Essays on the Marshallese Past

Introduction


The cultural resource management of the Republic of the Marshall Islands rests on four shoulders: the Republic of the Marshall Islands Historic Preservation Office, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Office of Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of Interior and Outer Islands Affairs and the Alele Inc. All four organisations fulfil different, and only slightly overlapping duties. The main executive body responsible for daily Historic Preservation work is the Historic Preservation Office. The organisation, policies, duties, powers and functioning of this office are regulated by the Historic Preservation Act 1991 and by regulations issued pursuant to that act. It is the policy of the Historic Preservation Office

A wapepe, a stickchart used to teach aspiring young navigators the unique Marshallese science of wave-and swell-pattern navigation.

With regard to Historic Preservation projects, the Historic Preservation Office understands itself as a policy making office which acts as a facillitator and negotiator, rather than as the executing agency for most Historic Preservation Projects.

It is the fundamental belief of the Historic Preservation Office that the information contained in the stories, the traditions, and the skills developed by the Old are still very much of value for a modern Marshallese society. Many skills were developed over the 2000 years the Marshallese settled the atolls now named the Marshall Islands. This time period allowed the people to fine tune their technologies, their techniques of managing and exploiting the natural environment to total perfection within the technological constraints they experienced. The traditional technologies and management practices are what today is touted as sustainable development. One of Historic Preservation Office's interests is the promotion of traditional material culture in a modern westernized society. Let us be clear here, not a general step back into the past, but a careful, open-eyed selection of technologies and skills which would today still play an important economic role.

The main problem the Historic Preservation Office faces are those who are completely engrossed in a high-technology development philosophy. This philosophy, which embraces all that is modern and western as intrinsically good, and by implication stigmatises all traditional as inherently bad, is the downfall of the Marshallese Culture as we know it. Traditional culture all and sundry is thrown overboard, be it oral traditions, histories, land management practices, marine resource manipulation and management, or be it skills and technologies appropriate to the climate. If they are lost, over 2000 years of expertise have been gained in vain, over 2000 years of fine-tuning to gather appropriate technology and sustainable levels of development have been wasted.

At the same time, a dramatic increase in population and a breakdown of traditional inter-generational channels of communication have led to many social problems including an appalling rate of pre-dominantly young male suicides. Apart from economic benefits, the re-introduction of traditional skills has the potential to reinstate individual, as well as national pride and self-esteem. This could act as the nucleus for spiritual and cultural rejuvenation, which could carry the Marshallese population into the next century.

Challenges ahead

The present society of the Republic of the Marshall Islands roots firmly in both the traditional Marshallese culture and western customs and spiritual concepts introduced during the last 150 years. The increasing westernisation of the Marshallese culture, brought about by, among other things, videos, is likely to undermine the remaining pillars of traditional culture.

We cannot afford to loose our sense of history, our understanding of and appreciation for what our ancestors did to survive on these atolls. We cannot afford it because our spiritual well-being rests on it, because our cultural identity, that what makes us different from others, stems in this history. We Marshallese cannot afford it, because the economic and environmental challenges ahead, brought about by issues as diverse as population increase and sea-level rise caused by the greenhouse effect will put a strain on the resources this country has available to it. Traditional skills, where appropriate, are as much needed for the economic and environmental well-being of these atolls, as is overseas technical expertise and funding support.

Both systematic recording of the extant information, as well as systematic, but selective fostering of traditional skills and practices in a modern economic environment are needed. The increase in population will bring about pressures on the physical environment, thereby threatening the existence of large number of archaeological, historical and traditional sites. Inventorisation of such sites is needed, to allow for systematic decision-making in the event of construction. The legal basis has been laid with the Historic Preservation Act of 1991.

But Historic Preservation can only work if the community as a whole supports our work. Therefore, outreach activities are most important. If sites and traditions shall be protected for generations to come, then the present generation needs to be aware of them.

The articles reproduced here had been written as public education tools for publication in various popular newspapers and magzines.

A small outrigger canoe in Majoro lagoon.



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Bibliographic citation for this document

Spennemann, Dirk H.R. (1998). Essays on the Marshallese Past Second edition. Albury:
URL: http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/essays/es-int.html

CONTACT:
Dirk H.R. Spennemann, Institute of Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, P.O.Box 789, Albury NSW 2640, Australia.
e-mail: dspennemann@csu.edu.au


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Digital Micronesia-An Electronic Library & Archive is provided free of charge as an advertising-free information service for the world community. It is being maintained by Dirk HR Spennemann, Associate Professor in Cultural Heritage Management, Institute of Land, Water and Society and School of Environmental & Information Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury, Australia. The server space and technical support are provided by Charles Sturt University as part of its commitment to regional engagement. Environmental SciencesInformation Sciences

© Dirk Spennemann 1999– 2005
Marshall Islands Kosrae CNMI Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Guam Wake Pohnpei FSM Federated States of Micronesia Yap Chuuk Marshall Islands politics public health environment culture WWII history literature XXX Cultural Heritage Management Micronesian Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences CNMI German Colonial Sources Mariana Islands Historic Preservation Spennemann Dirk Spennemann Dirk HR Spennemann Murray Time Louis Becke Jane Downing Downing
select from the following...
FAQ
Environment
Politics
Economy
Health
Communications
Geography
History
World War II
Society
Culture
Art
Literature
Stamps
 


Digital Micronesia-An Electronic Library & Archive is provided free of charge as an advertising-free information service for the world community. It is being maintained by Dirk HR Spennemann, Associate Professor in Cultural Heritage Management, Institute of Land, Water and Society and School of Environmental & Information Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury, Australia. The server space and technical support are provided by Charles Sturt University as part of its commitment to regional engagement. Environmental SciencesInformation Sciences

© Dirk Spennemann 1999– 2005
Marshall Islands Kosrae CNMI Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Guam Wake Pohnpei FSM Federated States of Micronesia Yap Chuuk Marshall Islands politics public health environment culture WWII history literature XXX Cultural Heritage Management Micronesian Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences CNMI German Colonial Sources Mariana Islands Historic Preservation Spennemann Dirk Spennemann Dirk HR Spennemann Murray Time Louis Becke Jane Downing Downing