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Renew online by choosing the My Account option at: http://www.library.uiuc.edu/catalog/ ^3 ^ MAJURO A Village in the Marshall Islands ALEXANDER SPOEHR FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 39 Published by CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM NOVEMBER 17, 1949 MAJURO A Village in the Marshall Islands MAJURO A \^ILL.\GE IN THE MaRSH.AIL IsL.\NDS ALEXANDER SPOEHR Curator, Oceanic Ethnology FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 39 Published by CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM NOVEMBER 17. 1949 DEC 6- f^ ' > PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS PREFACE My first acquaintance with the Marshall Islands, and with the village that forms the subject of this report, was made during World War II. While on active duty in the Navy, I spent six months in the Marshall group during the latter part of the war. Fortunately, the nature of my duties allowed me considerable mobility, and I was able to become thoroughly versed at first hand in the physical characteristics of the atolls of the southern Marshalls, and of Majuro in particular. At this time, I also became acquainted with Majuro village. Although it was possible then to work with Marshallese informants for short periods, and hence to gain a limited amount of information on their present-day culture, the principal value for this report of my war-time experience in the Marshalls was the knowledge acquired of the physical features of Majuro village, its local organization, and its environmental setting. At the end of March, 1947, I returned to the Marshalls as a civilian, and conducted ethnological work at Majuro village for three and a half months, departing from the atoll the middle of July. The observations made on these two visits form the basis of this report. The 1947 field work was undertaken as a Chicago Natural History Museum expedition. However, it also formed part of a larger program for the investigation of the Micronesian peoples. This larger program, sponsored by the Pacific Science Board of the National Research Council, and with the full support of the Navy Department, has been officially designated the Co-ordinated In- vestigation of Micronesian Anthropology (CIMA). The Museum's work in the Marshalls owes its success to the splendid co-operation achieved under this larger program. I am indebted to Chicago Natural History Museum for its generous financial support of the field project in the Marshalls, and for allowing me the necessary time to undertake it. Colonel Clifford C. Gregg, Director of the Museum, has been most helpful; and Dr. Paul S. Martin, Chief Curator of the Department of Anthro- pology, has given his usual generous aid. Miss Lillian Ross, Associate 3 4 PREFACE Editor of Scientific Publications, has efficiently seen the report through the press. The Pacific Science Board acted as the central organizing agency for the CIMA program, handled all matters requiring liaison with the Navy Department, and provided much of the necessary financial support. I am most indebted to Dr. George P. Murdock, of Yale University and the Pacific Science Board, for the consideration he gave the Museum project in the complicated business of organizing the larger program covering the Micronesian area. I also wish to express my special thanks to Mr. Harold J. Coolidge, Executive Secretary of the Pacific Science Board, for taking care of the number- less details in connection with transportation and other matters involving relations with the Navy Department. Mr. Leonard E. Mason, of the University of Hawaii and the CIMA representative at Honolulu, gave valuable assistance in making final arrangements at Honolulu before my departure for the Marshalls. On my return from the field I spent a few days in Guam, where Mr. Loring G. Hudson, the CIMA representative, was very helpful. The Navy Department furnished transportation from the con- tinental United States to the field and return, and provided direct logistic support at Majuro. The officers and enlisted personnel with whom I came in contact were uniformly friendly, and I wish to acknowledge their excellent co-operation and aid. I am particularly indebted to the following officers for their assistance: the late Com- modore G. A. Seitz, Commander L. M. Duke, Commander R. W. Garnett, Lieutenant Commander L. B. Libbey, Lieutenant Com- mander C. E. Herrick, Lieutenant Commander W. S. Waddel, Lieutenant G. H. N. Lussier, Lieutenant C. E. Smith, Lieutenant S. H. Zeigler, Lieutenant (j.g.) H. S. Jeck, and Ensign M. Griffin. In addition to their official aid, I spent a number of pleasant evenings enjoying the hospitality of these naval officers at Majuro and at Guam. Mr. H. E. Blodgett, the representative of the United States Commercial Company at Majuro, was most co-operative. Mr. Blodgett allowed me to use his quarters and office space, furnished me with local transportation, and assisted me in numerous other ways. I am very grateful to him. Lieutenant (j.g.) E. L. Doster of the United States Coast Guard Station on Rongrong Island also gave his aid on several occasions. Prior to leaving the continental United States, I spent several days at the School of Naval Administration at Stanford University. PREFACE 5 Through the kind offices of Dr. Felix Keesing, I was able to obtain the latest available information regarding field conditions in the Marshalls. During my stay at Majuro village I learned as much Marshallese as possible, but it was still necessary to use the services of interpreters. My two principal interpreters were Ajidrik N. Bien and Mary Heine Ilieu. I am especially grateful to them for their highly in- telligent co-operation. Dwight Heine, an exceptionally capable Marshallese, also assisted me in clearing up a number of difficult points in Marshallese social organization. I was the only resident American during most of my stay at Majuro village. However, near the close of my field work. Miss Margaret Chave, representing the University of Hawaii, came to the village to work on the social position of Marshallese mixed- blood individuals. In our ensuing conversations on various aspects of Marshallese life, I benefited at numerous times from Miss Chave's different perspective on the same range of ethnographic data. She has also kindly read the manuscript of this report. Toward the end of my stay. Miss Eleanor Wilson, of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, arrived at the village for one of her periodic visits. Miss Wilson has had much experience in the Micronesian area and our occasional discussions were very fruitful. My principal indebtedness, however, is to the kind and generous people of Majuro village. I doubt that there exists anywhere a group more receptive to ethnographic work than the Marshallese. From the time when I first took up residence in an unused quonset hut next to the dispensary, my relations with the villagers were always friendly and open. Although the entire village co-operated in the present work, I wish to mention particularly the following: Langlan, Jitiam, Aisea, Livai, Samuel, Ria, Tell, Jebwiat, Lazarus, Bartimeous, Laurennij, Frank, Nelson, Li Barbar, Li Bibi, Li Bojikrik, Lilly, Neri, Li Juear, and Li Wajka. In compiling this report, I have tried to bring out the territorial basis of Marshallese social organization. As a tool in geographic analysis, aerial photographs can be extremely useful in making the territorial organization of community life clear and definite. Fortu- nately, Majuro was given excellent aerial photographic coverage during the war, and two vertical photographs of Majuro Island, on which Majuro village is located, are included in the report. They were furnished through the courtesy of the Navy Department. The 6 PREFACE Navy also gave permission to use the weather data for Majuro included in Chapter II. I am indebted to Captain W. S. Jennings for making this material available. The maps of Majuro Island and of the central district of the village were constructed during the course of my field work. I used a plane-table and alidade. A word should be said as to the orthography of the few Marshall- ese terms used in the text. The spelling of Marshallese words is in a confused state, to say the least, not only in the literature, but in the Marshalls as well. The Marshallese language was first reduced to written form in the nineteenth century by American missionaries, who wished to give instruction to the islanders in the Bible and in associated religious subjects. The Germans then made their own modifications, and the Japanese also tried to alter the original system, although it still prevails today as the basic form. However, the greatest casualness prevails among the Marshallese in spelling the words of their own language, while the orthographic system is neither precise nor fully phonemic. In an attempt at remedying this situation while at the same time providing military government officers with a useful tool, the Navy compiled and issued a Marshallese-English dictionary, with linguistic notes, in 1945. The orthography in this dictionary is a modification of the first system of writing and is a great improvement in that it con- forms more closely to the actual phonemic system of the language.