CAROLINIAN ORAL HISTORY CD10

The speaker throughout this tape is Ikirhep, a relatively young man from Satawal who passed away in 1987 when he was in his mid-40’s. He was a navigator, having taken command of his first voyage in 1969. The tape contains 11 songs or chants. Blank underlining represents words or phrases which were unintelligible to the transcribers due to the quality of the recording. All explanations by the speaker are shown in parentheses ().

The tape begins with a continuation of the story by the same speaker from Tape 9 side B. The first song is a chant of the type “poanoon waa” which is used when launching or retrieving canoes on the beach. It is usually chanted to a cadence, and is the type of chant also used when large groups of men are engaged in dragging a log from the woods to be used as a canoe house beam or in dragging or carrying heavy objects where a concerted effort by all is required. This particular chant is about the exploits of a navigator named Wonap.

The second song is introduced by the speaker as being about a navigator or navigators.It is sung in an archaic language (possibly the chiefly language, “Itang”) and is not understood by the transcribers.

The third song is of a type referred to as “Ammagiuf” and is introduced as being from the Carolinians on Saipan. It relates the exploits of a navigator who is not named in the song.

The fourth song is about a navigator and his exploits. The fifth and sixth are about the navigator Sittouwa from Satawal, and tell of his final voyage when he and his canoe was lost along with the entire crew.

Songs #7 and #8 are chants like #1 and tell of the exploits of two different navigators who are not named in the chants. The ninth song is about teaching young men navigation.

The tenth song is about Carolinian navigators and their exploits in the Caroline and
Marianas islands.

The final song (“urr” or “wurr”) on the tape is about an un-named navigator who also
knows how to divine the meaning of thunder when heard at sea or on land on special occasions. The song continues onto Tape 11, Side A.

Angelina Nesepailug McCoy
Mike A. McCoy
September 1988