are increased by a curfew, instituted under the Japanese to curb such behavior, and continued to the present by the island chiefs. A conch is blown at about nine o’clock by the island policeman or secretary as a signal for all who are not fishing or otherwise legitimately occupied to remain in their houses. Anyone who is seen and recognized thereafter at any distance from his own house is called before the chief and is usually at a loss to explain himself. This does not, however, involve the girl whom he intended to meet or met (unless he has just escaped from the house amid hue and cry and is thus identified), and the worst consequence is usually a few days of enforced labor on the island’s paths, to which little stigma is attached.’ [4] ’In former times an important item in a chief’s equipment was the conch-shell trumpet ( sewi). It could be blown only by the chief, himself, and was not used except to summon his people to an important meeting on an emergency matter. Nowadays the conch is used to call the people to routine meetings, to community work, and to Protestant [Page 145] church services. The prohibition against unauthorized persons blowing it has been relaxed.’ [5] Islanders also used special calls when communicating with each other over a longer distance: ’The hearing, like the eyes of the natives, is also acute. They call to one another over long distances and make them-selves understood. The caller puts his hands trumpet-like to his mouth and shouts through them. If the one called has understood, [Page 239] he answers in the same way. When calling, the first syllables are uttered quickly, whereas the latter ones are stressed slowly and strongly.’ [6]
[1]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 106
[2]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 126
[3]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 127
[4]: Gladwin, Thomas, and Seymour Bernard Sarason 1953. “Truk: Man In Paradise”, 108
[5]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 144
[6]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 238
Settlements were sometimes surrounded with stone walls for better protection: ’War! That is a word that made every Truk heart beat faster in olden times. Truk was one big battlefield. Island fought against island, tribe against tribe. On one day two villages were co-operating; on the next day they were fighting each other. There was constant killing in an ever changing situation. The entire population lived on the mountains in order to be protected against attacks by the enemy. Still today one sees on the mountains, along the mountain slopes, long stone walls, or indeed complete fortifications with entrances. Sad relics of that peaceless and lawless time. The wirasen moun (battlefield) was readied at the boundary of the enemy tribe and the bush cut down so that one could have a good view. Here the opponents often came together in order to measure each other. The islanders’ main method of fighting, however, was surprise attack and stealing up in the night. [Page 114] Woe to the one who /105/ fell into the hands of such who were sneaking about. Whether man, woman, or child, his throat was cut without mercy. It is told about one warrior that while on an expedition he encountered on the way a child from the enemy tribe. He took it by the legs and struck its head against a tree so that blood and brains spurted about. Houses were set afire, trees cut down, animals killed; in short, each side sought to do as much harm to the other one as possible. Spies were sent out to discover the mood and location of the enemy. Sometimes the enemy was left in peace for a time in order to lull him into feeling secure. Then when the women of the enemy tribe unsuspectingly went fishing at night they were attacked and slaughtered in the water. Or at night the people secretly traveled past the enemy island to another one and then came back in the morning. The enemy was deceived by the direction from which the vessels came and calmly let the crew land to destroy them.’ [1] ’All lineage buildings normally stand on land to whose soil the lineage, or some member of it, holds provisional or full title. If this is not feasible, the jimw may be built by the husbands of the lineage women on land held by one of them. In such a case his children acquire provisional title to the house and land on which it stands, receiving them as a niffag from their father. With the mwääniici of their lineage acting as guardian, the house and its site became a part of the property of the lineage whose women live there. Dwelling sites used to be shifted about once in a generation’s time, if the lineage had sufficient lands at its disposal. The purpose was to keep its house near breadfruit trees which were bearing well, so that a good supply of this staple food would always be near at hand. In the old days an jimw was sometimes surrounded by a stone wall for defensive purposes.’ [2] We have assumed non-mortared walls for the time being.
