UNIVF:RSITY OF HAWAl'I LIBRARY

ELAK SRA ONAK PROJECT

Volume one, Issue two

September 2004

,.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

TIW proj«t u funded i11 whole or in part

by

tlte US National Park Savka

and

tM Kosru State Govan1M11t,

DepartJMnt of Agriculture Land & Fisheries

INTRODUCTION The Elak Sra Onak Project is happy to present to you the Volume one, Issue two Elak Sra Onak Book. This issue is a

continuation of volume one. This issue is specifically discusses four of Kosrae's areas of Culture. These four areas are:

Ideology which presents mostly on the Religious activities, Beliefs, Changes is religion such as new churches and

conversions, other aspects of ideology such as stories about people and events in different times, and ideas about the proper way people should act toward one another. Another area is the Cultural Transmission which discusses how culture is passed on to new generations, formal and informal education of ways of making a living, values, and social structure, how are schools organized in Kosrae, who are the teachers, how are they trained, where does the curriculum come from, how do school activities relate to informal education in homes and other places, what are Kosrae's games and how do they reflect Kosrae culture. The last section talks about Social Structure and Changes which will present to you, how has Kosrae changed, what are some of the things that are causing the changes today such as the video cassette recorders(VCRs), the ctrcumfrenttal road or the new airport, who are the people who introduce changes, how is change accepted by different people in each village, how does each village react to change, the role of institutions and their acceptance or resistance to change.

1

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAH I IADA D V

Chapter One

IDEOLOGY OF KOSRAE

HISTORY

Kosraeans Belief in Goddess Sinlaku Way before Savedra sighted Kosrae in 1529, there lived this Goddess called Sinlaku in Kosrae to whome everyone in Kosrae looked up to as their God. Kosraean people believed

· that this Goddess controlled and provided everything on the island. In time of personal needs, she provided, in time of trouble, she helped out. People of Kosrae prayed to this Goddess for anything.

Coming of the Gospel to Kosrae History revealed that some three hundred twenty three years after Savedra sighted Kosrae, the Missionaries arrived with the Gospel or the Good News to the people of Kosrae. This was a big turning point to the life of the people of Kosrae. This was the time that Sinlaku fled the Island. After receiving the Gospel and beleived in it, people said that the old Goddess fled because she was out powered by the True Gospel. It is beleived that Sinlaku fled to Yap but there is no solid evidence of it.

2

In 1852, Missionary Reverend Benjamin Snow with the

assistance of the Hawaiian Missionary set food on Kosrae and introduced to the people of Kos~ae the Christianity way,

emphasizing strictly on Protestant. This was the first Religion that was introduced to the people of Kosrae. From

then on, and after the. Good King George accepted the

Missionaries and the Gospel, the Missionaries set up their Church in Kosrae.

Major changes in island life took place~ islanders were

converted to Christianity and this is when people in Kosrae

began to change tradition as to how they dressed, dance and

sing, and how many husbands or wifes one could many and

even what holidays to celebrate. Islanders were also asked to stop using magic and to strictly follow the traditional

religious beliefs.

The Missionaries started mission schools and began to put

the native language into writings in religious books.

This is one of the Church

building m Kosrae.

Believers gather in this

Church builting to worship

iiiiii:;;;;;;;;;;;;.;;;;;.. and celebrate special occa­sions such as Christmas,

New Year. Thanksgivmg

and etc

3

Important Dates regarding the Gospel in Kosrae: In 1866, the first two stone Churches were built in Kosrae. In 1871, the first Kosraean pastor got ordained. In 1905, Kosrae Congregational Churches became independent. In 1941, the Bible got translated into Kosraean by Miss Baldwin.

Religious Activities Therefore, religious activities started after the Gospel was received and got accepted by the Good King George and the people of Kosrae. History reveals that there were six Kosraean women who were converted first into Christianity and later on additional people followed. Services were conducted by the Missionaries until 1871

when the first Kosraean Pastor was ordained and started preaching in Kosraean language.

The word "Church" in Kosrae? Church is used by Christians in two different, but closely related ways. It can refer to all of Jesus' followers, viewed as a community and it can also refer to specific institutions or even be used to refer to the building in which they meet. When someone is converted into Christianity in Kosrae, that person becomes a Church member; he or she is a member of that community of followers of Jesus.

