Wa and Tatala: The Transformation of Indigenous Canoes on Yap and Orchid Island

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the areas on Orchid Island in Taiwan and Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia exploring the transformation of indigenous canoe usage. The canoe performs significant symbolic and practical functions for both of these areas, though they have also developed local–specific functions thanks to variations in their respective histories that involve a complex process of transformation and revitalisation in canoe culture and navigation. The main aims of the thesis are to analyse the different usages of indigenous canoes from the late nineteenth century to the present, to discuss how foreign and colonial powers influenced canoe usage, and how indigenous canoes have developed contemporary meanings over time. This comparative study is framed within a broad historical perspective of social and cultural change in the Pacific. I discuss the importance of cultural and historical factors that have influenced canoe functions and the central meaning of the canoe to Islanders today. I collect oral traditions, historical records and ethnographic research data to build a comparative study of indigenous and contemporary canoe designs, their evolving usages and sociological purposes, as well as local reactions and adaptations in canoe usage, as reflected in gender relations and the division of labour. Debates about appropriate canoe usage frequently emerge during contemporary cultural revivals and demonstrations, and this thesis focuses especially on how the Islanders appropriate the canoe as a symbol of cultural revitalisation and identity. This suggests further future possibilities of the canoe as a dynamic symbol of the Islanders’ identities and a reflection of their oceanic indigeneity.