[1]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 113
[2]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 69
Settlements were constructed in the mountains: ’War! That is a word that made every Truk heart beat faster in olden times. Truk was one big battlefield. Island fought against island, tribe against tribe. On one day two villages were co-operating; on the next day they were fighting each other. There was constant killing in an ever changing situation. The entire population lived on the mountains in order to be protected against attacks by the enemy. Still today one sees on the mountains, along the mountain slopes, long stone walls, or indeed complete fortifications with entrances. Sad relics of that peaceless and lawless time. The wirasen moun (battlefield) was readied at the boundary of the enemy tribe and the bush cut down so that one could have a good view. Here the opponents often came together in order to measure each other. The islanders’ main method of fighting, however, was surprise attack and stealing up in the night. [Page 114] Woe to the one who /105/ fell into the hands of such who were sneaking about. Whether man, woman, or child, his throat was cut without mercy. It is told about one warrior that while on an expedition he encountered on the way a child from the enemy tribe. He took it by the legs and struck its head against a tree so that blood and brains spurted about. Houses were set afire, trees cut down, animals killed; in short, each side sought to do as much harm to the other one as possible. Spies were sent out to discover the mood and location of the enemy. Sometimes the enemy was left in peace for a time in order to lull him into feeling secure. Then when the women of the enemy tribe unsuspectingly went fishing at night they were attacked and slaughtered in the water. Or at night the people secretly traveled past the enemy island to another one and then came back in the morning. The enemy was deceived by the direction from which the vessels came and calmly let the crew land to destroy them.’ [1]
[1]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 113
Stone walls surrounded settlements rather than military camps on the move (see above).
We have provisionally assumed that stone walls around settlements were built in one row only.
LeBar claims early evidence for the use of iron and steel tools acquired through trade with other islands: ’It appears that during this early period, and for some time thereafter, the Trukese were in contact with Guam and other islands in the Marianas due to the fact that atoll islanders to the west of Truk regularly voyaged to Guam and back, taking with them items for trade in return for which they brought back iron and steel implements. The Trukese were thus in possession of iron tools at a very early date.’ [1] However, it isn’t clear if this metal was used in warfare.
[1]: LeBar, Frank M. {nd}-/. “Material Culture Of Truk", 19
LeBar claims early evidence for the use of iron and steel tools acquired through trade with other islands: ’It appears that during this early period, and for some time thereafter, the Trukese were in contact with Guam and other islands in the Marianas due to the fact that atoll islanders to the west of Truk regularly voyaged to Guam and back, taking with them items for trade in return for which they brought back iron and steel implements. The Trukese were thus in possession of iron tools at a very early date.’ [1] However, it isn’t clear if this metal was used in warfare.
[1]: LeBar, Frank M. {nd}-/. “Material Culture Of Truk", 19
LeBar claims early evidence for the use of iron and steel tools acquired through trade with other islands: ’It appears that during this early period, and for some time thereafter, the Trukese were in contact with Guam and other islands in the Marianas due to the fact that atoll islanders to the west of Truk regularly voyaged to Guam and back, taking with them items for trade in return for which they brought back iron and steel implements. The Trukese were thus in possession of iron tools at a very early date.’ [1] However, it isn’t clear if this metal was used in warfare.
[1]: LeBar, Frank M. {nd}-/. “Material Culture Of Truk", 19
LeBar claims early evidence for the use of iron and steel tools acquired through trade with other islands: ’It appears that during this early period, and for some time thereafter, the Trukese were in contact with Guam and other islands in the Marianas due to the fact that atoll islanders to the west of Truk regularly voyaged to Guam and back, taking with them items for trade in return for which they brought back iron and steel implements. The Trukese were thus in possession of iron tools at a very early date.’ [1] However, it isn’t clear if this metal was used in warfare.
[1]: LeBar, Frank M. {nd}-/. “Material Culture Of Truk", 19
Not mentioned in the literature. This is interpreted as evidence of absence because this is a culture of low complexity for warfare technology.
