Flag of Yap

Map of Yap State

Map of Yap Islands

Yap, also known as Wa'ab for locals^[1], is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, the least westernized state of the Federated States of Micronesia. An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant The Caroline Islands form a large Archipelago of widely scattered islands in the western Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Guinea. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions The Federated States of Micronesia is an Island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, north of Papua New Guinea. Yap's cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The "island" of Yap actually consists of four continental islands (hence the alternative name of the Yap Islands). The four are very close together and joined within a common coral reef and entirely formed from an uplift of the Eurasian plate. Coral reefs are Aragonite structures produced by living organisms found in marine waters with little to no nutrients in the water The land is mostly rolling hills densely covered with vegetation. Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region it refers to the Ground cover provided by plants Mangrove swamps line much of the shore. Mangroves (generally are Trees and Shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the Tropics and Subtropics. An outer barrier reef surrounds the islands, enclosing a lagoon between fringing reefs the barrier reef. A lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow salt or Brackish water separated from the deeper Sea by a shallow or exposed sandbank, coral

Colonia is the capital of the State of Yap. Colonia is the capital of the State of Yap, one of the Federated States of Micronesia. It administers both Yap proper and 14 atolls reaching to the east and south for some 800 km (500 mi), namely Eauripik, Elato, Fais, Faraulep, Gaferut, Ifalik, Lamotrek, Ngulu, Olimarao, Piagailoe (West Fayu), Pikelot, Sorol, Ulithi, and Woleai Atolls (municipalities in bold). An atoll (pronounced /ˈætʌl/ is an island of Coral that encircles a Lagoon partially or completely Ulithi is an Atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km (103 nautical mi east of Yap. Further outlying municipalities are Satawal, Elato, Faraulap.

2003 population was 6,300 in both Colonia and ten other municipalities. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The state has a total land area of 102 km² (38. 7 sq mi).

Yap is perhaps the most traditional of the Federated States of Micronesia's four states. ^[2]

Culture

Stone money

A large (approximately 8 feet in height) example of Yapese stone money (Rai) in the village of Gachpar

Yap is notable for its stone money, known as Rai (see photograph): large donut-shaped, carved disks of (usually) calcite, up to 4 m (12 ft) in diameter (most are much smaller). Rai stones are large circular stone disks carved out of Limestone in the island of Yap, Micronesia. A doughnut (also spelled "donut" is a sweet Deep-fried piece of Dough or batter. The smallest known one is only 3 inches in diameter. There are five major types of monies: Mmbul, Gaw, Fe' or Rai, Yar, and Reng, this last being only 0. 3 m (1 ft) in diameter. Many of them were brought from other islands, as far as New Guinea, but most came in ancient times from Palau. New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the world's second largest island, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known Palau, officially the Republic of Palau (Beluu er a Belau is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, some 500 miles (800  km) east Their value is based on both the stone's size and its history. Historically the Yapese valued the disks because the material looks like quartz, and these were the shiniest objects around. Eventually the stones became legal tender and were even mandatory in some payments^[3]. The stones' value was kept high due to the difficulty and hazards involved in obtaining them. To quarry the stones, Yapese adventurers had to sail to distant islands and deal with local inhabitants that were sometimes hostile. Once quarried, the disks had to be transported back to Yap via rafts towed behind wind-powered canoes. The scarcity of the disks, and the effort and peril required to obtain them, made them valuable to the Yapese. However, in 1874, an enterprising Irishman named David O'Keefe hit upon the idea of employing the Yapese to import more "money" in the form of shiploads of large stones, also from Palau. O'Keefe then traded these stones with the Yapese for other commodities such as sea cucumbers and copra. The sea cucumber (also known as trepang, bêche-de-mer, or ambiguously Sea slug) is an Echinoderm of the class Holothuroidea Copra is the dried meat or kernel of the Coconut. The name copra is derived from the Malayalam word kopra for dried coconut Although some of the O'Keefe stones are larger than the canoe-transported stones, they are less valuable than the earlier stones due to the comparative ease in which they were obtained. Approximately 6,800 of them are scattered around the island.

As no more disks are being produced or imported, this money supply is fixed (Washington Post, 1984). In Economics, money supply, or money stock, is the total amount of money available in an Economy at a particular point in time The islanders know who owns which piece, but do not necessarily move them when ownership changes. Their size and weight (the largest ones require twenty adult men to carry) make them very difficult to move around. Although today the United States dollar is the currency used for everyday transactions in Yap, the stone disks are still used for more traditional or ceremonial exchange. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been The stone disks may change ownership during marriages, transfers of land title, or as compensation for damages suffered by an aggrieved party.

Language and ethnicity

Yap Proper (known as Wa'ab or Waqab) was initially settled by ancient migrants from the Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian Archipelago, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The Yapese language is related to the Malay languages of Southeast Asia, though with strong New Guinean influences. Yapese is a language spoken by 6600 people on the island of Yap ( Federated States of Micronesia) In contrast, the people of Yap's outer islands are descendants of Polynesian settlers, and as such have significant ethnic dissimilarities from the people of Yap Proper. Their culture and languages (Ulithian and Woleaian) are closely related to those of the neighboring islands of Chuuk. Chuuk &mdash formerly Truk, Ruk, Hogoleu, Torres, Ugulat, and Lugulus &mdash is an island group in the south western

Yap State has five official languages: English, Ulithian, Woleaian, Satawalese, and Yapese. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Ulithian is the name of the language spoken on Ulithi atoll and neighboring islands Yapese is a language spoken by 6600 people on the island of Yap ( Federated States of Micronesia) ^[4]

Traditional style structure with stone money indicating great wealth. Most stones were mined on Palau and carried by outrigger canoe some 450 kilometers (250 miles).

