Etching by John Savage of Prince Giolo from Yap 1692
Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Yap is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap’s indigenous 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). Yap populated by migrants from Eastern Indonesia. The arrival of settlers may have occurred as far back as two-three thousand B.C. This post, Travel Junkie Indonesia wants to share about Yap tattoo style.
The island of stone money, Uap of the Carolines by William Henry Furness 1910
Mogmog Island of Ulithi Atoll, Yap Full Body Tattoo Front View 1873 Kubary, Johann (1875) Weitere Nachrichten von der Insel Ponape
Yap Full Body Tattoo Back View German South Seas Expedition 1908 – 1910
Yap Leg Tattoo
Yap Arm Tattoo
The Journal of the Anthropological, Society of Tokyo, Vol. XLIII 1928, The Tattooing of the Western Micronesians by Hasebe, Kotondo
Yap Hand Tattoo
The indigenous peoples of western Oceania include Yapese may have originally come from the same parts of the world, held similar basic beliefs, and utilized tools and natural materials created from their surrounding environment, but once they settled themselves in the remote archipelagos of the great South Sea they began to develop their own distinctive cultures and practices like tattooing in concert with the expansive geography that enveloped them.
And whether subject to the demands of local landscapes, histories, and influences outside of their home regions, tattooing became a way to influence the demands, needs, and dangers associated with life in and around the largest ocean on earth; because tattooing was a collective expression that embodied the cultural symbolism of the western Oceanic people.
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