4

Church Structure in Kosrae Within the organi7.ation of the Church, there are the ordained Pastors, Deacons~ the Lay Ministers and the general members. The wifes of the Pastors and the Deaconeses are also committee members of the Church. These are the people who constitute the Church as a community of Jesus' followers. After the Missionaries established the Church in Kosrae and ordained the first Kosraean Pastor in 1871, the organization grew and developed to this point where all the five communities in Kosrae has their own Church Organization and Church building. The Church All: all the Churches in Kosrae make up the Church All where there are representatives from each of the five Churches in Kosrae.

As the Church in Kosrae grew and developed, there were Church groups sprung up as strong supporters who helped in spreading the Gospel. Some of these groups are as follows: 1) The Etawi Matu: This is the adult endeavor, age 35 and up 2) The Etawi Fusr: This is the youth endeavor, age 14 and up 3) The Etawi Srisrik: This is the younger kids, age 1 and up 4) The Gospel Choir: This is the mixture of youth and adult 3) The Women Christian Association: All women teen & adult 4) The Brother/Sister in Christian: Boys & girls age 8 & up S) The Youth groups from different sections

5

Responsibilities of the Church

The Church is the group with which we worship and it has the responsibility to preach the Word of God and to administer the sacraments. The Church also has a responsibility to encourage its members to make spiritual progress and to show their faith by their behavior, both through their ethics and their good works. This responsibility includes administering brotherly correc· tion when someone errs. Traditionally the Church has felt the responsibility to discipline, and if necessary exclude, members whose public lives are not in keeping with the message of Christianity.

Belief of Heaven and Hell Christians believe that there will be a judgment day where evecyone's life will be evaluated. Christians believe that those who depend upon Christ for salvation can be assured that they will pass this judgment The two different outcomes for eternal hfe are heaven and hell. Christians believe that in the end, everyone will

end up in either heaven or hell. Kosraean kids are raised with this belief of heaven or hell because it is being taught in Sunday school and through the Sunday sennons.

6

SECTION TWO

Cultural Transmission

Kosraean Culture

Although the Micronesian islands have similarities in Culture and Tradition, they also have their unique ways of performing their skills and with this they develop and build different forms and looks. A very good example of such is the canoe building~ both Kosraeans and Pohnpeians build canoes with basically the same skills but the form and looks are not the same. And even handicrafts making are made from the same local materials but the the final product doesn't look the same. Therefore, around the Federation, a local man could easily tell whether a canoe is a Kosraean or Pohnpeian made just by looking at it.

Kinds of Cultural Skills 1) Food preparation 2) House building 3) Weaving 4) Canoe building 5) Local Medicine 6) Farming

7) Fishing 8) Chant 9) Format of Special Event 10) Local games

7

These are the important skills that and islander must possess in order to live. These skills were developed long time ago by our ancesters and are still in use today.

Passing of Skills to New Generation

Because of the importance of these skills to the lives of the islanders, they have to be taught to the new generations. The question is, how have these skills

passed to other people or kids in the society? Remember, there was no formal education where there is a teacher infront of a group of students. Kids learn skills through observation and practice. To observe, the elders of the families would demonstrate the skills during special ocassions such as funeral, wedding, or celebration of an event. Native plates, baskets and food preparation including butchering of pigs, underground oven, and others are done at such time. The format of the flow of traditional activities are also being observed by the younger ones during such event. There is no set instruction for specific skilJ for the younger kids to learn from. Nowadays, cultural skills such as weaving and carving are included in the school activities as extra curricular activities.

8

Games & Sports

I. Fishing: Fishing was done way before the coming of the Missionaries and was passed on by the ancestors to the new generation. These are some of the fishing styles that Kosraeans do as daily sports activity.

1) spear fishing: Spear fishing is done by men. It could· be done during the day or at night. Boys learn to do spear fishing from their fathers or older folks in the family.

2) net casting: is also a men's sport and it can be done during both day and night.

3) tukok(fishing with line & hook): this is also done by men both at night.

4) Neklap: this is done by the women. It can be done during both day and night.

5) Suul: this is done at night using a torch and a machete or spear.

