Yapese Canoes

The Chugpin was a fancy canoe with elegant curved ends decorated with hanging white cowrie shells. They were used for travel and fishing and generally owned by those skilled in spear fighting and especially wealthy, skilled young chiefs. (Older chiefs were transported by Thowaab canoes.) A few Chugpin canoes persisted to Japanese times but there are none today. The Chugpin was colored red with a dye made of soil and other ingredients possibly including oil extracted from the parinari fruit. The curved ends were painted white.

Chugpin

Mannguchig

The mannguchig, with end ornaments that could be swiveled parallel or perpendicular to the line of the canoe today exists only in memory. Legend tells of the son of pilulup & Gilsubugulal who learned navigation by listening to his farther while still in the womb. When he was born, considerably post-mature, he ran away. To attract him back, his father made a Thowaab canoe, but that didn't work. Then he made a Popow and that interested the boy but he wanted to twist the ends. Finally Pilulup made a mannguchig and the boy came back and sat in the canoe.

The red and white Popow is characterized by V shaped ends. They are used for travel and fishing. Those used for open ocean trips were deeper bodied and steady while small sporty models were fast and maneuverable. They are designed so that the mast can be moved from one end to the other to reverse the sailing direction. The outrigger and asymmetric hull provided stability and enabled sailing into the winds. There are still some Popow in used in mainland Yap today, and large canoes are still used in the outer islands for open ocean voyages. Canoes are still used in the outer islands for open ocean voyages.

Popow

Thowaab