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This study addresses the neglected history of the people of the Federated States of Micronesia's (FSM) engagement with the outside world. Situated in the northwest Pacific, FSM’s strategic location has led to four colonial rulers. Histories of FSM to date have been largely written by sympatheti...

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Language:English
Published: ANU Press 2021
id oapen-20.500.12657-51549
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spelling oapen-20.500.12657-515492021-11-20T02:50:51Z The Federated States of Micronesia's Engagement with the Outside World Puas, Gonzaga Pacific Micronesia Melanesia FSM Indigenous bic Book Industry Communication::H Humanities::HB History::HBJ Regional & national history::HBJM Australasian & Pacific history bic Book Industry Communication::J Society & social sciences::JF Society & culture: general::JFC Cultural studies bic Book Industry Communication::J Society & social sciences::JF Society & culture: general::JFS Social groups::JFSL Ethnic studies This study addresses the neglected history of the people of the Federated States of Micronesia's (FSM) engagement with the outside world. Situated in the northwest Pacific, FSM’s strategic location has led to four colonial rulers. Histories of FSM to date have been largely written by sympathetic outsiders. Indigenous perspectives of FSM history have been largely absent from the main corpus of historical literature. A new generation of Micronesian scholars are starting to write their own history from Micronesian perspectives and using Micronesian forms of history. This book argues that Micronesians have been dealing successfully with the outside world throughout the colonial era in ways colonial authorities were often unaware of. This argument is sustained by examination of oral histories, secondary sources, interviews, field research and the personal experience of a person raised in the Mortlock Islands of Chuuk State. It reconstructs how Micronesian internal processes for social stability and mutual support endured, rather than succumbing to the different waves of colonisation. This study argues that colonisation did not destroy Micronesian cultures and identities, but that Micronesians recontextualised the changing conditions to suit their own circumstances. Their success rested on the indigenous doctrines of adaptation, assimilation and accommodation deeply rooted in the kinship doctrine of eaea fengen (sharing) and alilis fengen (assisting each other). These values pervade the Constitution of the FSM, which formally defines the modern identity of its indigenous peoples, reasserting and perpetuating Micronesian values and future continuity. 2021-11-19T16:19:39Z 2021-11-19T16:19:39Z 2021 book ONIX_20211119_9781760464653_2 9781760464653 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/51549 eng Pacific Series application/pdf Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International book.pdf ANU Press ANU Press 10.22459/FSMEOW.2021 10.22459/FSMEOW.2021 ddc8cc3f-dd57-40ef-b8d5-06f839686b71 9781760464653 ANU Press 312 Canberra open access
institution OAPEN
collection DSpace
language English
description This study addresses the neglected history of the people of the Federated States of Micronesia's (FSM) engagement with the outside world. Situated in the northwest Pacific, FSM’s strategic location has led to four colonial rulers. Histories of FSM to date have been largely written by sympathetic outsiders. Indigenous perspectives of FSM history have been largely absent from the main corpus of historical literature. A new generation of Micronesian scholars are starting to write their own history from Micronesian perspectives and using Micronesian forms of history. This book argues that Micronesians have been dealing successfully with the outside world throughout the colonial era in ways colonial authorities were often unaware of. This argument is sustained by examination of oral histories, secondary sources, interviews, field research and the personal experience of a person raised in the Mortlock Islands of Chuuk State. It reconstructs how Micronesian internal processes for social stability and mutual support endured, rather than succumbing to the different waves of colonisation. This study argues that colonisation did not destroy Micronesian cultures and identities, but that Micronesians recontextualised the changing conditions to suit their own circumstances. Their success rested on the indigenous doctrines of adaptation, assimilation and accommodation deeply rooted in the kinship doctrine of eaea fengen (sharing) and alilis fengen (assisting each other). These values pervade the Constitution of the FSM, which formally defines the modern identity of its indigenous peoples, reasserting and perpetuating Micronesian values and future continuity.
title book.pdf
spellingShingle book.pdf
title_short book.pdf
title_full book.pdf
title_fullStr book.pdf
title_full_unstemmed book.pdf
title_sort book.pdf
publisher ANU Press
publishDate 2021
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