Notes on Clan Histories and Migration in Micronesia

Rauchholz, Manuel (2011). "Notes on Clan Histories and Migration in Micronesia". 2 (1).

• Has attachment: File:AWWBI6XP.pdf

Abstract: Clan histories in Micronesia provide a rich source of indigenous information that helps us to explain and understand the movement and migration of islanders from the pre-historic to the present times. This information is usually kept, transmitted and when necessary disseminated by specialists and title-holders of clans as a means of explaining present day political and landholding constellations. It is therefore of great importance to Micronesians and also provides insight into the settlement and “unsettlement” patterns of the Micronesian islands and shows how these islands were connected (or disconnected). Methodologically, the ethnographic data collected and presented will complement linguistic and archaeological findings in an attempt to expand the picture we have of settlement patterns in Micronesia. The focus here will be more on the Chuukic speaking people, their clan names and histories, which “constitute the largest region of cognate matrilineal or patrilineal clan names in Oceania” (Marck 2009: 1). The paper will also show - even beyond language boundaries - how some clans in Micronesia are connected through a common history and ancestry.

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MAG: 2184482376
OpenAlex: W2184482376