Not mentioned in the literature. This is interpreted as evidence of absence because this is a culture of low complexity for warfare technology.
Islanders used slings, spears and clubs: ’Within districts, conflict arose over land, succession to chiefship, theft, adultery, and avenging homicide. Between districts, it arose over attentions to local women by outside men, the status of one district as subordinate to another, and rights of access to fishing areas. Formal procedures for terminating conflict between districts involved payments of valuables and land by the loosing to the winning side. Fighting involved surprise raids and prearranged meetings on a field of battle. Principle weapons were slings, spears, and clubs. Firearms, introduced late in the nineteenth century, were confiscated by German authorities in 1903. Martial arts included an elaborate system of throws and holds by which an unarmed man could kill, maim or disarm an armed opponent.’ [1] ’Fighting skills in aboriginal times included knowledge of the manufacture as well [Page 54] as of the use of the various weapons: the club, spear, sling, knuckle-duster, and in more recent time the knife and rifle. Of great importance, too, was a knowledge of the various holds in a system of hand-to-hand encounter remotely reminiscent of Japanese jiujitsu. To acquire these skills required considerable practice. In aboriginal times the various lineages used to hold periodic month-long training course in their respective meeting houses. Although each political district fought engagements as a united military group, training was given independently by the various lineages. Those present were the men of the lineage, the husbands of its women, and the sons of its men, in conformance with the pattern of confining the transmission of knowledge to one’s children and one’s lineage mates. It is said that by no means everyone knew all of the various weapons nor all of the tricks of hand-to-hand fighting. Knowledge of the proper magic was required in the manufacture of the several weapons and also to increase the effectiveness of their use thereafter. It is not surprising, therefore, that fighting skills were treated in the same way as other types of incorporeal property.’ [2]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward H. and Skoggard, Ian: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Chuuk
[2]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 53
Firearms were introduced in the colonial period: ’Fighting skills in aboriginal times included knowledge of the manufacture as well [Page 54] as of the use of the various weapons: the club, spear, sling, knuckle-duster, and in more recent time the knife and rifle. Of great importance, too, was a knowledge of the various holds in a system of hand-to-hand encounter remotely reminiscent of Japanese jiujitsu. To acquire these skills required considerable practice. In aboriginal times the various lineages used to hold periodic month-long training course in their respective meeting houses. Although each political district fought engagements as a united military group, training was given independently by the various lineages. Those present were the men of the lineage, the husbands of its women, and the sons of its men, in conformance with the pattern of confining the transmission of knowledge to one’s children and one’s lineage mates. It is said that by no means everyone knew all of the various weapons nor all of the tricks of hand-to-hand fighting. Knowledge of the proper magic was required in the manufacture of the several weapons and also to increase the effectiveness of their use thereafter. It is not surprising, therefore, that fighting skills were treated in the same way as other types of incorporeal property.’ [1]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 53p
Not mentioned in the literature. This is interpreted as evidence of absence because this is a culture of low complexity for warfare technology.
Not mentioned in the literature. This is interpreted as evidence of absence because this is a culture of low complexity for warfare technology.