Navigation (sailing)

The Yapese and outer island Yapese were some of the most renowned navigators in the Pacific. Yapese sailors travelled phenomenal distances in outrigger canoes, without the aid of a compass, navigating by the stars and the patterns of ocean waves. During pre-colonial times, the people of Yap Proper established an island empire and dominion over what are now the outer islands of Yap State. Beginning in the 19th century, Yap was colonized by the Spanish, Germans, and Japanese in succession.

Social structure

Yapese society is based on a highly complex caste system involving at least seven tiers of rank. Historically, the caste rank of an entire village could rise or fall in comparison to other villages depending on how it fared in inter-village conflicts. Winning villages would rise in rank while, as a part of a peace settlement, losing villages would have to accept decline in comparative rank. In many cases lower ranked villages were required to pay tribute to higher ranked villages. Further, dietary taboos might be imposed on lower ranking villages, i. e. they might be prohibited from harvesting and eating the more desirable fish and animals of the sea. Further, within each village each family had its own rank comparative to the others. Until the arrival of the German colonializers, the caste ranking system was fluid and the ranks of villages and families changed in response to inter-village intrigues and confrontations. In the late 19th century, however, the German colonial administration "pacified" Yap and enforced a prohibition against violent conflict. The caste ranking of each village in modern Yap thus remains the same as it was when the system was frozen in place by the Germans

History

Yap was a major German naval communications center prior to the First World War. It was occupied by Japanese troops in September, 1914, and passed to the Japanese under the Versailles Treaty in 1919. In World War II, Japanese-held Yap was one of the islands bypassed in the US "island-hopping" strategy, although it was regularly bombed by US ships and aircraft, and Yap-based Japanese bombers did some damage in return. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Empire of Japan ( {{unicode|Kyūjitai}}: ja 大日本帝國 Shinjitai: ja 大日本帝国 pronounced Dai Nippon Teikoku Island hopping is a term that has several different definitions as it is applied in various fields At the end of World War II, Yap was occupied by the U. S. military victors. The U. S. held it and the rest of the Caroline Islands as a trusteeship under a United Nations mandate (the "Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands") until 1986. The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia (western Pacific) administered by the United In that year, Yap, Truk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae formed the independent nation of the Federated States of Micronesia. Chuuk &mdash formerly Truk, Ruk, Hogoleu, Torres, Ugulat, and Lugulus &mdash is an island group in the south western Pohnpei "upon ( pohn) a stone altar ( pei)" (formerly known as Ponape) is the name of one of the four states in the Federated Kosrae (koʊˈʃaɪ /koʊʃˈraɪ/ or /koʊsˈraɪ/ in English) formerly known as Kusaie, is an island in Micronesia and is by itself one of four Under a Compact of Free Association with the United States, Micronesian citizens and goods are allowed entry into the U. The Compact of Free Association ( COFA) defines the relationship that three sovereign states—the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM the Republic of the Marshall S. with few restrictions.

Transportation

Yap International Airport receives service from Continental Micronesia, a subsidiary of Continental Airlines. Yap International Airport is an Airport located in Yap, the main island of the State of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia. Continental Micronesia is a wholly owned subsidiary Airline of Continental Airlines. Continental Airlines Inc ( is a United States certificated air carrier.

Miscellaneous

Yap is also notable for giant manta rays, which often congregate in the waters around the island, and have made it a top scuba diving destination. The manta ray ( Manta birostris) is the largest of the rays, with the largest known specimen having been more than 7 Scuba diving is swimming underwater, or taking part in another activity while using a Scuba set. Yap and other islands of Yap State were fictionalized in a sensitively humorous treatment in the novel Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore. Island of the Sequined Love Nun (ISBN 0-06-073544-9 is the fourth Novel by absurdist author Christopher Moore, published in 1997. Christopher Moore (born 1957 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American writer of Absurdist fiction.

Yap was also the location of a LORAN-C transmitter. LORAN ( LO ng R ange A id to N avigation is a terrestrial Radio navigation system using Low frequency Radio transmitters

Government and politics

Municipalities

Yap Proper

• Dalipebinaw
• Fanif
• Gagil
• Gilman
• Kanifay
• Maap
• Rumung
• Ruul
• Tomil
• Weloy

Outer Islands

• Eauripik
• Elato
• Fais
• Faraulep
• Gaferut Island
• Ifalik
• Lamotrek
• Ngulu
• Satawal
• Sorol
• Ulithi
• Woleai

References

• Washington Post article of March 29, 1984. The Washington Post is the largest and most circulated Newspaper in Washington D

External links

• Missing Air Crew Project about WWII and Yap Island
• News on Yap
• Photographs of stone money
• www.visit-fsm.org/yap
• h2g2 Yap Institute of Natural Science, Micronesia Edited Guide Entry
• Statistics on buildings, population; Source: Statistics Section, Office of Planning and Budget, Yap State
• Habele, a charity serving Yap's Outer Islanders