6) Other than these, our ancestors could catch turtles with their bare hands.

II. Game of EPO: This is a game where a group of men would stand in a circle and kick a somewhat square ball up in the air. The goal of this epo game is to keep the ball in the air for as long as you possibly can just by kicking ·the ball up without using the hands. This game was played during every occassion.

9

III. Wrestling: Wrestling was introduced during the Japanese administration as a game for men. At one time, wrestling was so popular that islanders would gathered for wrestling competition and wrestlers would be selected based on strength techniques and looks. Special tech­niques of wrestling was passed on by the older folks to the younger ones. The popularity of wrestling did not last long.

IV. Baseball: Baseball was introduced by the Japanese and became very popular. The game of baseball was played by men only. Competitions was conducted among villages. When a game of baseball is played between two teams from two villages, ladies would cheer for their own team.

V. Track & Field: Track & field includes sprint, hurdle, triple jump, shot put, marathon and more. Again, track & field is a competition game among the four villages in Kosrae. Fast runners are popular among the opposite gender. Nowadays, Kosraeans are participating m Micronesian Olympics and FSM games.

VI. Basketball & Volleyball: Basketball & volleyball were introduced during the late 1960's and 1970's. .They are very popular with both boys and girls.

10

Curriculum for School

During the Japanese administration there was no clear understanding of a set curriculum to be followed. The curriculum for the school was developed during the Trust Territory administration with the help of the expatriates who were helping out in the school system. Some of the subjects taught by the Kosrae high school in the late 1960s were as followed:

For ninth graders: English reading, oral English arithmetic general science, geography & people of the pacific, physical education, vocational courses such as introduction to agriculture, carpentry, metal shop and typing.

For the 10th graders: English reading, oral, arithmetic biology, world geography, agriculture 1, carpentry 1, home arts to the girls, introduction to business, physical educa­tion and typing.

For the 1 lth graders: English reading, oral English work program, introduction to business, business training, typ­

ing II, agriculture II, carpentry II, home arts II and metal shop II and physical education. For the 12th graders: English reading, oral English earth science, business arithmetic work program, business training, agriculture III,

11

..

SECTION THREE

Social Change

I. Overview of Social Change

Social change is the evolution of culture overtime. Studies have concluded that there are several different causes of social change and they are as follows:

1. Culture and Change: Culture is a system tba1 constantly loses and gains components. There are three main sources for these changes: a) invention-inventions produced new products, ideas, and social patterns; b) discovery - finding something that has never been found before, or finding something new in something that already exists~ c) diffusion - spreading of ideas and objects to other societies. This would involve trading, migration, and mass communication.

2. Conflict and Change: Social change happens due to tensions and conflicts. Some examples of conflicts are class conflict in a social class system, race,

12

3. Ideas and Change: Ideas and thoughts of compelling individuals on certain issues tend to change people's personal perspective of the issues.

4. Demographic issues: When population changec drastically in a society, change occurs.

5. Social Movement and Change: When people join together for a common cause.

Social change happens everywhere in the world. The rate of change, however, varies from place to another. A country with sophisticated technologies and information may experience faster change then a country that has limited access to technology and information. Social change is sometimes done on purpose but often times it is unplanned. Social change often generates controversies and some changes matter more than others.(Macionis. 1996)

13

II. Kosrae in the Early days

For the first severai thousand years ofKosrae's existence, Kosraeans, along with the inhabitants of the other islands in Micronesia, have developed strong relationships and cultural adaptations to their island environment, with very minimal contact from the outside world. People lived their simple and traditional lifestyle until years later. The rate of change in the social lifestyle of Kosraeans was very slow. Kosraeans lived under a social structure led by a king, the togosra and chiefs.

In the past 200 years, Kosrae with the rest of Micronesia have experienced drastic changes in their culture. The Micronesian islands, including Kosrae were first ex· posed to the outside world in the 1800s when Western missionaries, traders, and whalers started coming to the islands. Many of these islands were struck with diseases such as smallbox, measles, and influenza that were brought by the foreigners . As a result, the population began to decrease and it continued to decrease until the 1900s when western medicine and antibiotics were introduced (Taylor et al).

