Rebbilib Navigation Chart, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Before 1892)

The people of Oceana are divided into what regions?

Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia

What does Oceanic art encode?

Social relations, religious and ceremonial functions, and imbues objects of daily use with utility and beauty

Why is art in the West not an effective way to think about items in the Pacific Oceanic world?

Art is the modern West is something set aside for aesthetic contemplation

What does Pacific art suggest?

Effective action was and is more important than visual communication

Who says that Effective action was and is more important than visual communication?

Nicholas Thomas

Where was the Rebbelib Navigation Chard made?

Mashall Islands

When was the Rebbelib Navigation Chart made?

19th century

What does the Rebbelib Navigation Chart encode?

A mental map of the region, allowing a navigator to take effective action to steer his canoe to a safe port

What is true about the navigational message of the Rebbelib Navigation Chart?

Its navigational message cannot be effectively communicated to anyone outside of the family of navigators it was made by

In its inefficiency to transmit its navigational message, what does the Rebbelib Navigation Chard demonstrate?

Its culturally and personally specific wayfinding apart from Western notions of navigation or geography

Where are the Marshall island located?

Micronesia

When was Micronesia settled?

Starting around 1300 BCE

Where did migrants come from?

Mainland Southeast Asia

Migrants coming from mainland Southeast Asia were to what direction?

West

Polynesia was to what direction?

East

What is the most dominant force in Marshallese life?

The ocean

What is an important aspect of survival for the Marshallese?

Fishing

Prehistoric settlers from Southeast Asia brought what to Micronesia?

Domesticated plant and animal species

What plant and animal species did Southeast Asian migrants bring to the Marshall Islands?

Breadfruit, coconuts, and poultry

Since when has Oceanic cultures been impacted by global histories of colonial expansion?

18th century

Early histories of contact with the Marshallese population is marked by what?

Conflict

Why were the Marshallese transported to Hawaii?

To use as enforced labor

In 1885 what Empire did the Marshall Island belong to?

The German Empire

After 1914 what sphere of influence were the Marshall Islands under?

Japanese sphere of influence

After WW2 where did political control over the Marshall Islands transfer to?

The United States

What was the aftermath of WW2 a period marked by?

Military occupation and nuclear testing

When did the Marshall Island gain idependance?

1979

How many people make up the Republic of the Marshall Islands?

A little more than 42,000 people

The early history of contact in the Pacific world included what?

Collecting by European travelers, traders, and ethnographers

European travelers traders and ethnographers collected goods from who?

Papuan, Plynesian, and Maori communities

Art from the Pacific world was targeted towards Western consumers as early as when?

The 1770’s

When compared to Polynesia and Melanesia what are the natural resources like in Micronesia?

Not as rich

The artistic production in Micronesia was limited to what?

Utilitarian objects

What was a result of the utilitarian limitation of Micronesian art?

Micronesian art was not collected as vigorously and is not represented well in Western collections

What category of objects in unique to the Marshall Islands?

Stick charts used for navigation

How much land is Micronesia made up of?

1,050 square miles of land

How many miles of ocean is micronesia made up of?

2.9 million square miles of ocean

What percent of the territory of the Marshall islands is water?

98%

What do the Marshallese people rely on?

Well-developed systems of oceanic navigation

How many major islands make up The Marhsall Islands?

5

How many atolls make up the Marshall Islands?

29

How many outrigger canoes were part of a fleet?

29-30 outrigger canoes

What did the large fleets of outrigger canoes rely on?

Expertise of master navigators

What would the master navigators sail?

A pilot vessel

What is a pilot vessel?

A canoe that led the way for the rest of the flotilla

What two major clusters made up the Marshall Islands?

The Western Ratlik, and Eastern Ratak

What makes the East ratak and West Ratlik hard to spot?

They are low lying landforms

What do master navigators rely on?

Form and rhythm of ocean swells, behavior of land based fishing birds, movement of colors and clouds over land, currents and their patterns

What did being a successful navigator require?

Strong leadership, quick decision making, and excellent memory

How were stick charts made?

From cowrie shells, dried midribs of coconut fronds, bound together by natural fibers

What do Mattang charts not map?

Specific islands

What are Mattang charts used to teach navigators?

How swell patterns radiate out from islands

What are the swell patterns radiating out from islands known as?

Dunung

What are the most basic charts?

Mattang charts

What do young navigators start with learning?

How to feel vibrations of duning through the hull and use them to guide a boat to an unseen island

What do Meddo charts represent?

Small, particular clusters of islands and their duning patterns

What are Meddo charts used for?

Local navigations

What is another name for rebbelib charts?

Rebelith charts

What do rebbelib charts represent?

Large areas

What do rebbelib charts often encompass?

The entire Marshall archipelago

What are Rebbelib charts used to understand?

How swells intersect and winds and currents guide travellers across long distances

In a rebbelib chart what does the background grid create?

A stable framework

In a rebbelib chart what do the bent sticks represent?

Dunung and wind or water currents

What do small shells denote?

Specific islands

True or False, the spacing and relative positions of the islands relate to their actual location in the archipelago

False, the relative position & spacing does not always relate to actual location

Instead of actual location, what are rebbelibs?

Schematic representations of mariners knowledge

Why did Micronesian navigatiors create charts?

To support activities of fishing and traveling between islands for trade, provisioning, or making political or familial connections

Did navigators take the charts in canoes with them?

No, they served as memory aids navigators would consult on land

How did markers reinforce knowledge?

By feeling the charts curves and reciting information about what they represented while prepping for a voyage

Bringing a chart into a conoe for use at sea was considered to be what?

Bad luck

Why was bringing a chart into a canoe at sea bad luck?

It called into question the extent of the navigators knowledge and abilities

Why are no two stick charts alike?

They represent the interpretation of a specific navigator filtered through years of individual experience

Who collected the Rebbelib shown in the reproductions booklet?

British naval captain Edward Henry Meggs Davis

What ship did Meggs Davis visit the Marshall islands on board?

The HMS Royalist

How many objects did Davis collect across Oceania?

Over 700

Between what years did Davis collect objects across Oceania?

1890-1893

How many of Davis collected objects are in the British Museum?

141

What is the drawback to the objects collected by Davis?

There is little documentation abotu how they were collected and who their original makers were

The Marhsallese stick charts are a category of objects that provides what?

A tangible representation of how Marshall Islanders conceptualize their world