PRESERVATION OF CAROLINIAN SEAFARING ORAL CULTURAL HERITAGE AND TRADITIONS: FOCUSING ON TRADITIONAL CANOE CULTURE
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Date
2003
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MA in Historic Preservation
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To obtain a complete copy of this thesis please contact Goucher College Special Collections & Archives at archives@goucher.edu or (410) 337-6075.
Abstract
This thesis examines the relationship between historic preservation and the
retention of traditional Carolinian oral cultural histories and traditions in Micronesia.
Emphasis will be placed on understanding the role of historic preservation in
preserving traditional oral culture in the area of traditional Carolinian sailing canoe
culture. The effects of western cultural domination on the various aspects of
traditional Carolinian canoe culture are examined in detail.
The drastic changes within Carolinian canoe culture during the last twenty-five
years have resulted in a massive loss of irreplaceable traditional knowledge. Indeed
within the last two years, in the time it took to undertake this research and write this
work, three prominent elder navigators for the islands of Polowat and Satawal have
passed away. The limited number of young Carolinian men willing to apprentice to
these skilled master navigators in the face of growing western cultural dominance has
resulted in a tragic loss of knowledge, the exact extent of which may never be known.
The elder navigators represent the sole repository of knowledge and skills necessary
to navigate the open ocean to remote island destinations. This knowledge and ability
embody the essence of manhood in traditional Carolinian culture, and no modem
counterpart has been introduced into the Carolinian community to replace it.
Adolescent Carolinian men are at a critical juncture and face an imminent and urgent
identity crisis that needs to be addressed now. Without an immediate and timely
readdress of this situation, traditional Carolinian navigation may pass from a
practicing art form into the realm of legend and the young men of that community
will have to deal with the quandary of steering an uncharted course into a very
uncertain future.
The focus of this thesis is on Carolinian oral traditions and the limited, but
important built environment. The ability to produce traditional sailing canoes (was)
and canoe houses (utts), depends entirely upon the retention of this body of oral
histories. The material structures so commonly the focus of historic preservation are
of secondary importance in this thesis. The knowledge allowing these societies to
produce these structures, and navigate thousand miles of open ocean to very small
islands is of primary importance. The role of historic preservation in preserving this
knowledge and the ability of the Carolinian people to continue to practice traditional
sailing canoe culture in the future is the focus of this thesis