PACIFIC ISLANDS UNDER JAPANESE MANDATE 



021 



Photograph by Junius B. Wood 



A FAMILY GROUP IN SAIPAN : MARIANA ISLANDS 



A sudden shower drove the photographer into a hut, where the family courteously received 

 him, and to show their hospitality sent the oldest boy off to pick a pineapple for him. The 

 mother was sitting upon the sleeping platform, using her spare moments in braiding a 

 crude basket. 



proved on the knowledge of the men of 

 Yap until the seamanship of the old 

 Marshall chiefs, sailing unerringly with- 

 out compasses, reading the waves by day 

 and the stars by night to lay their course, 

 is a puzzle to modern navigators. 



The story of the two brothers, the 

 genesis of the legendary history of Po- 

 nape, is told with variations of names 

 and incidents to suit the local dialects and 

 events in the Marshalls and other islands. 

 The brothers are supposed to have come 

 from Yap. The Yap natives built 

 houses, towering structures for that part 

 of the world. In Palao, to the westward, 

 they improved on the architecture of Yap, 

 while as one travels eastward to the 

 Marshalls the structures become of de- 

 creasing simplicity. 



The natives of Yap knew how to make 

 earthen bowls and cooking utensils, how 

 to weave baskets and ornaments, and how 

 to dye the fibers various colors. They 

 had houses where only the chiefs met, 

 club-houses where the unmarried men 

 lived and which all the villagers could 



enter on certain occasions, and canoe- 

 houses for the use of all. The same cus- 

 tom prevailed on the other islands. 



In Yap the women cultivated the taro 

 beds, and on the other islands they did 

 the fishing. All agreed that the women 

 should do the work and the men the 

 fighting and loafing. With the advent of 

 ships and trading, the men now work and 

 the war canoes are leaking and decaying. 



AN ISLAND OP STONE MONEY 



Yap had a currency of its own — big 

 circles of yellowish limestone which no- 

 body could steal and smaller pieces of 

 pearl shell with squared edges. They 

 were brought from Palao, which gave 

 them an intrinsic value. However, just 

 as they discarded the fire-stick when 

 matches were obtainable, the crude 

 money is no longer used, except as orna- 

 ments or to sell to curio-collectors. 



The big money resembled a flat grist- 

 mill wheel with a hole in the center, so 

 two men could carry it on a pole. Pieces 

 four feet in diameter are numerous, and 



