Material Culture

For her presentation on material culture, Rose Ann presented a ngarangar. Once filled with sakau, the ngarangar is known as a kohwa. The one Rose Ann brought in was unusual in that the surface had been carved into a relief pattern, and the shape was also unusual.


At sakau a single ngarangar is passed around, the family is united around the cup. A ngarangar is only used for sakau and can last for decades. The cup is often passed down, thus there is a symbolic uniting of the family across generations as a son shares a cup with his family, a cup that may have been used by his father and his grandfather before him.



Reliann brandishes the mensukusuk she made for pounding cooked bananas.



This highly unusual coconut basket weaves the frond tips back to the outside where they were braided to form an external band around the palm bowl.



The result was a seamless palm frond bowl.





Jacky, from Mortlocks, presented a saipe, a Mortlockese church fan.



Ezerin brought in three Yapese baskets, called way (pronounced like the word "why"). Above he shows a run'iin on the right. The run'iin is designed to lay down, the palm fronds are dried either by sun or fire. The basket is designed to be unable to stand up, this allows one to sit down and the basket will flop over next to you so only you can see the contents. In this sort of basket one can hide one's betel nut supply, lime, and Piper betel leaves.



This run'iin is designed to stand up when set down and is appropriate for teenage boys and girls in Yap. They are not able to hide their nuts in this basket, and others can easily reach in to get a nut.



The third basket, a soway, is appropriate for older men, for elders. The color differs and the basket does not stand up. One can keep one's chew inside along with secreted talismans and charms.



Nathaniel brought in this unusual basket which he termed a "pwaht". Although he thought it was common enough, no other student recognized this particular style of basket.



A kopwou en Pohnpei - a basket that connoted "free to take away"


Emylou sports a wood asi that secures her hair.


Jaynice brought in an unusual double-outrigger bird canoe. She explained that in ancient times such canoes were actually built for inter-island transport.


Nadya shows off a portion of Mortlockese thatch.


Risenta shows off a fenagi, a Chuukese love stick.


Delphina shared Kosraean kaki - coconut oil - with the class.

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