Plants and their uses in the Marshalls

Plants used for construction and tools

compiled by Dirk H.R.Spennemann

Marshallese plants used for traditional manufacture/construction

Scientific name	Common name	Marshallese	Utilised parts	Used for
Allophyllus timorensis		kedak	stem	fishing pole
Artocarpus altilis/ A. mariannensis	Breadfruit	Mä	wood	canoe hulls, outrigger floats, canoe bailers, Pandanus scrapers (legs), food bowls, drums, coconut graters (legs), weaving support panels
			sap	glue (for canoe caulking)
Boerhemia nivea		armwe	stems	cordage, men”s skirts (chiefs), nets, sowing thread
Bruguiera gymnorrhiza	Mangrove	Jo¯	wood	dancing spears, fishing spears, house construction, canoes (sacrificial keel), canoes (outrigger assembly: kie, apit, kein-eon erre), copra huskers
			young stems	fishtraps, arrowroot sieves (waliklik)
			bark	dye, cordage/rope, fishing nets
			propagules	dye
Callophyllum inophyllum		lukwej	wood	beaters, pounders (for breadfruit), canoes (outrigger assembly: kie, apit)
Cassytha filiformis		kaönön	vines	sieve (for arrowroot)
Cocos nucifera	Coconut	Ni	wood	houses, fishing spears, spears (weapons)
			frond skin	weaving
			frond stems	stickcharts
			fronds	thatching, floor cover of houses
			leaves	baskets, weaving (mats)
			leaf cloth (spathe)	sieve (for arrowroot), fishing gear (lure/bait)
			husks	rope, men”s skirts, fishing line, line to tie canoe parts, fishing nets, nets for breadfruit cleaning, belts, sanitary pads, sling shots, caulking material for canoes
			shell	fishing gear (float), fish hook, containers (flour, water etc.), cups, bowls, ladles, to scrub clothes, Pandanus scrapers (bowls), beads (for necklaces)
			shell (burnt)	dye
Cordia subcordata		köno	stems	men”s skirts
			wood	Canoes (outrigger assmebly: apit & kie)
Fragrea		wut	wood	fire plow, Pandanus or coconut graters (legs)
Hernandia sonora		Pinpin	wood	fishing gear (net handles), canoe ornaments, canoes (parts of the outrigger assembly)
Hibiscus tiliaceus		lo	stems (bark)	men”s skirts, fishing line, fishing nets, belts, fishing gear (blinkers), weaving (ornamen¹tation for mats)
Lumnitzera littorea	Mangrove	kimeme	wood	Canoes (outrigger assembly: apit & kie), canoes (sacrificial keel piece)
Messerschmidia argentea	Tournefortia	kiden	wood	Canoes (outrigger assembly: apit & kie)
Morinda citrifolia		Nen	roots	dye (red)
Musa sapientum	Banana		leaves	fibres
Pandanus tectorius	Pandanus	Böb	leaves	weaving (mats, sails, fans, hats, belts), thatching, baskets, mat bags, caulking (canoes), balls, ear ornaments, fishing gear (blinkers), sling shots, sanitary pads
			wood	neck rests
			aerial roots	fishtraps, wall covers of houses, arrowroot sieves (waliklik), putty for caulking canoes (scrapings from the roots)
			roots	(sap) tanning of drum typana
Pemphis acidula		kö¯e	wood	Pandanus scrapers (legs), beaters, caulking chisels, canoes (outrigger assembly: apit & kie), fish traps, pounders (for breadfruit)
Pipturus argenteus		armwe	stalks	fibres, cordage, fishing lines
Pisonia grandis	Pisonia	kangl	wood	house construction, drums, copra huskers, head-shaped forms for hat weaving
			root	shark hook, parts of fish traps
Premna corymbosa		kaar	stem	fishing pole
Scaevola frutescens	Scaevola	könnat	wood	canoes (outrigger assembly: kie, apit)
Sonneratia caseolaris	Mangrove	könpat	wood	canoes (sacrificial keel piece)
Tacca leontopetaloides	Arrowroot	makmök	stems	weaving (hats)
Terminalia samoensis		Kkon	wood	canoes (outrigger assembly: kie, apit)
Triumfetta procumbens		atat	stems	light cordage, men”s skirts, belts, fine weaving
			roots	brown dye
Wedelia biflora		markubwebwe
Driftwoods
Bamboo	Bamboo		stems	containers (needles, glowing coals etc.), spears (weapons, fishtraps (slithers)
Redwood		kämej	wood	canoe hulls, drums

