Political a hk The Situation Decisions on the local level are made by the council of Pamily heads and other males. The council Magistrate Juds, who is also tne senior male group according to the traditional the local chiefs (iroij), is headed by system, or Bikini. ofr the Bikini He is the heir of The Bikini people were also traditionally subjects of a paramount chief (iroij lablab), wnose ancestor had paramount chiefs only visited Subjects. tion was conquered Bikini over a of Bikini had century ago. never lived on the atoll but it from time to time to collect tribute A percentage of the people, from the paramount cash proceeds from copra produc- in effect, chief declared their independence shortly after their move from Bikini. They rejected him completely and declared that Government was titie holder, their paramount chief, for the past twenty years. that and whom they complained had help them, but only exploited them. found from their collected during the Japanese period. The Bikini I The not the U.S. the absentee never done anything to This hae been the theme On my last trip to the Marshalls this attitude has not changed. They want nothing to do with Iroij Lejol8H Kabua who holds the paramount chief's rights custom. to Bikini according to the traditional Marshallese The attitude of rejection and their leader and more refusal spokeaman has hardened, than twenty years of independence. Le jol 84 continues to maintain his yma 5.009087 to accept him as if anything, As I arter understand claim to nis hereditary it, rights