Chapter Two
of recreation. Men somerimessailed simplv for sport. and fishin
expeditions were seldom devoted entirely to work. Men took
pleasure in their fishing ventures. often stopping at small islands
to refresh themselves with coconut and to explore for driftwood
and other objects cast up bvthe sea.
Men devoted a considerable amount of time and energy to
constructing and maintaining their canoes. Thev fashioned hulls
trom hand-shaped planks which were lashed together with sennit.
Maintenance was a never-ending task as canoes ‘frequently required
cauiking. renewal of sennit lashings, and replacement of broken or
deteriorated planks. Men took great pride in chew canoes: a craft
rnar was swift and easulv maneuverable was especially prized (Kiste
1G72.8N-32°.
All economic activity was suspended on Sundays. The most
routinized aspects of Bikimian lite were the consequencesof mission etfort. By 1946. the islanders’ version of the fundamentalistic Protestantism derived from New Engiand had become firmly
established as an integral part oftheir culture. ‘Spoehr's description of the mixture of traditional and Christian beliefs and the
organization of the church at Majuro ts fairly representative of the
entire Marsnalls {1949:221-31]. The pastor of the church was a
Bikini man who had been trained bv the missionaries. The community celebrated all Protestant holidavs. The Sabbath was observed with both morning and afternoonservices and a strict prohibition on work and most recreation. Two afternoon services
marked the weekly calendar. and eiders of the church met on
the first of each month to conduct church business and to plan
services for the coming month.
Initial Relocation
The deronation of atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 had ended the war in the Pacific and ushered the
world into the Atomic Age. The nature and effects of the de-
structive force that had outmoded earlier concepts of warfare
were, however. little known or understood. and the future role
of nuclear weapons in the arsenal of the United Srares was un-
determined. In the weeks sollowing the war. American military
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