Islanders used slings, spears, and clubs: ’Within districts, conflict arose over land, succession to chiefship, theft, adultery, and avenging homicide. Between districts, it arose over attentions to local women by outside men, the status of one district as subordinate to another, and rights of access to fishing areas. Formal procedures for terminating conflict between districts involved payments of valuables and land by the loosing to the winning side. Fighting involved surprise raids and prearranged meetings on a field of battle. Principle weapons were slings, spears, and clubs. Firearms, introduced late in the nineteenth century, were confiscated by German authorities in 1903. Martial arts included an elaborate system of throws and holds by which an unarmed man could kill, maim or disarm an armed opponent.’ [1] ’Fighting skills in aboriginal times included knowledge of the manufacture as well [Page 54] as of the use of the various weapons: the club, spear, sling, knuckle-duster, and in more recent time the knife and rifle. Of great importance, too, was a knowledge of the various holds in a system of hand-to-hand encounter remotely reminiscent of Japanese jiujitsu. To acquire these skills required considerable practice. In aboriginal times the various lineages used to hold periodic month-long training course in their respective meeting houses. Although each political district fought engagements as a united military group, training was given independently by the various lineages. Those present were the men of the lineage, the husbands of its women, and the sons of its men, in conformance with the pattern of confining the transmission of knowledge to one’s children and one’s lineage mates. It is said that by no means everyone knew all of the various weapons nor all of the tricks of hand-to-hand fighting. Knowledge of the proper magic was required in the manufacture of the several weapons and also to increase the effectiveness of their use thereafter. It is not surprising, therefore, that fighting skills were treated in the same way as other types of incorporeal property.’ [2]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward H. and Skoggard, Ian: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Chuuk
[2]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 53
Not mentioned in the literature. This is interpreted as evidence of absence because this is a culture of low complexity for warfare technology.
Islanders used slings, spears, and clubs: ’Within districts, conflict arose over land, succession to chiefship, theft, adultery, and avenging homicide. Between districts, it arose over attentions to local women by outside men, the status of one district as subordinate to another, and rights of access to fishing areas. Formal procedures for terminating conflict between districts involved payments of valuables and land by the loosing to the winning side. Fighting involved surprise raids and prearranged meetings on a field of battle. Principle weapons were slings, spears, and clubs. Firearms, introduced late in the nineteenth century, were confiscated by German authorities in 1903. Martial arts included an elaborate system of throws and holds by which an unarmed man could kill, maim or disarm an armed opponent.’ [1] ’Fighting skills in aboriginal times included knowledge of the manufacture as well [Page 54] as of the use of the various weapons: the club, spear, sling, knuckle-duster, and in more recent time the knife and rifle. Of great importance, too, was a knowledge of the various holds in a system of hand-to-hand encounter remotely reminiscent of Japanese jiujitsu. To acquire these skills required considerable practice. In aboriginal times the various lineages used to hold periodic month-long training course in their respective meeting houses. Although each political district fought engagements as a united military group, training was given independently by the various lineages. Those present were the men of the lineage, the husbands of its women, and the sons of its men, in conformance with the pattern of confining the transmission of knowledge to one’s children and one’s lineage mates. It is said that by no means everyone knew all of the various weapons nor all of the tricks of hand-to-hand fighting. Knowledge of the proper magic was required in the manufacture of the several weapons and also to increase the effectiveness of their use thereafter. It is not surprising, therefore, that fighting skills were treated in the same way as other types of incorporeal property.’ [2] Gladwin relates an incident in which spears were used in combat: ’When the men got close, they saw there were a lot of people brandishing weapons, and they conferred. They decided they would just go on in, fend off the weapons as best they could, but not say anything until they were recognized, for they realized what had happened. The old man asked who would go first, and the young men said they would go first and the old man afterwards so he would not get hurt; he was to remain behind them. So they went in the door of the house. The chief said, “Spear them!” So they stabbed with their spears, but the young men warded them all off; they grabbed the spears and hurled them away. Then they slashed with the knives, but the two men got them too, tucked them under their arms and then plowed in. Then the chief told them to stop, to wait a minute, for these were remarkable people. He asked, “Who are you?” “We.” “Who?”, and they told him their names. Then they threw their arms around them and greeted them and were very happy. They asked them where they had come from, and they told them, and they were still happier. Then they got out food, and they and all their relatives sat down to eat. They feasted that night and on and on. For a whole week they did nothing but feast because they were so happy. That is all.’ [3]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward H. and Skoggard, Ian: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Chuuk
[2]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 53
[3]: Gladwin, Thomas, and Seymour Bernard Sarason 1953. “Truk: Man In Paradise”, 624
Not mentioned in the literature. This is interpreted as evidence of absence because this is a culture of low complexity for warfare technology.
