Music of the Federated States of Micronesia

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The traditional music of the Federated States of Micronesia varies widely across the four states, and has, in recent times, evolved into popular music influenced by Europop, country music and reggae.

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Traditional dances

Traditional dances on the main islands includes "stick dancing" on Pohnpei, Chuuk and Yap, standing dances on Chuuk and sitting dances on Yap [1] and Chuuk. The Yapese are particularly known for their skills in dancing. The Yapese stick dance is performed by men, women and children together, while standing dances are performed either by women or men and boys, but never both together. The men participate in various dancing competitions, which are segregated by caste; the lower castes have some distinct dances, such as a woman's standing dance, but can only dance when authorized by a person of a higher caste. [2] Chuuk shares many of the similar dance styles with Yap because of similar cultural heritage with Chuuk and the outer islands of Yap. Chuuk's most mysterious and rarest dance is called the "Moonlight Dance", one of the few dances in which both men and women dance together. It can only happen during a full moon with permission of the village chief. Traditionally speaking, this was a way for young males and females to get together.

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Federated States of Micronesia Country in Oceania

The Federated States of Micronesia or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states – from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae – that are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise around 607 islands that cover a longitudinal distance of almost 2,700 km (1,678 mi) just north of the equator. They lie northeast of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, south of Guam and the Marianas, west of Nauru and the Marshall Islands, east of Palau and the Philippines, about 2,900 km (1,802 mi) north of eastern Australia, 3,400 km (2,133 mi) southeast of Japan, and some 4,000 km (2,485 mi) southwest of the main islands of the Hawaiian Islands.

Demographics of the Federated States of Micronesia

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Micronesia Subregion of Oceania

Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions—the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples.

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Rai stones Micronesian currency

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Chuuk State State in Federated States of Micronesia

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Yap State State in Federated States of Micronesia

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Rull

Rull is a municipality in the southern part of the island Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. It has a traditional dancing ground. Rull has a population of 1,847. The historic Rull Men's Meetinghouse is located within the town.

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Women in the Federated States of Micronesia are women who live in or are from the Federated States of Micronesia, an independent sovereign island nation composed of four states. Thus, FSM women includes women from the States of Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae.

Yapese people

The Yapese people are a Micronesian ethnic group native to the main island of Yap. Under different administrative rules, Yapese culture has been influenced by Spanish, Japanese, German, and American cultures. Aspects of traditional Yapese culture are still important in modern Yapese culture.

Yap Day Yapese holiday

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Religion in Yap is predominantly Roman Catholic, which first arrived in Yap in the late 1880s. Before that, the Yapese people practiced traditional rituals and practices and held beliefs about the gods, the spirits, taboos, and death. Through the efforts of Capuchin and Jesuit missionaries, the Catholic Church eventually became the dominant church on Yap. Other religions on Yap include Protestantism and other Christian sects.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Micronesia

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References

  1. "Micronesia Music Anthology". Jane's Oceania Page. Archived from the original on January 1, 2006. Retrieved September 27, 2005.
  2. "Aspects of Yap". Jane's Oceania Page. Archived from the original on February 27, 2005. Retrieved September 27, 2005.