The 133 islands of the Arno atoll have a total area of 5 square miles and encompass three lagoons totalling 130 square miles. On the atoll, virtually every plant has a use in medicine, home-construction, canoe-building, weaving, dyeing or as food. An atoll alternative to pesticides is initiated by the milling of wood while it is green. The lumber is then soaked for several weeks weighted down with stones in the lagoon. Only then is the lumber used to build termite proof houses. Termites, it seems, shun salt.
Click and scroll down about a quarter of the page and you will be able to see what Arno atoll looks like from the air.
The atoll supports 1,700 people. Life is much as it was a century ago. This atoll would all but be forgotten, even by its Marshallese neighbors, if it weren't for a phenomenon known as the Arno girls. For whatever reason, Arno Atoll is spoken of fondly by folks from one end of the Marshalls to another. The proximity of the atoll to Majuro, the capital of The Marshall Islands, provides the people of Arno atoll with the opportunity to live simply as in the past but with the bright lights only an hour's boat ride away. However, there are signs that Arno is entering a new era but first a link to the old.
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/pacific/people/outriggers.htm">Outriggers
Arno is famous for its 'love' school. Ask and its existence will be denied. Although Arno is isolated due to its geography, it is visited by outsiders from time to time. The locals have grown weary of questions about their supposed love school. Think all you want. Just don't ask.
The school instructors are or were older women, who give or gave their students forthright instruction in the marital arts, not to be confused with the martial arts. Men are or were excluded from the school. Be that as it may, Arno girls do have a reputation for being excellent wives.
It is certain that such a cultural tradition did once exist if it doesn't now. Erotica was not unknown among the Polynesians on an island group known as the Three Sirens. The Trobriand Islands were once known as the Love Islands. Erotic cultural patterns were present among all three primary groups in Oceania: Micronesians, Melanesians and Polynesians.
In recent years, the residents of Arno have been applying technology in order to reap the best that the reefs and the land have to offer. Since 1994, Robert Reimer Enterprises, a Majuro-based, well-established conglomerate, has been cultivating black pearls on Arno. Click on the second link and you will find black pearls transformed into stunning necklaces.
Go To Page: 1 2
