Satawal is a raised coral island with an area of one square kilometre. It lies 1,000 km east of Yap and 500 km west of Truk (Map 1). The principal kin group and unit of landholding on the island is the matrilineal clan (yáyinang) or lineage (yeew raa, lit., “one branch of the tree”). The members of a yáyinang do not necessarily live only on Satawal; they may also live on other islands. Of those who live on other islands, some are able to trace their genealogical connections to known ancestors, while others simply identify themselves with the name of a particular clan. Clan members are obliged to assist one another and are prohibited from marrying. Residence is matri-uxorilocal and the residential group consists of a matri-extended family. Family members live in adjacent houses built on lineage land and form a corporate, co-residential group called a pwukos or homestead. In 1980 there were 15 homesteads on Satawal Island, the largest of which contained 12 households with a total of 71 members (Sudo 1984, 1989).

Satawalese society is comprised of eight matri-clans, each of which is ranked. Clan genealogies can in some instances be traced back eight generations. All clans are conceptually ranked in terms of their arrival on the island. Their rank order is as follows: Neyáár, Yáánatiw, Noosomwar, Sawsát, Kataman, Piik, Sawen, and Maasané. The three highest-ranking clans are known as the “first settlers” and are referred to as “chief clans”. The others, except Sawsát, are considered to be later immigrants and are referred to as “commoner clans”. Although the Sawsát clan is classified as a commoner clan, its ancestors are said to have come first to the island, before the arrival of the ancestors of the other clans.

The genealogically senior and oldest male of the senior lineage in each clan serves as the clan head. The heads of the three chiefly clans are called “the chiefs of the island” and have authority to initiate and organize island and inter-island activities. The three chiefs and the head of the Sawsát clan make up the chiefs’ council. The council discusses important affairs of the island, such as communal fishing, ocean-going expeditions by canoe, sanctions imposed on individuals, and various matters transmitted from the state government. After decisions are reached by consensus, the council calls an island-wide meeting at which these decisions are announced. This meeting is open to all the adult men of the island. At it, members of the chiefly clans and the heads of the commoner clans have the right to speak, while ordinary members of commoner clans are barred from speaking unless asked to by the others.

The three chiefs are also responsible for controlling food resources. For example, in times of scarcity, they may place a taboo on the use of taro patches and coconut palms that are owned by individual lineages, or taboo the use of particular areas of sea. They also have superior authority in maintaining social order and act as mediators or judges, settling conflicts between clans, such as disputes over land boundaries or adultery compensation. Chiefs are therefore expected to be knowledgeable concerning custom, land tenure, genealogies, and command such esoteric knowledge as navigation techniques, divination, and weather forecasting.

The three chiefs are status-ranked; the highest is the chief of Neyáár, the second is the chief of Yáánatiw, and third is the chief of Noosomwar. The chief of the Neyáár clan is entitled to receive tribute of the first breadfruit and the first coconut palm toddy from every household on the island, according to the seasonal calendar. The chief selects his own food and immediately re-distributes the rest to all of the other homesteads. These prestations are considered a token payment of honour to the chief as head of the “first settlers’ clan” and as acting agent for controlling the fertility of crops. Before Christianity was adopted in 1953 the chief had power over crops. The chief of the Neyáár clan directed a diviner to foretell the success or failure of the new year’s crops and to perform rituals of fertility. Today this tribute is ceremonial rather than substantial. On the other hand, the head of the Sawsát clan has exclusive right to butcher all sea turtles and distribute their meat. As a ceremonial token, the head of the turtle is considered a gift to the Sawsát clan, as the “original immigrants” to the island (Sudo 1985).

The stratified status of chiefly and commoner clans is further supported by oral history and differences in landowning.