THE CULTURE OF
YAP, MICRONESIA
ABOUT YAP
 Yap is one of the four states of the
Federated States of Micronesia.
 It is made up of four separate islands:
Yap Proper, Gagil-Tamil, Maap, and
Rumung. The four islands are
encircled by a coral reef.
 It is located in the Pacific Ocean on
the other side of the world from here.
 They speak Yapese on the island.
PHRASES IN YAP CULTURE
THAT WOULD MAKE US GO,
“HUH?”
“Bay e llowan’ u waay.”
There is wisdom in the basket.
“Bay e llowan’ u waay.”
There is wisdom in the basket.
“Ba chugur langam nga telim.”
Your mouth is close to your ear.
“A woman’s home is in her feet.”
 Land on the island is passed down through
men.
 A woman does not own land of her own.
 A woman’s home is wherever a man’s land is.
WEDDINGS
IN YAP
There’s no ceremony or celebration, but there
is a custom way to get married.
MARRAIGE IN YAP
YOUR FAMILY
is not supposed to meet your
significant other unless you
are getting married.
IN A HETERO RELATIONSHIP
the man’s father is supposed
to meet the woman’s family
first and ask for her hand in
marriage.
MARRIAGE IN YAP
THE SOCIAL CLASSES
IN YAP AFFECTS WHO YOU
CAN MARRY
THE SOCIAL
CLASSES IN YAP
 There’s the high class, also
called pilung. Those are the
chiefs.
 They own a lot of land and
have a lot of connections.
 The low class does not own
any land. Milingaay refers to
someone who does not have
a home.
THE SOCIAL CLASSES IN YAP
 Marriage between the classes is not fully accepted, but it does happen.
 If a woman from a low class marries a man from a high class, they do
something called arow.
 Arow means that the woman moves from low to high class.
 However, the woman now must treat her family as how the high class treats
the low class.
THE SOCIAL CLASSES IN YAP
 If a woman in high class marries a man in the low class, she is in the low
class now, and is disowned by her family.
 If you are a man born in the low class, you stay in the low class forever.
 Traditionally, the high class and low class are not supposed to mingle, not
even as students in school together.
 But recently, it has gotten better. High class and low class can be friends with
each other, but they are still strict on marriage.
DATING
IN YAP
DATING IN YAP
 In Yap, they let happenstance determine
who your partner will be.
 However, it is more encouraged to be with
someone from the same class as you than
from a different class.
DATING IN YAP
 In the past, dating had to be private. You
could only hang out in public if you were
getting married.
 But today, you can date in public.
HOME CULTURE
IN YAP
HOW ARE BABIES ARE BATHED
Babies are bathed
in wash basins.
Her mom would
boil the water
and put a little cold
water in to make sure
the water won’t burn
the baby.
There are no water heaters on the island.
She would bathe
them
With a wash rag and
soap while the baby
sat in the basin.
HOW ARE BABIES ARE BATHED
Babies are bathed
everyday.
They would be
wiped down
with a wet towel in
the morning and in
the afternoon if they
get too sweaty.
The full bathing
routine
would happen in the
evening.
WHEN YOU ARE SICK…ACHOO!
 When they were sick, they would take leaves from certain plants
and put them in an ice cream bucket along with boiling hot water.
 Then, you would sit under a blanket with the bucket and let the
steam blow on your body.
 The steam from the leaves is the medicine.
 When you sweat from the steam, you are sweating out the
sickness.
EATING AS A FAMILY
 Women prepare the food. Girls are encouraged to help with little things as
long as it doesn’t endanger them.
 Men are fed first, then children, then the women.
 Anyone can eat at any time they want. They do not have to eat together.
 However, the men in the house have to eat first, unless they aren’t hungry
 When the men aren’t hungry, you would still set aside a portion of the food for
them before anyone else.
CELEBRATIONS
IN YAP
YAP DAY!
Yap Day is a big celebration to honor
everything about the island.
Everyone wears traditional attire.
There is local food, dances, games,
and songs.
It is two days on March 1 and 2,
though sometimes it can go for 3
days.
HOMECOMING
FESTIVAL!
The Homecoming Festival appreciates the
land.
It is usually held in the summer.
Everyone brings their best local food or
produce they grew on their lands.
A marketplace takes place with booths
offering food and handicrafts for sale.
There are traditional dances, songs, and
games.
CANOE FESTIVAL!
 The Canoe Festival is held in December.
 It focuses on the water with many water
activities such as canoe racing, kayak racing,
traveling, fishing, and more.
 If you built a new canoe, the canoe festival
would be the time for it to have its first sail.
NAVIGATION
 Navigating is a very important part of Yapese culture.
 Pius Mau Piailug earned the title of master navigator
(palu) by the age of eighteen, around the time the first
American missionaries arrived in Yap.
 Mau became concerned that the practice of navigation
would disappear as his people started to assimilate
Western values.
NAVIGATION
 Mau shared his knowledge with the Polynesian
Voyaging Society (PVS).
 Mau helped teach Polynesians and Hawaiians
how to navigate and recreate lost Hawaiian
navigating techniques.
KEEPING THEIR CULTURE ALIVE
IS ESSENTIAL IN YAP
Yap is the Pacific island that has held on to its culture the
longest.
Germany, Spain, and Japan all colonized Yap and failed to
get rid of their culture.
HEGEMONY
TRADITIONAL DANCES IN YAP
TRADITIONAL DANCES IN YAP
TRADITIONAL DANCES IN YAP
TRADITIONAL DANCES IN YAP
WHITEWASHED?
HER FAMILY IS NOT
SHE DID THE DANCES
as deeply rooted in
their culture as
socially acceptable.
until she was 13.
BECAUSE OF THAT
her family is
considered to be
“whitewashed.”
THANK
YOU!
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