26
RADIOULUUIOAL ULBANUP UP ENE WEEAR AEUOLL
had been obliterated.3! The map of one ofthe islands of Enewetak Atoll
DIET
(Medren) showing wato division lines appears on Figure 1-28.
One facet of Enewetak Atoll culture that differed from that of other
Marshall Islands was the system of land tenure andinheritance. In the rest
of the Marshalls, matrilineal is the rule. The land tenure system at
Enewetak was, in ideal and in practice, a bilateral one. In most cases, a
married couple divided the land which each had inherited among their
children, and a child usually received some land from both his father and
mother. As the younger islanders matured, they worked the land with
their parents. As the parental generation died and as membersof the next
generation married and produced children, the process was repeated with
parents allocating land amongtheir offspring.32 Every individual possessed
rights to some land onislands away from thesettlements of Enewetak and
Enjebi. All land in the atoll was held by someone, with the exception of
one parcel on Enewetak Island which was donated for the location of a
church.
The people resided on their landholdings on Enjebi and Enewetak
Islands. In most cases, households were headed by males and were
situated upon land held by them. Ideally, residence was patrilocal, i-e.,
upon marriage, females moved to their husband’s households, although
exceptionsto the rule did occur.33
af
Description and History: 1526-1972
The diet of the dri-Enewetak was primarily vegetarian, based on
coconuts, pandanus, and arrowroot. Breadfruit, taro, and bananas were
rare, but the people learned to cultivate some of these plants on Ujelang
and will probably bring them back and attempt to continue their use. There
may be associated problems caused by the more northern location of
FEnewetak and the absence of a swamp or bog for growingtaro.
The vegetable diet is supplemented by seafood, pork, and chicken, the
last two locally raised. Almost all forms of sea life are favored including
fish, clams, and turtles, as well as sea birds and their eggs. However,
canned fish has largely replaced the fresh fish formerly taken from lagoon
and ocean, and foods previously unknown, such as rice, have become
staples. This will certainly affect the menu after their return to the atoll.34
POPULATION
The growth trend of the Enewetak people from 1920 to 1972 is shown in
Figure 1-29. The reduction in population from 1930 to 1935 can be
explained partially by the fact that membersof the communityleft the atoll
500 [ a
LUNO
a
_ ah
TORKE! ~
_
a.
To,
300}- }-—
LIKEYA 1
~~
OCEAN
LIKEYA 2
-AGOON
2nof—f
---— -
LIKEYA 3
.
TALES
|
100 ~ P-—-——~
hisarkr
19209!
ALMIRA
LOKQJENE
a
500
Scale in Feet
a
FIGURE 1-28. MEDREN ISLAND SHOWING NAMES AND BOUNDARIES
OF WATOS.
ges!)
paa0"!)
gas!!!
iga0
1947!2)
1952'3} 195545)
1960
1965
SOURCE:
(1) Japanese Consul-General, Honolulu (1966}.
2) US NAVY [at the time of relocation to Ujelang}
an
(4) TTP) Official Census fan Ujelang only).
{5) J.A Tobin (Tota! -Ujelang & etsewhere)
{6) J A Tobin fon Ujelang only)
Data from J. A Tobin— 1973.
FIGURE 1-29. POPULATION TRENDS OF THE PEOPLE OF ENEWETAK,
1920-1972.
;
1971
1972