Evening star., 1950-10-09
Fear Of Being Left Alone
Dominates Truk Natives
U. S. Anthropoloeists
Find Clue in Customs
By Thomos R. Henry

"A strange fear of being alone domi-
mates the lives of the natives of Truk,
American-mandated Pacific island.
1ruk is now under Navy administra-
ton. In order better to understand the
people which it governs, the Navy has
sent groups Of anthropologists to study
their attitudes and ways of life. Among
those TO report their observations to the
Office of Naval Research is Ann Fischer
of Radcliffe College, who made an in
tensive study of family life.
Fear of being alone even for 6 mo-
ment. seems overwhelming, she found.
The people sleep, for example, eight or
ten to room. If one wakes up in the
middle Of the night, he Immediately
wakes somebody else to keep him COM
pany. This is considered perfectly nor
NAL and never is resented.
A native teacher in an American
schooi refused to go to his hut next
door during his lunch hour because
there was nobody to walk the few steps
with him. Sometimes a Truk native
dreams he Is alone and the experience
Is horrible nightmare. A job never
can be done by one man. Somebody
else always must be assigned to keep
him company
Can't Understand Americans.
When natives saw Americans working
alone they could not comprehend it, and
they always sent someone to keep them
company. This proved an intolerable
nuisance and at last the Truk islanders
have been induced to give up the prac-
tice. But they still can't understand.
At first when the assigned companion
was o, dered to go about his business,
the neighborS thought it was because
the American didn't like that particu-
lar Individual. They at once would send
someone else to take his place.
Companions stay as close together as
possible. Grown men often are seen
walking along road holding hands. This
is perfectly normal behavior, Miss Fischer
found. 1t is so that neither will be
alone" even by few inches, and thus
risk terrible dangers.
This fear of "aloneness," the anthro-
pologist found. probably has two roots.
One is the Scope" legendary spirit
who is supposed to devour children
caught away from their mothers. The
image of this ogre is so impressed on
the little ones that they never lose it
throughout their lives-even if they be-
come fairly well educated and realize
Intellectually that the scope is a myth.
Child Care a Factor.
Second root Of the fear is the extreme
maternal care. From the moment it is
born, child is carried in the arms of
its mother and never sets foot on the
ground until well after it is able to walk
If the mother cannot carry the child.
somebody else takes her place. No house
hold tasks are expected of her. It would
be against all Trukian mores for her
to leave the baby even for a moment.
Thus child never is conditioned to
being alone, as are children everywhere
else in the world.
Truk, the anthropologist reported, is
paradise for others-in-laws-for that
matter all "in-laws." Once a man mar
ries, If he lives in his wife's community,
everything he has belongs to these in
laws. The same holds true for the wife,
if she lives with her husbands people.
Violation of this custom would make
one essentially an outcast and expose
him to the terrible danger of alone
ness"
Reports now are being received from
all the inundated islands which the
Navy is trying to administer both in
the best interests Of the people and in
accord, so far as possible with native
customs. There has been a wide de-
parture from the colonial policies in
the past for this territory which, tenn
porarily at least, has come under the
American flag.