book chapter

Changing social organization on Romónum, Truk, 1947-1965

Social organization and the applications of anthropology : essays in honor of Lauriston SharpIthaca, N.y.Published In 1974 • Pages: 62-93

By: Goodenough, Ward Hunt.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this study, Goodenough examines changes in the Chuuk system of property, settlement pattern and kinship terminology, on the island of Romonum. Property was held by lineage groups and managed by a lineage elder (SOWUPPWUN) who allocated plots to junior kin, under condition that the land be cultivated, and in exchange for 'first fruits' of the harvest. The relationship between senior and junior lineages--between land grantor and grantee--was reflected in the kinship terminology wherein all senior and junior lineage members referred to each other as 'father' and 'children,' respectively. Subsequent German, Japanese and American administrations recognized lineage corporate property as personal property of the SOWUPPWUN. Furthermore, the Americans recognized junior kin to have full title to what were residual land holdings. The result was the eventual weakening of the authoriy of the senior lineage and the increased importance and autonomy of sublinegaes with shallower generational depth. The gift of first fruit has become mere courtesy and in most places abandoned. Households have become more dispersed and are no longer clustered by lineage.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Settlement patterns
Real property
Household
Kinship terminology
Lineages
Districts
External relations
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Chuuk
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
1999
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Oceania
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Micronesia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
book chapter
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Ian Skoggard ; 1997
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1947, 1964
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1900-1965
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Romonum Island, Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia
NotesAdditional notes
Ward H. Goodenough
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
74004721
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Trukese (Micronesian people)