Ifaluk
Visitors to Ifaluk
According to some entries posted last week on a blog by the skipper of the yacht “Jennifer,” which has been sailing through the Outer Islands of Yap State in Micronesia, the culture of Ifaluk Island appears to be resisting changes and modernization. But Lars Hässler, the captain of the yacht and author of the blog […]
Good Chewong Video, Great Ifaluk Video
Many lingering views of cute kids highlight a charming video of the Chewong community located at Lanchang, next to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary in Malaysia’s Pahang State. Uploaded to YouTube last Thursday, January 26th, the video shows scenes of the community: adults raking their gardens, kids mugging for the camera, men cutting grass with […]
No Harm to Ifaluk from the Tsunami
The familiar phrase “no news is good news,” first attributed to King James of England in 1616, certainly has applied to the Ifaluk Islanders over the past few weeks. Does the traditional, peaceful island even exist any longer? The massive earthquake in Japan on Friday, March 11, raised fears of a huge, devastating tsunami for […]
Pacific Island Atolls at Copenhagen, Part 2
Few were surprised last week by the failure of the Copenhagen climate conference, though plenty of diplomats and world leaders claimed they had made important strides. Hopes expressed early in the conference, that President Obama might somehow lead the developed nations in halting global warming, that he even might be sensitive to the plight of […]
Pacific Island Atolls at Copenhagen, Part 1
President Obama may well decide the fate of entire societies, such as the one on Ifaluk Island, when he attends the last day of the international climate change conference in Copenhagen tomorrow. The small island nations that will be submerged forever when global warming raises sea levels have been making a forceful case since the […]
Taro Crops Destroyed on Ifaluk
Friday’s dramatic announcement from the Obama administration—that carbon dioxide and five other gases pose a significant human health risk—shows that the American government is finally getting concerned about global climate change. Legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions, and further U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, are likely to follow in the near future, despite the protests […]
Bringing Christmas to the Ifaluk
Operation Christmas Drop, an annual humanitarian effort from Anderson Air Force Base in Guam that air drops holiday packages to the people of remote Micronesian islands, including Ifaluk, started off with a bust this year. The Christmas drop tradition began in 1952 when some air force people, flying over a remote island, noticed some islanders […]
Ethnography of Ifaluk Atoll [review of anthology chapter in preparation]
A current article by Richard Sosis, an anthropologist at the University of Connecticut and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, discusses the traditional culture and values of the Ifaluk Islanders. His article is to appear in an edited volume, though apparently that work is not far enough along in the publication process to merit listings in […]
Women’s House on Ifaluk Provides Refuge from Men
Women’s houses on the remote outer islands of Micronesia, including Ifaluk Island, are still being used as places of refuge and socializing, according to an interesting blog post this past Friday. The women’s houses on the various “outer” islands of Micronesia originated as places for women to take refuge while they were menstruating, since the […]
Ifaluk Canoe Building Fosters International Friendship
Three canoe-builders from Ifaluk Island, in the State of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia, are teaching canoe-building skills and helping forge an international community in the process. The Honolulu Advertiser reported on August 21 that three people from Ifaluk (or Ifalik as it is called in the story) have joined five others from New Zealand […]