According to Goodenough, knifes were introduced in the colonial period: ’Fighting skills in aboriginal times included knowledge of the manufacture as well [Page 54] as of the use of the various weapons: the club, spear, sling, knuckle-duster, and in more recent time the knife and rifle. Of great importance, too, was a knowledge of the various holds in a system of hand-to-hand encounter remotely reminiscent of Japanese jiujitsu. To acquire these skills required considerable practice. In aboriginal times the various lineages used to hold periodic month-long training course in their respective meeting houses. Although each political district fought engagements as a united military group, training was given independently by the various lineages. Those present were the men of the lineage, the husbands of its women, and the sons of its men, in conformance with the pattern of confining the transmission of knowledge to one’s children and one’s lineage mates. It is said that by no means everyone knew all of the various weapons nor all of the tricks of hand-to-hand fighting. Knowledge of the proper magic was required in the manufacture of the several weapons and also to increase the effectiveness of their use thereafter. It is not surprising, therefore, that fighting skills were treated in the same way as other types of incorporeal property.’ [1]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 53
So far, no evidence on animals used in warfare has been found.
Not mentioned in the literature. This is interpreted as evidence of absence because this is a culture of low complexity for warfare technology.
LeBar describes head-bands, but no helmets: ’Man’s head band The man’s head band (nakasäka) was one of the most valued of ornaments, and according to the literature it evidenced perhaps the finest workmanship of any item of ornamentation. The piece was made by men and worn by men at dances and also, according to Romonum informants, when going out as a war party. The nakasäka was rubbed thoroughly with yellow turmeric powder, wrapped in pandanus leaves, and stored in a wooden chest when not in use.’ [1]
[1]: LeBar, Frank M. {nd}-/. “Material Culture Of Truk", 351
Islanders engaged in canoe-fighting: ’Fighting skills in aboriginal times included knowledge of the manufacture as well [Page 54] as of the use of the various weapons: the club, spear, sling, knuckle-duster, and in more recent time the knife and rifle. Of great importance, too, was a knowledge of the various holds in a system of hand-to-hand encounter remotely reminiscent of Japanese jiujitsu. This system, known as jëëmmwënëëw, is highly developed, including ways to disarm opponents equipped with various weapons, ways of knocking them overboard in canoe fighting, etc. It appears to be completely native in origin.’ [1] Bollig’s material on strategy and divinations also implies that canoes were used in warfare: ’The ida[unknown] spear, the ida[unknown] fire, and the ida[unknown] blow-shell are sacred. Woe to one who touches them; the ida[unknown] will bite him, and as a result his throat will swell. The shell rests on a bed consisting of sacred herbs. Nobody is allowed to pass the side of the house where it is found. If the ida[unknown] is to blow the shell, he strokes it beforehand, while murmuring his texts. Besides the ikenida[unknown], the ibar (a species of banana) and woubar (red sugar-cane) are also reserved for the ida[unknown]. Only he and, with his permission, his pupils are allowed to eat them. This is strictly forbidden for the atö. Besides this ibar there are still other ida[unknown] bananas, since each ida[unknown] movement has more or less its own food laws. The principal activity /49/ of the ida[unknown] takes place in wartime. Aside from the fact that for the most part their intrigues and mischief-making caused the war as soon as it broke out they became leaders and all. [Page 54] They made the war plans during the so-called otout (banana eating). That is, the ida[unknown] took his bananas and put the individual fruits on a mat. Then he explained the campaign plan to his pupils and the other warriors. One banana signified a reef, another one a canoe, and so on. By moving the bananas back and forth, he made the situation clear and indicated to them how the enemy might possibly be attacked or how his attack could be repulsed. At the end the töbou ate the bananas together, certainly an excellent staff-map, which has the advantage that one can eat it without difficulty.’ [2]
[1]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 53
[2]: Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 53p