Woman weaving roofing material from palm leaves, as it has been done for centuries. Traditionally, the Refalawasch were a communal society - sharing food and community responsibilities . Today, they struggle to maintain the ancient customs as their traditional culture erodes in the wake of foreign immigration and influence.
"I lived on Pagan, a stunning volcanic island covered with lush jungles
and ringed with white and black sand beaches. There were only 50 people
on the island. Everyone cooperated and shared the fruits of the land and
the sea. We had no electricity. We grew our food and gathered fish from
the rich body of water surrounding our land. We depended on the goods from
supply ships. We also relied on the ancient voices of the spirits to tell
us when typhoons would arrive."
-Cinta M. Kaipat
"Back then when I was a kid, we used to live down in Susupe. We'd
run out to the beaches. There were no hotels. I recall just looking over
the lagoon and I could see the bottom, the sand, because the beach was
clean. But right now, with these hotels built along the beachside, we can
never look back."
-Gus Kaipat
Young man in traditional dress. Western clothes are worn by most Refalawasch today, with the traditional attire reserved for ceremonies.
"A lot of us are leasing our properties for a long period of time
to outsiders. And although you still maintain that you own the property,
you have no control of that property for a good 55 years. Can you imagine,
your child is ten years old. You add that to the 55-year lease, your child
is going to be walking around with a cane. I have seen a lot of families
for example that went into a long-term lease, and within five years period
of time, all the money that they made is gone. They've become worse. Before,
they have a piece of property, although they don't have any money, they
have land. So now they don't have land and they don't have money. They
have nothing at all--zero!"
-Cris Kaipat
"We hardly saw cash. Everything was sort of on barter level. The
ship comes in, and they need copra, that is dried coconut they need to
make oil for shampoo, for soap, and things like that. And then in exchange,
we get the rice, we get the soy sauce, or whatever the necessities. There
was no cash involved and, somewhere down the line, I think in the mid-60s,
that whole thing changed, and they started buying the coconut from us,
and they give us the cash. That's when I start to see the people's thinking
change."
-Frank Rogopes
Elder giving traditional blessing to child.
"Two canoes came from Satawal; it was first ever in my life to see
canoes that actually belonged to the Carolinians. I thought it's a ghost,
you know, something from the past. It's so really out of place. Both ends
are the same, the front could later become the back of the canoe or the
back of the canoe could later become the front of the canoe. It's so distinctive,
it's so nice, so beautiful. And my heart was singing."
-Lino Olopai
"If a woman is pregnant, she must avoid going to the ocean at sunset
because the driftwood that comes in from the horizon always brings evil
spirits. They say she must not travel at night because she may encounter
evil spirits and jungle spirits on the road, and they can make her sick
and harm the unborn baby."
-Matilde Kaipat:
We also listen to the spirits when we bury our dead. It's our custom
to sweep the fresh sand on the grave for 10 days before sunrise and sunset.
If we are lucky, we will see our beloved's footprints. I had a baby cousin
who died. When her family went to the grave, they discovered adult footprints
and baby handprints. The spirit of an adult relative had come and taken
her to the spirit world. The baby handprints were my cousin's final farewell.
-Cinta M. Kaipat