18 



KISTE 



The contact that the Enewetakese had with others, lit- 

 tle as it was, was not limited to the Marshalls. The oral 

 accounts associated with genealogies relate that some 

 Enewetak people, mainly males, occasionally sailed to the 

 south and west, contacting the ancient population of 

 Ujilang (included in the Marshalls) and on to the high vol- 

 canic and culturally and linguistically different island of 

 Ponape. Contact with Ponape was to continue well into 

 historic times and up until World War II. 



Long before the advent of Europeans, the people of 

 Enewetak had developed a culture which represented a 

 good adaptation to the limited atoll environment which is 

 quite restrictive when compared to the high volcanic 

 islands of the Pacific. The people were skilled navigators 

 (an art which has been lost with the availability of travel 

 on the vessels of foreigners), and they were expert builders 

 of outrigger sailing canoes which were among the largest 

 in the entire Marshalls. (Well into the 1960s, the Enewetak 

 people were still constructing canoes that measured over 

 55 feet in length with masts that soared 30 feet above the 

 vessels' decks.) 



In the relatively dry northern Marshalls and with the 

 poor soil of the northern atolls, terrestrial resources were 

 quite limited. Subsistence resources from the land were 

 limited to coconuts, pandanus, papaya, bananas, and 

 arrowroot. One or two breadfruit trees produced poorly. 

 None of these crops required much care, and the people 

 were very casual in their attitude about their maintenance. 

 A similar attitude was evidenced regarding domestic 

 animals. A few pigs and chickens were allowed to more or 

 less fend for themselves, and their flesh was mainly 

 reserved for holiday occasions. 



Thus, in part, ecological necessity had caused the 

 Enewetak people to develop an economy which was 

 heavily reliant upon marine resources. They knew the 

 behavior and the monthly and annual movements of the 

 large inventory of marine fauna. The fish of the lagoon and 

 sea were caught, and expeditions were organized to collect 

 shellfish, capture lobsters and turtles, and gather turtle 

 eggs. In addition, several species of birds were also cap- 

 tured as food resources. 



Shortly after the beginning of the German colonial era, 

 old patterns were altered and the people became involved 

 in the copra trade. Coconuts were converted to copra for 

 cash and/or trade goods. Rice, flour, sugar, coffee, tea, 

 canned meats and fish were eventually added to the diet. 



Several other features of the people's lifestyle deserve 

 mention. Like most atoll dwellers, the people located their 

 residences on the largest islands of their atoll. In the case 

 of Enewetak Atoll, only the two largest islands were inhab- 

 ited: Enewetak Island in the southeastern quadrant of the 

 atoll and Enjebi Island on the atoll's northern rim. 



Although permanent residences were located on 

 Enewetak and Enjebi Islands, the people were quite mobile 

 within the atoll. Fishing and collecting activities penetrated 

 every niche of the environment. Regular expeditions were 

 made to all islands in the atoll to make copra and to col- 

 lect food resources. Clearing brush and planting were done 



during these visits. Except for holiday seasons, it was not 

 unusual for half of the population to be away from the two 

 main islands as the p>eople dispersed in pursuit of a liveli- 

 hood and for pleasure. Such expeditions broke the monot- 

 ony of life on a small island and provided relief from one's 

 fellows. 



SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 



Although the people had a collective identity as 

 Enewetakese when juxtaposed to other Marshallese, they 

 were divided internally into two separate communities that 

 resided on Enewetak and Enjebi Islands. Community is 

 defined as "the maximum group of persons who normally 

 reside together in face-to-face association" (Murdock, 

 1949). Members of the two communities intermarried and 

 cooperated in a variety of activities. Each functioned, how- 

 ever, as a separate social and pwlitical unit, and its 

 members had separate identities. The people of the 

 Enewetak community called and thought of themselves as 

 riEnewetak (the people of Enewetak Island) and those of 

 the Enjebi community were riEnjebi, (the people of Enjebi 

 Island). 



The traditional settlement pattern of both communities 

 was dispersed. Residences were located on separate land 

 parcels known as wato and were scattered along both sides 

 of a sand and coral roadway which ran parallel to the 

 length of the lagoon beach. In most cases, a uxjto was a 

 strip of land which cut across the width of an island from 

 lagoon beach to oceanside reef. They varied in size from 

 about 1 to 5 acres. Each wato had a name, and the people 

 who lived on Kabnene wato on Enewetak Island were 

 sometimes referred to as riKabnene. 



The two communities had the same political structure. 

 Each was headed by a hereditary chief known as iroij (Fig. 

 1). The chiefs directed the affairs of their respective com- 

 munities, arbitrated disputes, and consulted one another 

 with regard to concerns of the entire atoll and the total 

 population's relations with outsiders (Fig. 2). In contrast to 

 other Marshallese communities, which are organized 

 around matrilineal principles, succession to the chieftain- 

 ship was patrilineal, i.e., a man was succeeded by his eld- 

 est son; the eldest son was succeeded by his younger 

 brothers in the order of their birth; and when the last of 

 them died, the eldest son of the eldest son succeeded. 



Like other Marshallese, the people of Enewetak Atoll 

 were divided among several matriclans. The clans were 

 named, and every individual automatically became a 

 member of his or her mother's clan at birth. Clan member- 

 ship could not be altered. The clans were vehicles for the 

 provision of hospitality. One was obligated to protect fel- 

 low clansmen and to provide them with food and shelter 

 (Fig. 3). 



The clans were exogamous, i.e., members were 

 required to marry outside of their clan. Members treated 

 their clansmen as if they were parents or siblings, and sex 

 within the clan was tantamount to incest. The preferred 

 marriage partner was a real or classificatory cross-cousin 