References

Abo, T., B.W.Bender, A.Capelle & T.DeBrum
1976	Marshallese-English Dictionary. PALI language Texts: Micronesia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Born, Ludwigs
1911	Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Eingeborenenmedizin der Marschallaner. Deutsches Kolonialblatt 12,168-169.
Brandeis, Antonie
1908	Südsee-Erinnerungen. Deutsche Kolonialzeitung XXV
Chamisso, Adalbert von
1836	Reise um die Welt. Leipzig.
1986	A yoyage around the world with the Romanzov exloring expedition in the years 1815-1818 in the Brig Rurick, Captain Otto von Kotzebue. (translated by H.Kratz). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Erdland, Augustin
1906	Wörterbuch und Grammatik der Marshallsprache nebst ethnographischen Erlaueterungen und kurzen Sprachübungen. Archiv Deutscher Kolonialsprachen. Vol.IV. Berlin: Georg Reimer.
1909	Die Stellung der Frauen in den Häuptlingsfamilien der Marschallinseln. Anthropos IV,
1914	Die Marshall Insulaner. Leben und Sitte, Sinn und Religion eines Südsee-volkes. Anthropos Bibliothek. Internationale Sammlung Ethnologischer Monographien, Vol.2(1). Münster: Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung.
Finsch, Otto
1893	Ethnographische Erfahrungen und Belegstücke aus der Südsee. Annalen des K.K.Naturhistorischen Hofmuseums 7. Vienna: K.K.Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum.
Hager, Carl
1886	Die Marshall Inseln in Erd- und Voelkerkunde, Handel und Mission. Leipzig: G.Lingke.
Hernsheim, Franz
1883	Südsee-Erinnerungen Berlin.
1887	Die Marshall-Inseln. Mittheilungen der geographischen Gesellschaft in Hamburg 1885-1886 (1887), 297-308.
Kotzebue, Otoo von
1821	Entdedeckungsreise in the Südsee und nach der Bering Strasse. Weimar.
Krämer, Augustin & Hans Nevermann
1938	Ralik-Ratak (Marschall Inseln). In: G.Thilenius (ed.), Ergebnisse der Südsee-Expedition 1908-1910. II. Ethnographie, B: Mikronesien. Vol. 11: Hamburg: Friedrichsen & de Gruyter.
Lay, W. & C.M.Hussey
1963	A narrative of the mutiny on board of the whalesship Globe. New York: Corinth Books. (Reprint of the 1825 original).
Steinbach, Erwin
1893	Bericht über die Gesundheitsverhältnisse der Schutzgebiete der Marshall-Inseln. Mittheilungen von Forschungsreisenden und Gelehrten aus den Deutschen Schutzgebieten 6, 306-313.
1895a	Bericht über die Gesundheitsverhältnisse der Eingeborenen der Marshall-Inseln. Mittheilungen von Forschungsreisenden und Gelehrten aus den Deutschen Schutzgebieten 8, 157-171.
1895b	Bericht über die Gesundheitsverhältnisse der Marshall-Inseln. Mittheilungen von Forschungsreisenden und Gelehrten aus den Deutschen Schutzgebieten 8, 171-175.
Witt, Jakob
1881	Die Marschall-Gruppe, Annalen der Hydrographie IX.

Bibliographic citation for this document

Spennemann, Dirk H.R. (2000). Plants and their uses in the Marshalls - Plants used for construction and tools. Albury:
URL: http:/marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/plants/construction.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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