The Yapese are proud of their navigational skills and preservation of traditional canoes which their ancestors used to first travel to Yap and other islands within Micronesia. Canoes were used to expand the Yapese empire as well as to facilitate the ideals of reciprocity called “sawei” in these islands. Today, modern cargo ships and airplanes are two more commonly used modes of transportation for people, goods, and services. According to the Yap Visitors Bureau, the most common type of canoe is called the Popow. It is characterized by its two-pronged bow. The Popow canoes are most often used for transporting people and goods to distant locations such as Palau.
When we read His Majesty O’Keefe for class some of the different ceremonies were explained. In His Majesty O’Keefe we read about the magician Fatumak who was consulted about proceeding with actions because the Yapese people have many rituals and beliefs surrounding fate and magic. These ceremonies used to be much more popular and common before the modern age when not as many people are involved with the traditions. The same materials which were used historically such as coconuts and breadfruit are still very popular, however. Breadfruit trees and mahogany trees were used to construct canoes because they grew to such large sizes. The Pacific Ocean which surrounds Yap is notorious for being rough, so the Yapese people would dig the trees used for building canoes up from the soil rather than cutting them down in a way which many Americans would probably do. They did this in order to prevent the wood from cracking, thereby enhancing its stability for such long ocean voyages. Traditionally, women were in charge of weaving pandanus sails for the canoes.
When I read more about canoe construction the importance of the coconut plant was explained in detail. I feel as if the Yapese people are unbelievably resourceful with how they use the coconut. Coconut husks and fibers were used in order to make very strong rope. We actually saw some of it in class one day which was really cool.
Furthermore, the breadfruit tree was used in order to have its sap be used for waterproofing the canoe’s hull. Finished canoes were decorated with traditional designs and colors and then released into the ocean with grand ceremonies in Yap’s past. The stars served as the map for the Yapese navigators who did not even have a compass or proper map. These navigators were also experts at recognizing the changing patterns of tides in the middle of the ocean when they could not even see land! The Yap Visitors Bureau compared the current efforts of preserving the traditional canoes and navigational skills. Their website explained that the Outer Islanders actually do a better job of teaching the younger generations about the traditions from the past. This is probably because the Outer Islanders do not always have the financial resources which are necessary to have the most modern boats for transportation, so they preserve the traditional methods because they are much more practical.
Source: Yap’s Visitors Bureau
Queens University of Charlotte - Yap 2013 