14

The early westerners who came to the island have brought in many changes. Islanders became aware that there were other places in the world and there were people of different races. The traditional lifestyles was altered by new lifestyle which was both good and bad. Kosrae was introduced to alcohol and tobacco by whalers, traders, and beachcombers. The desire for these products and other western goods increased amongst the Kosraeans and they would do anything to get possession of them. Kosraean women became frequent visitors to the foreign ships that arrived in Kosrae's harbors and they came off by dozen to any ship that would have them-and most did! - for the seaman's lust was an important source of income at those busy ports (Hezel, 1994).

In 1852, the first missionaries arrived in Kosrae. Rev. Benjamin Snow and Lydia Snow along with Daniel Opunui and his wife came to Kosrae with very little knowledge of the island and its people. They approached the reigning king (togusra) at that time, King George for permission to stay in Kosrae. After some careful deliberations over this request, King George fmally informed them that their

15

request was granted. King George initially took time to think over the matter because past events had shown that when foreigners were allowed to live on the island, chiefly authorities were easily undermined. King George wanted to make clear that the missionaries were only allowed to be in Kosrae to teach the teaching of their god but not to subvert his power in any way.

King George gave all his support to the missionaries and attended their Sunday services. At one time, the king told the people that those who did not attend the church were to spend their Sunday morning cleaning the island. He had made a law against drinking coconut toddy and other intoxicating drinks. King George continued to maintain his support for the missionary works throughout his reign. More and more people attended church and were con­verted into Christianity. The people were given western style dresses that cover their bodies to wear during church services. Wearing dresses was something new to the island.

The missionaries established the first formal school on the island. Students learned to read and write in English

When King George died and his cousin, Sesa,

16

was about to be made King, Rev. Benjamin Snow gave a touching speech to the assembled chiefs indicating his dislike of Sesa and his support of Kanka, King George's eldest son. Kanka was eventually made King but not for long. Kanka was a young King who enjoyed his short reign by visiting ships that anchored in the harbor and spending most of his time stumbling drunkenly from one ship to another. Sesa, became King after Kanka. During Sesa's term, he learned of a plot by two white traders and their Rotuman counterparts to kill all the chiefs on Kosrae and took over the island. Sesa was furious, he gathered the people and ambushed the Rotuman's headquarters and killed some of them. The fighting continued for two months. The white traders and the remaining Rotumans surrendered and were told to leave the island for good. Sesa, issued a statement indicating that Kosrae would not be a host to any other white people and foreigners except the missionaries.

The missionaries continued their work in Kosrae; con­verted many into Christianity. One of the main influences they had on the Kosrae's tradition was their influence on the selection and election of the King. They introduced a so-called

17

democratic process for the selection of Kosrae's King in the late 1800s. Today, the product of their work can be seen today as the entire population of Kosrae has been converted into Christianity.

III. The Colonial Regime Influence on Social Chang• - Spain

Starting in the late 1800s, Kosrae underwent four different colonial powers, first the Spanish, then the Gennan, followed by the Japanese Empire and then the United States. With each colonial power came different influences that changed Kosrae's culture and traditions.

Spain ruled over Kosrae in a very short period of time, leaving a fairly little influence over the island's culture and social traditions.

The earliest contact of the Spanish explorers in the Caroline Islands is dated back to the late I 520's. Spain, however, only began to claim for international recogni­tion its rights and privileges to the islands in the 1870s when Gennany expressed an interest in occupying the islands. Spain's thinning power

18

and its concers with other colonies prevented it from exerting much considered only a minor Spanish posses­sion. In 1885, the conflict of interest between Spain and German over the Micronesian islands were to some extend resolved after the Pope decided that the islands were owned by Spain but allowed Germans to kept the trading rights within the region. In 1898, the United State won the Spanish-American War over the Spanish, and in 1899 Germany bought the Caroline Islands from Spain.

IV. The German Era

During the German Era in Kosrae, the copra industry was at its peak. The Germans supported the expansion of coconut plantations throughout the island. Thus, more coconuts were planted during the German era than in any other colonial time. Trading was the main activity during this time. Other than trading, Kosrae experienced very little effect by the Germans. However, the Germans were quite respectful to the work of the missionaries and they allowed it to continue without interfering.

