Kadai Village, Yap
Monday, May 1st

We had a very enjoyable time at Kadai village, the children of the village did a dance with bamboo sticks that represented the difficult times that the Yapese people endured during the times of the German & Japanese occupation throughout the war. Yapese people have no written language, hence they don't have a complete history of their peoples. Village elders are trying to instill in their children the importance of remembering, reliving, and keeping alive their culture and ancestory.

"Legend has it that the ancient navigator Anagumang set sail in search of the ideal stone to be used as Yapese currency. On Palau's Rock Islands he found a hard cystalline limestone that the Yapese then quarried into huge flat discs. Holes were carved in the center so logs could be slipped through and the stones were then lugged down to barges and towed by canoe the 250 miles back to Yap.

With their weighty cargo, entire expeditions were sometimes lost in storms at sea. The most valuable stones were not necessarily the largest, but those that were transported at the highest cost of human lives. These stones commonly bore the names of the lost mariners.

Stone money, which the Yapese call rai, can range up to 12 feet in diameter and weigh as much as five tons. The Japanese civilian government counted 13,281 coins in 1929.

Although single pieces of stone money are commonly seen throughout Yap, most stone money is kept in 'banks' lined up along village pathways. The money is not moved, even when ownership changes. Stone money remains in use today for some traditional exchanges, although the US dollar settles most commonplace transactions." (taken from Lonely Planet travel survival kit - Micronesia)

These girls are making fresh-flower lei's to be worn on the head, as you can see, everyone who visited the village received one. It was amazing how quickly, and with such ease they made these beautiful wreaths. My flowers would be dead by the time I finally got one halfway put together! (and I doubt it would stay together)

This grandmother is making a simple basket. These types of baskets are used to gather vegetables from the garden for the family meals. Once the vegetables have been prepared, the waste is put into the basket and the whole thing can then be composted, it's all organic!

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