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Yapese Culture

Traditional Men's Meeting House

Bamboo Stick Dance

Yapese Stone Money

Yap is a very intriguing island! The culture is strong and fascinating. It is one of the most distinctive cultures in the Pacific region. The people of Yap keep this culture alive through the many legends that are told and the traditions that are practiced daily. Yapese skills such as fishing, weaving, dancing, building, and much more, are taught to the younger generations by the elders. Much of Yapese culture is passed down orally, within the family and community.
Once you journey to Yap, you will be greeted with local values such as handmade men's houses, ancient stone money banks, stone paths, cultural village tours, dancing, handicraft making, marine life and mangrove forests.
While you visit, you should try chewing betel nut. Most everybody who lives on Yap chews betel nut. Betel nut (buw) is an important part of Yapese culture. Most boys and girls start climbing betel nut trees at an early age in order to collect the betel nut and leaves for their parents' daily chew. Men and women carry betel nut, pepper leaves, and lime powder (the ingredients for a chew) in their baskets. It is custom to start any meeting or conversation by first having a chew.

Stone Money, huge discs carved from stone, is Yap's traditional currency. Years ago, Yapese men used to sail to Palau in hand carved canoes. They built limestone quarries and carved the huge discs (which can stand up to 8 feet tall) and would load them on their canoes and sail back to Yap. The worth of each piece lies in the danger of the journey back to Yap. Today the US dollar is Yap's currency but stone money is still used in important cultural situations, for example land purchase or exchange. These anicient discs can be seen all over the island, either lying alone or in huge Stone Money Banks with several pieces lined up together.

Dance

Fishing, sailing and weaving are important parts of everyday life in Yap. However, dance is the most advanced art form. It is a tradition that is taken very seriously. Men and women start to learn Yapese dancing at an early age. Through the entertainment of their dances, Yapese legends are told and history is recorded. Many of the dances have been passed down for so many generations that the exact wording is not entirely understood. The dances are colorful, graceful, and well orchestrated. Imagine a line of 30 women or men, ages 3-60, moving with synchronized precision as they chant and act out stories of their history. There are three main styles of dance: Bamboo Stick Dance, Sitting Dance and Standing Dance. If you come for Yap Day, the first week of March, you can watch these dances continuously for 2 days!

Cultural Awareness

  • Almost anywhere you go on Yap is private property. Yapese people are shy, yet they are happy to share their culture with you. What they expect is that you show respect by asking permission. Ask permission before walking anywhere without a guide or before taking pictures of anyone or anything. Once you ask, they usually graciously open their world to you. This respect is not just expected of tourists, it is a part of their culture and something they expect from their neighbors as well.
  • Yapese women are expected to cover their thighs down to their knees. Shorts and skirts these lengths are acceptable. Although very recently you can see young women around Colonia wearing shorter shorts, short shorts are seen as disrespectful when worn by women, esp. in the villages.

Climbing a Betelnut Tree

 

  • It is disrespectful to climb on or behind stone money.
  • Meeting houses are for men and women and children. Men's houses are only for men and women's houses are only for women. The different houses look similar so it is always good to ask if you are approaching a men or women's house.
  • It is polite to bow your head when walking in between a group of people who are talking, whether they are sitting or standing.
  • The stone paths used to be the only roads through Yap. Women used to clean the paths regularly. Today many paths are overgrown and unused. However, the paths that are still kept up today are beautiful and very worth seeing!