Talking
with Chief Pakalmar on Ifaluk
Chief Pakalmar was knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects, including
the potential threat of global warming on Ifaluk's ecosystem, as well as
being quite a witty character, no doubt a result of his contact with every
anthropologist who had visited the island since the 1940s.
In the course of our talks he coined the saying, "Why? ... Because the
weather is changed!" Which soon became a rationalization for
everything from changing social behaviors on Ifaluk to salt water intrusion
in the taro patches.
Micronesian
Tour 1999 | Return to Home Page