of Islands

Gilberts Revisited:

Changes in the Pattern of Islands

The author, Dr. D. W. Hoodless, b rmerlu principal of Suva Medical School,'and now living in retirement n Fiji, spent some months last year m relieving duty in the Gilbert Mands.

Sir Arthur Grimble’S Re

h cently published book, Pattern of Islands gives a delightful iicture of the glamour and romance f the Gilbert Islands as they existed ome thirty years ago, but the [econd World War and the Native Jo-operative Trade Scheme have aused a complete change.

For two:whole years, during 1942-3, apanese naval and military forces ccupied the Gilbert Islands with heir main units on Tarawa and hitaritari, while their planes and iestroyers paid frequent visits to he other fourteen islands in order 5 take as prisoners the European oast-watchers, and to ensure that he natives or missionaries wefe not i radio contact with the outside.

On Betio, the most westerly of the [lets of Tarawa, there still remain ae long lines of rusty wrecked

American landing craft and motor vehicles as sole material evidence of the Japanese invasion, but the effects of the war on the natives themselves have been far-reach ing.

The system of forced labour and rigid discipline of the Japanese forces during 1942-3, was suc ceeded during 1944-5 by the free and easy manner and ready money of the American Marines and soldiers. The Jap an es e destroyed

The huge meeting house (or maneaba) on one of the islets of Tarawa.

much European property, and ruth lessly cut down groves of coconut palms to make air-strips, or used the coconut tree trunks as gun em placements. The Americans, re gardless of cost, carefully chartered each of the principal lagoons, put down many pilotage beacons, and improved existing roads, and paid all labourers with good USA dollars.

With the return to peaceful con ditions and British Administration early in 1946, the Gilbertese might have found themselves hopelessly befogged and puzzled, but fortun ately the high price of copra has helped to offset the complications caused by the war, and outwardly the islanders appear now to have returned to their former easy life, although they are perhaps a little less courteous even to one another.

A three months’ voyage among the Gilbert Islands during April- May-June of 1953 allowed visits to many islands—in fact Beru was visited five times, Abaiang four times and each of the other islands at least twice. Long conversations \i T ith eight of the native medical practitioners and an equal number of the native hospital dressers Showed that the health of the natives and the sanitation of the tillages were being carefully con trolled again. ’ The Gilbertese are small, dark skinned and robust. They are ex

pert in their outrigger canoes and fishing expeditions. As children, they seem to spend half their life in the sea, and the sloping sandv beaches are their playgrounds for there are no village greens.

The surrounding seas abound i marine life of all description, whales, schools of porpoises, shark huge sting-rays, turtles, tuna, eb are frequently seen while sailii between the islands—and inside tl

[lagoon myriads of shoals of tiny :fish form scintillating pictures in the shallow waters at the anchor ages.

I Mosquitoes and flies are the chief bests on shore, but the natives do not seem to find them very irk some. The absence of pure fresh water in unlimited quantity, and the scarcity of any kind of fresh [green vegetables make the duties of a European housewife difficult.

Well-water is hard and brackish, but the natives seem to be able to use it freely and to thrive on their apparently limited diet, i Normally their teeth are excel lent. and although they often appear to be rough and unwashed, their general standard of health is high.

AS they lie between 3°N and 3°S, the Gilbert Islands are not visited by hurricanes, and the climate, although hot is not un healthy. Occasionally fairly strong easterly winds will blow for several days on end, and during the wet season, westerly winds are a danger to shipping for nearly all the normal anchorages are unsafe in a “west erly”.

The flimsily-built houses and the huge high-pitched roofed meeting houses are clear evidence that winds of hurricane strength are unknown.

In the Gilberts the words “winter” and “summer” have no meaning for June 21 is the first day of summer on Aranuka, just north of the equator and the same day is the first day of “winter” on Nonouti only forty miles away but south of the equator. It is therefore more reasonable to divide the year into the dry and wet seasons, but even these names are misleading for it may rain every day for a week or two in the so-called dry season, and vice-versa.

During long periods of drought in the central Gilberts, the coconuts become shrivelled and the output of copra is greatly diminished.

The specialised form of native co operative trade store in the Gilberts which has developed during the last two decades has ousted all European trade stores. There were not many of these European storekeepers but they were picturesque and then stores were the centre of daily gossip and entertainment, and the present native trade store makes a poor substitute.

The principal hardship in these islands is the lack of transport and communications. Now the island copra -shed often remains full to the roof with extra copra piled up out side it, waiting week after week for transport to Tarawa for shipment by one of the Bank steamers to England. Formerly a Burns Philp steamer or a Carpenter steamer paid regular and frequent visits to many of the island anchorages, and free trade was the order of the day.

At present the Gilbertese native copra growers receive less than half the price paid for copra in Fiji or

Samoa. The balance of the price paid by the UK Ministry of Food is credited to the Gilbert and Ellice Government and utilised in several extremely complicated processes for social and administrative services.

In Fiji, Samoa and Tonga the communal system among the natives has been highly developed and rank according to family descent is im portant. Chiefly rank in accordance with native tradition often takes precedence over any special rank due to Government appointment in the Civil Service, and on ceremonial occasions, e.g., wedding feasts, chiefly rank is rigidly observed.

