In the oral history of Truk and Pohnpei, an island called Kachaw or Achaw is described as the place from which clan ancestors are said to have come, some as high-ranking immigrants (Goodenough 1986:552-553; Mauricio 1987:63; Sudo 1985:838-844). The Trukese and other central Carolinians identify Kachaw with Kosrae Island, situated between Pohnpei and the Marshall Islands. Some chiefly clans validate their superiority by emphasizing their derivation from ancestral immigrants from Kachaw.
On the other hand, in the oral history of the islands closer to Yap in the central Carolines, Yap is considered to be the ancestral homeland. Thus, the mythical “great ghost” of Ulithi Atoll is said to have come from Yap (Lessa 1976:64-65, 1980:48-53). According to the traditions of Ifalik Atoll, the first settlers are said to have comprised a colony from Yap (Burrows and Spiro 1957:7; Alkire 1984:3-4). A narrative collected by Burrows illustrates this connection (Burrows and Spiro 1957:7):
Long, long ago, a chief of Garpar (Gatshapar) village, in the Gagil district, Yap, ordered some of his people to go out and colonize the outer islands to the east. He himself remained in Yap.
In charge of the expedition was a man named Tatar who was accompanied by his sister, Iau. They went first to Mogmog on Ulithi, then to Wetegau (Utagal?) in Woleai, then to Ifalik and the other islands — Faraulep, Elato, Lamotrek, Satawal, and so on to Puluwat and Truk and “all Caroline place.” The chain of command, ever since, is from Yap to Mogmog, from Mogmog to Wetegau, Wetegau to Ifaluk, from Ifaluk to the other islands.
On Ifalik, Tatar left one man and one woman from each of the eight clans. The two from each clan were brother and sister. Their names were
From Kovalu clan: Maraige and his sister Lemaregara.
From Sauvelarik clan: Alovar and his sister Eilapikel.
From Mangaulevar clan: Trigabwa and his sister Ungusaren …
The descendants of these women, who married the men from other clans, make up the membership of the clans today.
This tradition attributes the first settlement of Ifalik to immigration from Yap and explains the origin of the political order that exists between Yap and the other islands. It indicates also the present-day relationship among the eight clans of Satawal.
In another Ifalik oral history from Burrows (1963:72-77), Ifalik warriors attacked and killed the original inhabitants of the neighbouring islands of Woleai and Lamotrek. They then repopulated the islands and men from Ifalik became the chiefs in Woleai and Lamotrek. The tale of the “Ifalik conquerors” is popular in the oral history of the central Carolines. I collected the same kind of tale on Satawal. The original story of the Mongonufarh clan mentioned above is connected with this tale. These oral histories all assert that the first of the new settlers carried the title of chieftainship to each island and that the ancestors of the chiefly clans migrated from the west, ultimately coming from Yap.