MARSHALL ISLANDS

READ

 

I couldn’t find a book written by an author who was born in the Marshall Islands, so I got the next best thing: a book of stories told by Marshallese storytellers to a non-Marshallese writer. Marshall Islands Legends and Stories was collected and adapted by Daniel A. Kelin II, and illustrated by Marshallese artist Nashton T. Nashon.

According to Kelin, “It is not customary for storytellers in the Marshall Islands to share legends with just anyone. By custom the iroji [chiefs] own the legends, and the ones who are chosen to remember them can share them only when the iroji says so.” Kelin traveled from island to island meeting the local storytellers, and he shares short profiles of each of them in the book. These pieces include information about the recent history of the Marshall Islands, especially during the World War II years, when Japan was in control of the islands.

Several themes recur often in the stories collected in this book. There are many cautionary tales about not following the rules or customs, frequently ending in the death of the rule breaker or someone close to them. For example, there’s a story about an iroji who married two demon sisters and wanted to take them back to his island. Their parents told him that if he took their daughters with him, he must keep them beside him at all times. One day, he forgot and went fishing by himself. A storm blew him away and he was never seen again.

The importance of sharing is another popular theme, along with the need to stay on the good side of the iroji by bringing him gifts. In one story, a woman is struggling to find food for herself and her son. A man appears to her in a dream and tells her what she needs to do to find enough food every day. She does as he suggests, and suddenly has more than enough food. She tells her son that they must follow the custom of ejtōbtōb. “If you eat good food and don’t share with the others of the island, then you’ll always stay hungry. But first, we give some to the iroji.” 

Demons play a key role in many of the stories. One legend that I found interesting was the belief that if “a man went away before his pregnant wife gave birth, she’d become a mejenkwaad [demon wife] ready to devour her husband when he returned.” There are also several stories about Letao, the trickster, many of which include this ending: “Letao is now in America. That’s why the people there are so smart.”

The book is illustrated throughout by Nashton T. Nashon, who “consulted elders and researched traditional Marshallese history and culture to create the drawings and tattoo design.”

I enjoyed learning a little about the Marshall Islands through these stories and drawings, especially since I’d known nothing about the islands previously. 

COOK

The Marshallese dish I prepared for this blog post was so good that my husband Phil and I ate the whole thing before I even finished reading the book. It was Marshall Islands Macadamia Nut Pie, from a recipe I found on the allrecipes website. I took a couple of shortcuts – buying a frozen pie crust shell instead of making my own, and using So Delicious CocoWhip instead of trying to create a vegan coconut-flavored whipped cream substitute myself. The only thing I did to veganize the recipe was to replace the eggs with JUST Egg. The pie was delicious – very similar to pecan pie. 

GIVE

The Marshall Islands are expected to be severely impacted by climate change. According to an article on The Conversation website: “By 2035, the U.S. Geological Survey projects that some of the Marshall Islands will be submerged. Others will no longer have drinking water because their aquifers will be contaminated with saltwater. As a result, Marshallese would be forced to migrate away from their homelands.”

There was only one project for the Marshall Islands on the GlobalGiving website, but I was happy to see that it related to climate change. According to the project description: “The project will help disseminate information about the climate crisis to disadvantaged communities, which often do not have a strong infrastructure for climate change education, promote dialogue between climate activists and indigenous frontline communities, and empower youth, especially from indigenous communities and other marginalized communities, to take action.”

More information about this project is available at: Activating Frontline Communities - GlobalGiving.

 

NEXT STOP: MAURITANIA