By contrast, in the Gilberts there is straight-out democracy and all are of equal rank, with the excep tion of the very few remaining members of the families of the

former high chiefs in Butaritari and Abemama. Here in these atoll islets there is an ancient and efficient form of self-government under which the ordinary affairs of island are conducted by their Own native officials with little or no help from the occasional visit of a Euro pean Administrative or Medical Officer.

Nowadays the native magistrate, chief headman (kowbure), medical practitioner, postmaster, and native scribe give a full measure of self government in secular affairs, and alongside of these officials there are the native pastors and teachers appointed by one of the Missions.

Each village has a maneaba or meeting-house, a huge native build ing with a very high roof and open sides, used for council meetings,

gland dances and various kinds of atherings or festivities. Each family ias its own portion of the floor as preserved seat” in the maneaba, nit when European visitors are pre ent these ancient rights are readily uspended.

A casual observer would say that he usual dietary is extremely re tricted and consists of nothing but Ish. coconuts and “babai” —the Btter being a giant form of taro.

In addition, imported foodstuffs flour, biscuits, tinned meats, etc.) re available at the trade stores, and ewpaw, pandanus and bread-fruit rees grow everywhere. On most slands, bananas can be grown with ome success, so that if a Gilbertese lousewife goes to a little trouble, he can prepare a well-balanced iet for herself and family.

Perhaps the chief difficulty is in afant feeding, but this has been irgely overcome by the training of lative nurses by both Government nd the Missions, so that mothers an receive advice.

There are no cows or goats in he Gilberts but good supplies of inned milk in powder form have een made available for free distri ution if necessary.

Although the native house is cool nd breezy to live in it has two main rawbacks —it lacks privacy and it i useless for fresh water catchment, .ack of privacy is a personal matter nd if necessary can be overcome y partitions and screens, but lack

of ra i n-w at e r tanks is a great hardship, and the only means oi obtaining supplies

using Ve

ta n kj3 adjoining churches or the very few buildmgs with iron roofs, The Gilbert and Ellice Colony has three ports of entry: Tarawa in the Gilberts, Funafuti in the Ellice Group, and Ocean Island with its phosphate dig gings. nnbpaval The upheaval b y the

§r®S 0 55. nee

War MS o nee more brought into

A typical road, bordered by breadfruit trees, on Little Makln.

prominence the vexed question °t the selection of one or other island as the capital of the colony, and after seven years of indecision it has been finally agreed that the capital shall be again on Tarawa. On June 2, 1953, the new King George V school was officially opened on one of the southern islets of Tarawa; and it is officially stated that the new hospital build ings in ferro-concrete will be erected during 1953-4 close to the new school.

This has been received with deep satisfaction by the natives and Europeans alike, for it cannot be denied that there has been undue delay in re-organising both the medical and education departments of the Colony since the war.

The Gilbert and Ellice Colony, under the control of the Resident Commissioner assisted by European and Gilbertese officers, is without any executive council, legislative or even an advisory council, and the residents (native or European) are therefore without the usual means of ventilating hardship or grievanc e—whether real or imaginary.

Colonial Office regulations, if too ngidly applied, can cause absurd results—e.g., a native medical prac titioner who had received no salary for three months owing to lack of communications from Tarawa, and who was without any relations on that particular island, was compelled

to spend most of the day in his fishing canoe out in the lagoon in order to provide the necessary food for himself and family. The appointment of some form of ad visory council to assist the Resident Commissioner is long overdue.

These curious islands contain so much and yet they lack so much.

They are extremely interesting i yet having seen one you have s all. Returning to Fiji with its gL our hills, valleys and rivers and communications and contacts v the outside world, there are perh three things that stand out in memories of the Gilbert Islands magnificent sunset seen at Tara

the fleet of canoes catching flying- Bsh at sundown off the reef at Pamana, and a wonderful solo dance [>y a girl on Little Makin Island.

The sunset at Tarawa was a wonderful mosaic of gold and purple; >ne of those sunsets that can never je forgotten. The fleet of canoes it Tamana was truly picturesque— leavy storm clouds overhead and a slowly-fading sunset formed a (ombre background for a fleet of iwenty canoes each containing one >r two natives with huge palm-leaf ;orches emitting showers of sparks t nd masses of smoke. With a sudden novement the scoop net would flash md in a single sweep of the arm i flying-fish was transferred from he sea to the canoe.

Up and down along the six-mile oast the canoes were Sailing, keep ng quite close to the ocean side if the reef and this would continue is long as their palm-leaf flares asted. What a glorious way to get resh fish for to-morrow morning’s ireakfast!

My third cameo of native life in he Gilberts was the solo “dance” n Little Makin.

It was at an evening concert and here had already been a number f vigorous but noisy group dances, he maneaba was packed to capacity rhen there came a sudden lull, and veryone became quiet. A young roman in native dress stepped for ward and then stool still as a statue rith outstretched arms. Quietly be drumming started, and we were patching the famous bird dance.

With quick but only slight move lents of the head and wrists we aw an imitation of a sea-bird atiently standing in shallow water -and searching the water ahead.

Iveryone—native and European like —was spell-bound for there r as not a sound except the mon tonous low beating of the drum rhile that girl remained almost im lobile, with staring eyes fixed, as ; were, on some distant point of le horizon.