Island Life
Dancers Steal The Show
It’s Hard To Say Who Enjoys It More, Visitors or Locals.
Homestays, sailing canoes, displays of village dance, beautiful floral leis. Yap offers all of these things to the visitor, in addition to the famous manta dives. Cultural tourism in Yap makes it a uniquely well-rounded destination in Micronesia. This is especially so during the Yap Day celebration, created over 25 years ago as a way for the Yapese to celebrate their common heritage and share the traditions of each village. While it still serves that function, the festival is also a way of teaching visitors about the Yapese way of life.
The occasion has grown to be such a substantial event that it now extends over three days. Performers and audience alike came to linger all day, enjoying the show and buying snacks, drinks and handicrafts. Every vendor we spoke with wanted to know about us and where we were from. It was one of the friendliest cultural festivals we have ever experienced.
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The highlight of the festival is the dance performance from many of the villages of Yap proper. These include sitting dances, stick dances, men’s dances and comic dances with sexual overtones. The last day includes more dancing, the movement of stone money, a cultural presentation by the Historic Preservation Office, and a trip around Yap Harbor in a dugout sailing canoe of traditional design. The local organizers have created an event that is appealing to visitors without compromising the local understanding of the meaning of their traditions.
According to Cyprian Mugunbey of the Yap Visitors Bureau, the dances are unique to each village and are normally held only within the context of a specific event, such as the transfer of stone money or a visit by the inhabitants of a neighboring village. Only the residents of the village whose dancers are performing usually know the meanings of the dances.
Al Fanichigiy of the Yap State Historic Preservation Office talked about the developing Yapese identity, something that is fairly recent. Today with the growth of a national identity, Fanichigiy reports, there is talk of having the dances performed in the home villages, with other Yapese coming to visit on a regular basis.
The visitor is immediately impressed with a sense that the Yapese place a tremendous value on their traditions. The obvious enjoyment that both performers and audience bring to the event, along with their attention to costume detail and the sheer endurance and skill required, all add to a sense of authenticity. The performances represent a great investment of time and effort. In conversation, Fanichigiy mentioned the idea that Yap could host a pan-Micronesian cultural festival. If they do, the Yapese have set a high standard for the rest to follow.
Photo: Lorne Holyoak
