Marshallese culture
Encyclopedia
Under Marshallese culture land is a focal point for social organization in this island nation.
All Marshallese have land rights as part of a clan, or jowi, that owes allegiance to an Iroij (chief), is supervised by the Alap (clan head), and supported by the Rijerbal (workers). The Iroij have ultimate control of such things as land tenure, resource use and distribution, and dispute settlement. The Alap supervises the maintenance of lands and daily activities. The Rijerbal are responsible for all daily work on the land including cleaning, farming, and construction activities. The society is matrilineal and, therefore, land is passed down from generation to generation through the mother. With the land to tie families together into clans, family gatherings tend to become big events. One of the most significant family events is the kemem, or first birthday of a child, where relatives and friends come together to celebrate with feasting and song.
Although English
is an official language and is spoken widely, though not fluently, Marshallese
is used by the government.
Although now in decline, the Marshallese were once able navigators, using the stars
and stick and shell charts
. They are also experienced in canoe
building and still hold annual competitions involving the unique oceanic sailing canoe
, the proa
.
Unique to the Marshall Isles is the Proa (from Perahu - boat). It was made entirely of teak panels tied together with palm rope and chinked with same. The sail was also woven from palm fronds. This outrigger was a very large inter-island freighter. (pictoral available from Bishop Museum Archives, Honolulu - Herman Stoipe)
The Marshall Islands have no known copyright
legislation, which is unusual compared to most other countries.
All Marshallese have land rights as part of a clan, or jowi, that owes allegiance to an Iroij (chief), is supervised by the Alap (clan head), and supported by the Rijerbal (workers). The Iroij have ultimate control of such things as land tenure, resource use and distribution, and dispute settlement. The Alap supervises the maintenance of lands and daily activities. The Rijerbal are responsible for all daily work on the land including cleaning, farming, and construction activities. The society is matrilineal and, therefore, land is passed down from generation to generation through the mother. With the land to tie families together into clans, family gatherings tend to become big events. One of the most significant family events is the kemem, or first birthday of a child, where relatives and friends come together to celebrate with feasting and song.
Although English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
is an official language and is spoken widely, though not fluently, Marshallese
Marshallese language
The Marshallese language is a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Marshall Islands, and the principal language of the country...
is used by the government.
Although now in decline, the Marshallese were once able navigators, using the stars
Celestial navigation
Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is a position fixing technique that has evolved over several thousand years to help sailors cross oceans without having to rely on estimated calculations, or dead reckoning, to know their position...
and stick and shell charts
Marshall Islands stick chart
Stick charts were made and used by the Marshallese to navigate the Pacific Ocean by canoe off the coast of the Marshall Islands. The charts represented major ocean swell patterns and the ways the islands disrupted those patterns, typically determined by sensing disruptions in ocean swells by...
. They are also experienced in canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
building and still hold annual competitions involving the unique oceanic sailing canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
, the proa
Proa
A proa, also seen as prau, perahu, and prahu, is a type of multihull sailing vessel.While the word perahu and proa are generic terms meaning boat their native language, proa in Western languages has come to describe a vessel consisting of two unequal length parallel hulls...
.
Unique to the Marshall Isles is the Proa (from Perahu - boat). It was made entirely of teak panels tied together with palm rope and chinked with same. The sail was also woven from palm fronds. This outrigger was a very large inter-island freighter. (pictoral available from Bishop Museum Archives, Honolulu - Herman Stoipe)
The Marshall Islands have no known copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
legislation, which is unusual compared to most other countries.
See also
- Religion in the Marshall IslandsReligion in the Marshall IslandsMajor religious groups in the Republic of the Marshall Islands include the United Church of Christ , with 51.5 percent of the population; the Assemblies of God, 24.2 percent; and the Roman Catholic Church, 8.4 percent...
- Land ownership in the Marshall Islands
- Music of the Marshall IslandsMusic of the Marshall IslandsThe music of the Marshall Islands has a long history. The Marshall Islands are an independent island chain, geographically and culturally part of the Micronesian area...