The Adventures of Yapman: Canoe Festival

Yap takes great pride in preserving its traditional heritage and culture while adapting alongside the modern age. Very few places in the world have been able to maintain this fragile balance between tradition and modernization. The people of Yap still follow and respect many of the customs of their ancestors and despite bringing in modern technology and improvements, they have still managed to ensure that their beautiful culture remains pure. One important aspect of this preservation is the annual Yap Canoe Festival.

The festival lasts three days and is focused around the traditional navigational skills of the Yapese people. There are canoe carving demonstrations, paddling races between villages, swimming races for the children, sailing canoe rides and demos, lots and lots of local all food, music, and more. Canoe Festival is one of the largest events and celebrations of the year – and while in comparison to the United States it may resemble a church fair or bizarre – it was an absolutely wonderful weekend full of fun, feasting, and friends.

One highlight of my weekend was being able to experience my first traditional dances. The two that I witnessed were done by all men and I had no idea what to anticipate. My friend, Martin, led the first dancers in holding up a piece of shell money, which in accordance with tradition, must be presented to the village that is hosting the dance. Once the shell money has been exchanged, the men form a straight line all wearing their traditional attire – which consists of nu-nus (leis made of flowers and leaves that can be worn on the head as a crown or around the neck), thus (the loin-cloth type garment), hibiscus (wrapped around the waste and thighs), and a covering of some type of yellow oil that I cannot remember the exact name. The men also ranged in age from probably 5-70. The older, more experienced men stood in the middle of the line, and the youngest stood on the outside.

Then the dance would begin. Clapping, chanting, yelling, thigh slapping, very controlled movements of the hands and arms, and then slowly adding in leg movements. The dances tell a story – they have been passed down for generations to preserve the stories of their ancestors. You could see in the men’s eyes how proud they were to be performing this beautiful dance – how passionate they were about this great honor. The dance sped up faster and faster as it proceeded until there was a whirl of pelvic thrusts and slapping (in most dances there is always some sexual aspect to the story apparently – or so it would seem). And then with one final yell and bicep double slap, the dance was complete. Everyone went wild for these dancers – it was one of the most AWESOME (no other word could possibly describe it) experiences I have had on Yap.

The second dance I was able to see ended up being perfectly timed with a typical Yap downpour, so after chilling in the traditional Community House for almost an hour, we all ran through the rain to the big pavilion type Community Center to watch the men’s dance. Martin was performing in this one as well as a few other guys I know, including one who I play volleyball with. It was mesmerizing. So controlled – so in sync – so passionate – so rhythmic. Simply amazing.

Today – we decided to take a day off from the festival and went for some unbelievable dives. I will keep it short and simple (I will post more dive stories soon) – I was a foot away from GIANT manta rays… I saw a bizarre lion fish… a small black fish decided to go wild protecting its reef and was biting at my hair… I looked down into the endless depths of the ocean in crystal clear blue water … I swam with many, many reef sharks today – like with them with them.

Yap still continues to surprise me and amaze me each and every day.

A new day – a new adventure.