Ulithi - Settlements

The settlement pattern is that of small, highly nucleated Villages, although it has been speculated that formerly it was that of neighborhoods, each of which had a strip of land extending from the sea to the interior, with a house, cook hut, and canoe shed, surrounded by garden areas. Each village has its large men's council house, used not only as a meetingplace but also as a dormitory for unmarried men and a clubhouse for all males. At the time of maximum population in 1903 the average number of inhabitants per village was 88. All dwellings are on the lagoon side of an islet. Houses are built on platforms made of slabs of coral, and they are characterized by sharply pitched roofs made of plaited palm leaves and walls of paneled wood. Such traditional houses have now been replaced by boxlike wooden ones or concrete-block structures useful to withstand typhoons. In the interior of the isles of Mogmog and Falalop are artificially constructed gardens, used principally for growing taro. The vast lagoon serves not only as a fishing ground but also as a highway for the extremely fast lateen-sailed outrigger canoes used to transport people and goods.