Conclusion

Abstract

Originally, my dissertation project was intended to involve anthropological-gerontological research on the Outer Islands of Yap, perhaps also including the situation on Yap Proper. During my fieldwork, this topic faded, as I thought, into the background because, in the course of my stationary investigation on Lamotrek, processes of establishing identity, relationships between the generations and research on life histories were more interesting both for me and for the people on the island. An intercultural comparison with Yap had to be excluded because of the high linguistic demands which it would have entailed. However, a comparison of the ageing of the rei metau (people of the sea, umbrella term for the Outer Islanders of Yap and the people from the Caroline Islands) on Lamotrek and on Yap was very useful for orientation.