19

V. Japanese Empire and its Influence on Kosre

Japan took over from the Getman in 1914. On October 20, 1914, a Japanese warship arrived in Kosrae and raised its flag . The Germans on Kosrae at this time surrendered quietly. Kosrae was then ruled by the Japanese Empire for the next thirty one years. A few American businessmen and missionaries continued to stay and work in Kosrae during this era. The Japanese government invited Japanese Christian missionaries to come to Kosrae and help the American missionaries at the Mission School.

The Japanese government imposed some very strict rules on the Kosraeans and others on the island. Some of these rules include: a) no one was allowed to posses any guns for any reasons, alcohol and drugs were controlled, and foreigners could enter Kosrae only if they had a passport. Stricter laws were imposed in the la~er years of the Japanese occupation. Penalties and punishment were not easy. Taxes were introduced during this timetoo such as the head tax where all males over 16 years old had to pay a maximum of 10 yen. A port tax and custom tax were also imposed on certain imports.

20

At this time, the Japanese government also started an

agriculture program where sugar was exported to Saipan,

copra was still purchased and traded, and small vegetable

gardens were encouraged.

The first proper hospital was built along a public school

in Lelu. Japanese government was the first colonial

government to build such infrastructures to address the

needs of the island-the needs for education and health care. Small Japanese stores were established in Kosrae to

accommodate the growing number of Japanese on the island(Segal, 1995).

In the early 1930s, the Japanese government began their

survey of the island, taking away all lands that were not

used by local land owners and made them government

lands. A few years later, Kosrae and the rest of

Micronesian islands were declared integral part of Japan and a closed rrulitary area" Segal, 1995). During this time,

aii American missionaries and businessmen were forced out of the island with the exception of two, who were

imprisoned. The declaration was not in line with the

mandate issued by the League of Nation.

21

Japan began to fortify the islands during the late 1930s to the early 1940s. This period was when things began to change between the Kosraeans and the Japanese as military became priority for Japan on the islands. Kosraean men were sent off to other islands to work on roads while Polmpeians and Okinawans were brought to Kosrae to butld roads, airstrip, radio station) observation tower and etc. Men were separated from their wives and families for a long tJme as they work on these off-island projects with mmimaJ wages. In Kosrae, Kosraeans also worked long 11ours and received very little in return. Fishennen and tanners were required to provide a lot of food to the .Japanese soldiers on the island.

As WWII got closer, people in Kosrae were forced to leave their homes. Malem people moved to Tafunsak as Malem became a huge army camp.

The war broke out in 1942 and ended in 1945. These were the hardest years for Kosraeans and other Micronesian alike lt was the first time for them to experience war. Some families had to go through the war without seeing members

22

of their families who were sent to work in Pohnpei.

VI. United States of America in Kosrae

After WWII, the United States of America took over the Micronesian islands from the Japanese. This last colonial regime had the greatest impacts on Micronesian societies. Social change became obvious as the US colonial govern­ment increas-ed its budget on the islands and implemented several new US federal programs in Micronesia.

Kosrae, at this time, was still a municipality of Ponape District uner the Trust Territory Government and it went through similar social and economical changes that the rest of the islands in Micronesia wee experiencing at the time. American-style schools were built on the islands where western concepts and the English language were taught. Students from Kosrae and the rest of Micronesia started attending high schools and colleges in the U.S. under the U.S. federal education grants. Along with the western eductional system came other American cultural influences such as movies, televisions, comic books,

23

and thousands of Peace Corps Volunteers. In addition, more Americans moved and settled in Micronesia to work under the Trust Territory Government and for the U.S. Military.

As the changes in the educational system and the culture were taking place, basic economic changes were also happening. Jobs were created in the government offices, schools, and also in the fields for laborers. This was the beginning of the cash economy in Kosrae and elsewhere in Micronesia. Kosraeans began to depend on their wages to pay for imported foods and products. Gradually, people began to relinquish their daily family gardening, farming, and fishing while shifting more toward the cash economy.

The period starting from 1970 to 2004 is cramped with different social changes ranging from changes at the grassroots level up to the government level. In the communities, extended family system and kinship became less important. Once extended families have begun to form and live as nuclear families. The traditional authority in the community was no longer recognized and it was replaced by elected Chief Magistrates and/or Mayors, Governors and senators.

24

25

...