Matriclans (sou / dipw)

All modern Pohnpeians belong to roughly twenty major totemic clans, the remnant of a much greater number now extinct. Membership is matrilineal--an individual belongs to the clan of his or her mother. A man is expected to choose a wife from outside of his own clan (exogamy). Today, some young Pohnpeians who wish to be married, ignore this rule, but the older generation looks down on it strongly. As the system works, a man’s wife and children are rarely his clan-mates. This fact ties in significantly with social obligations. The maternal uncle (uhlap), aunt and grandparents may play a greater role in some areas of child-raising than the biological father. All Pohnpeians must make special contributions first to their own clan-mates and then to those of their spouse. Since a woman’s brothers and sisters belong to her own clan, they have particular responsibilities toward her children---perhaps greater than a man has for his own children. If a man goes fishing and brings home several fish, he must first present the best fish to his mother (if she is living) and his sister and her children (all members of his clan). Whatever remains is for his wife and his own children.

Sample Pedigree

This figure shows a kinship system involving four different matriclans, each represented by a different color. Male individuals are represented by a triangle and females by a circle. An equal sign designates a marriage bond. Notice how the clan membership passes from the maternal grandmother (1), through her daughter (2), to her granddaughters (3-5), whereas each male’s clan terminates with himself (6-8).

Sub-clans / Lineages (keinek)

Each matriclan has a number of patriarchal keinek (kay·nek), which might be thought of as lineages.  Lasialap, for example, historically had among its many sub-clans the Lasiadohng (Eels of the Dohng Tree) and the Lasiakotop (Eels of the Kotop Palm). Similarly, Sounkiti (Kitti Clan) was a sub-clan of Dipwinmen.  Each lineage is headed by a male individual called the mesenihn keinek ('Firstborn'), who coordinates the land and resource use and administers the functioning parts of the prestige economy--pigs, sakau, and yams.  Each lineage is also united symbolically by a collective earth oven, or wonuhmw (wo·noohmm), and nahs (feast house).  As with the major clans, many more sub-clans existed in the past then do today. Furthermore, with the increasing frequency of marriages between Pohnpeians and foreigners, lineages are becoming more muddled and difficult to trace.

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DIPWINPANMEI (ti·pween·pan·may)
 Under-the-Breadfruit Clan
 Totem: stingray

• Members trace their lineage to Isokelekel, Pohnpei's liberator and first Nahnmwarki
• Supplies the Nahnmwarki of Madolenihmw (Isipau)

 DIPWINMEN (ti·pween·men)
 Creature Clan

• The first Pohnpeian clan
• Founded by Limwedu, the first woman to bear children on the island, transformed in old age into a small, flying creature
• Supplies the Nahnmwarki of Kitti (Soukise or Soukiseleng)

LASIALAP (la·see·a·lap)
 Great Eel Clan
 Totem: freshwater eel

• Clan’s totemic myth tells of an eel hatched from a pebble, which gave birth to a human daughter, the matriarch of the Lasialap clan.
• Members trace lineage to the first Nahnken, Nahlapanien, son of Isokelekel
• Supplies the Nahnmwarki of U (Sangoro)

SOUNKAWAD (sohn·ka·wat)
 The Masters of Kawad

• Supplies the Lepen Nett

DIPWILAP (ti·pwee·lap)
 The Great Clan

• Supplied the Lepen Palikir of Sokehs

• Text by Alex Zuccarelli 2003.
• Image/Photo Credits: Children photo courtesy of Anthony J. Zuccarelli ©1999.  All other images property of Alex Zuccarelli.

 Primary Sources

• Alkire, William H.
  1972. An Intro to the Peoples & Cultures of Micronesia. University of Victoria: British Columbia.
• Ashby, Gene
  1993. Pohnpei: Island Argosy. Rainy Day Press: Eugene.
• Ashby, Gene, editor and compiler
  1993. Some Things of Value: Micronesian Customs and Beliefs. Rainy Day Press: Eugene.
• Barnabas, Seberiano and Francis X. Hezel, SJ
  1993. The Changing Pohnpeian Family. A Paper Published by the Micronesian Seminar: Kolonia.
• Bernart, Luelen, John L. Fischer, Saul H. Riesenberg and Marjorie G. Whiting, translators and editors
  1977. The Book of Luelen. National University Press: Canberra.
• Colletta, Nat J.
  1980. American Schools for the Natives of Ponape. East-West Center: Honolulu.
• Hanlon, David
  1987. Upon a Stone Altar. University of Hawaii Press: Honolulu.
• Riesenberg, Saul
  1968. The Native Polity of Ponape. Smithsonian Institution Press.