Chuuk State

Chuuk State is a group of island and atolls in the Central Caroline Islands.

Alternative spellings and historic names include: Truk

Chuuk State is one of four states that comprise the Federated States of Micronesia.

Subunits

Atolls and islands within the group include: Chuuk Lagoon, Outer Islands of Chuuk.

As with many place names in Micronesia, "Chuuk" is a geographic pars pro toto, in which the name of a constitutive village, island or atoll is often used describe the larger island, atoll or island grouping in which it is the predominate member.

Population, Language and Religion

The 2010 FSM Census reported a population of 48,654. Chuukese, Mortlockese, Namonuito, Pááfang, and Puluwatese are the spoken language and religious affiliation is primarily Roman Catholic, with a minority of Protestants.

Early Contact

The recorded history of Chuuk begins with its discovery by a Spaniard Alonso de Arellano in 1565. But this contact seems to have had no impact on either the Europeans or the Chuukese, and it was not until the early nineteenth century that ships of various nationalities began to enter Chuuk Lagoon on in any numbers. They were mostly explorers and did not markedly change the environment.

In the 1830s a Frenchman, Dumont d'Urville, explored the islands rather thoroughly but, following a misunderstanding, the natives were fired upon and d’Urville escaped with his two small ships. As a consequence, when an Englishman, Andrew Cheyne visited Chuuk six years later he was attacked by an overwhelming Chuukese force and was forced to retire. He made it widely known that the Chuukese were dangerous and treacherous. So, during the short-lived whaling boom, which was over in about 1860, there were far fewer contacts between whalers and Chuukese than elsewhere in the Carolines (See also A Brief History of Truk).

Governance

Spain laid claim to the Carolines from the time of initial discovery in the early 1500's but made no attempt to occupy or administer them. In 1885 a Governor for the Carolines was appointed by the Governor General of the Philippines and presence established in Pohnpei and Yap. In this Spanish Period (1521-1899), Chuuk State fell within the Western District of the Spanish East Indies.

After the Spanish-American War, Spain sold the Palau, Caroline, and Marianas Islands to Germany in 1899. In this German Period (1899-1914), the Caroline, Palau and Mariana Islands (excluding Guam), along with the Marshalls, annexed in 1885, were titled Imperial German Pacific Protectorates. The Carolines become an administrative district of German New Guinea under direction of a vice-governor and Chuuk Statefell within the Eastern Caroline District.

The Carolines were seized from the Germans by the Japanese early in World War I. Despite protests from the United States, including the Yap Crisis, the Islands were in 1920 mandated to Japan by the League of Nations. In this Japanese Period (1914-1941), Chuuk State fell within the Truk District of the “Nan'yō Cho” or South Seas Government.

Following liberation of the islands in the War in the Pacific, the islands were administered by the US Navy. The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was formalized by United Nations Security Council Resolution 21 in 1947. The Navy passed governing duties to the Department of the Interior in 1951. During the USN Period (1945-1947) and the TTPI Period (1947-1979) Chuuk State fell within the Central Carolines Administrative Unit and then the Truk District.

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) was established with the end of the Trust Territory. The FSM is one of three “Freely Associated States,” or “FAS” nations that entered into a Compact of Free Association or “COFA” with the US. The treaty and agreements provide economic assistance to the countries, secured US defense rights and set defense responsibilities, and allow FAS citizens to migrate to the United States.

Traditional Culture

Pre-Contact

As George P. Murdock and Ward H. Goodenough explained in Social Organization of Truk (1947), "[traditional] political structure in Micronesia is in general characterized by a striking degree of complexity. Truk (now 'Chuuk') and the surrounding coral atolls constitute the outstanding exception. Above the localized lineage with its chief there was aboriginally only a single level of political integration, the district. The district consisted, and still consists, of an area over which one lineage has gained ascendency. A small island usually forms a single district, whereas a large one will into three or four."

Traditionally in Chuuk Lagoon natives were divided into a large number of clans, each of which owned plots of land on a number of different islands, where the clansmen lived in scattered settlements. Each of these settlements of clan members had as its political head a chief who was usually the oldest living member of the sub-clan. In theory, the chief of the oldest settlement of clan members was the head of the entire clan, and the chiefs of all the other settlements of that clan were subordinate to him, but in fact the clan chief’s authority seldom extended beyond the limits of the settlement in which he resided, within each settlement the chief exercised general supervision over the land of the sub-clan and initiated enterprises such as work in the fields, fishing, and the waging of war. He also had some limited Judicial authority. In general, however, his power was not great. Village and clan members were required to pay him tribute in the form of food several times ay ear, On his death a chief was succeeded by his eldest surviving brother or. failing brothers, by his eldest sister’s eldest son.

Pre-contact social order was characterized by: a social hierarchy with stronger chiefs where violence used to seize and maintain power (Goldman Level 2 of 3); chronic interpersonal violence (between individuals who frequently, but not always, are known to one another); violence was a major part of the culture (4 on Younger's 0-4 scale); chronic warfare, defined as armed aggression between political communities or alliances of political communities, essentially continuously (4 on Younger's 0-4 scale).

Property rights were characterized by: a land tenure system based on matrilineal ownership and extended matrilineal usage. Children of male members use or inherit partially their father’s lineage land (Sudo, Type 1). The landowning unit is rigidly arranged by descent principle and the residential unit is a large matri-extended family based on matri- local residence. Married-out male lineage members have obligations to pass on some lands or use-right to their children. This custom of land-gifts functions to keep a balance between group population and food resources.; a system of sea tenure in which the entire reef-lagoon system is owned by lineages or clans (Sudo Type 3).

Evolution

Since early in the German administration, there were continuous attempts to introduce a more centralized authority in the Chuuk (then called Truk) district. The six primary islands of Chuuk Lagoon were made into six local administrative districts, each in charge of a district chief. The chiefs of lower rank were given positions of lesser importance, e.g. as village headmen under the Japanese. Although the district chief was given authority over all the headmen in his district, his power was in reality nominal, and the settlements remained nearly as independent under the Japanese system of administration as they were under aboriginal conditions.

Present Day

Today, traditional chiefly authority is exercised by the Island or sub-island level chiefs (Clan).

In Chuuk, traditional leaders play a negligible, informal role in public sector governance. As John Haglelgam, former President of the FSM observed in his "Traditional Leaders and Governance in Micronesia" (1998), ”in Chuuk, the traditional chiefs have little influence on the governance and politics of the state. Traditionally, the basic political power in Chuuk was, and still is, the head of the lineage.....A candidate who garners enough support from the lineage heads usually wins. This reduces the influence of the traditional chiefs on voting in Chuuk. It has also polarized and fragmented politics in Chuuk and prevented the emergence of consensus among state leaders. These problems make governance difficult and utterly chaotic.”

Electoral Divisions

The legislative branch of the Federated States of Micronesia is unicameral. Two types of Senators are elected: at-large senators, one for each of the four states, who serve four-year terms, and population-based senators, representing specific constituencies, who serve two-year terms. The President of Micronesia is elected by the Congress from amongst the four at-large senators, after which a special election is held to (re)fill that seat. Chuuk State is represented in the FSM Congress by the Chuuk At-Large Seat Senator, and the Senators from each of the five population-based Chuuk Electoral Districts.

Education

The Local Education Agency, or “school district” for Chuuk State is the Chuuk State Department of Education.