Remochulok—On the Brink of Extinction

I believe the gradual degradation of our culture, tradition, and core values will eventually cause the collapse of the closed-knitted relationships and bonds that distinguish us as a unique people—Remochulok.

What we are witnessing in our society today, many of which are negative in nature and most are not conducive to our principles and lifestyles, are the by-products of this form of government called democracy; chosen for us by our “Founding Fathers” in the Congress of Micronesia and later ratified by our parents and by some of us that were of age during that time in the plebiscite that advocated our rights for self-determination and the notion that we would be free of the bondage of colonialism.

Defined and existed as a government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives, democracy in itself, while seemingly proven ideal for the United States and other democratic nations, stands in direct opposition or contrast to our Mochulokese customs and traditions. Ironically, our national, states, and municipal constitutions, in writing, declare that tradition can and will be recognized as one of the deciding entity in the interpretation of the laws and ordinances of the lands. The clash of these two forms of governance, I believe, created many social and cultural fall-outs that left many of the government and traditional leaders paralyzed and incapable to find a common ground on which to enforce the laws of the lands as they’d used to do in the past.

For instance, one of the unique identifiers of the Mochulokese custom is the “anomw, anei, anei anom” concept. Interpreted loosely, it means, your food is my food and mine is yours. Sounds familiar? In the past, in our custom, there is no such thing as “mine” as everything is owned by the collective group –the lineage, the clan, the village, or the island. When the men went on a fishing quest, the catch was always to be partake by the whole community and the traditional protocol dictates that it should go to the elder of the clan or the traditional chief to distribute it evenly among every member of the group. Even if one family did not have any of its member go on the fishing trip, they still get their fare share like everybody else. Socialism? You bet! Did it work then? Of course. Can it run parallel to these democratic and capitalistic principles and still benefits the people? Maybe not. We really must adopt one and let go of the other in order to survive as the proud and the resilient Remochulok.