Editing Micronesians

{{Short description|Ethnic groups of Austronesian peoples}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Micronesians
| image            = 
| image_caption    = 
| pop              = 450,000
| region1          = 
| pop1             = 
| region2          = 
| pop2             = 
| langs            = [[Micronesian languages]], [[Yapese language|Yapese]], [[Chamorro language|Chamorro]], [[Palauan language|Palauan]], [[English language|English]]
| rels             = [[Christianity]] (93.1%)<ref name="Christianity in Oceania">{{citation | url = http://wwwgordonconwell.com/netcommunity/CSGCResources/ChristianityinitsGlobalContext.pdf | title = Christianity in its Global Context, 1970–2020: Society, Religion, and Mission | author = Center for the Study of Global Christianity | date = June 2013 | publisher = [[Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary]] | location = South Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130815184022/http://wwwgordonconwell.com/netcommunity/CSGCResources/ChristianityinitsGlobalContext.pdf | archive-date = 15 August 2013 }}</ref>
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| related_groups   = [[Polynesians]], [[Melanesians]], [[Euronesian|Euronesians]], [[Austronesian peoples]]
}}
The '''Micronesians''' or '''Micronesian peoples''' are various closely related [[ethnic group]]s [[Indigenous peoples of Oceania|native to]] [[Micronesia]], a region of [[Oceania]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. They are a part of the [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] ethnolinguistic group, which has an [[Urheimat]] in [[Taiwan]].<ref name="Doran1981"/> 

Ethno-linguistic groups classified as Micronesian include the [[Carolinian people|Carolinians]] ([[Northern Mariana Islands]]), [[Chamorro people|Chamorros]] ([[Guam]] & [[Northern Mariana Islands]]), [[Chuukese people|Chuukese]], [[Mortlockese language|Mortlockese]], [[Namonuito language|Namonuito]], [[Pááfang language|Paafang]], [[Puluwat language|Puluwat]] and [[Pollapese]] ([[Chuuk State|Chuuk]]), [[Kiribati people|I-Kiribati]] ([[Kiribati]]), [[Kosraeans]] ([[Kosrae]]), [[Marshallese people|Marshallese]] ([[Marshall Islands]]), [[Nauruans]] ([[Nauru]]), [[#Palauan people|Palauan]], [[Sonsorolese language|Sonsorolese]], and [[Hatohobei]] ([[Palau]]), [[Pohnpeians]], [[Pingelapese language|Pingelapese]], [[Ngatikese language|Ngatikese]], [[Mokilese language|Mwokilese]] ([[Pohnpei]]), and [[Yapese people|Yapese]], [[Ulithian language|Ulithian]], [[Woleaian language|Woleian]], [[Satawalese language|Satawalese]] ([[Yap]]).<ref>{{cite journal | journal = Pacific Studies | volume = 13 | number = 1 |last =Mason |first =Leonard |title=A Marshallese nation emerges from the political fragmentation of American Micronesia |date= November 1989 |citeseerx=10.1.1.455.1089 | publisher = The Brigham Young University – Hawaii, the Pacific Institute | pages = 1-46 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Hawaii Health Data Warehouse Race-Ethnicity Documentation |date=August 2011 |url=http://www.hhdw.org/wp-content/uploads/HHDW-Race-Ethnicity-Documentation-Report.pdf}}</ref>

==Origins==
{{See also|Austronesian peoples}}
[[File:Chronological dispersal of Austronesian people across the Pacific.svg|thumb|upright=2|Chronological dispersal of [[Austronesian peoples]] across the [[Indo-Pacific]]<ref name="Chambers2013">{{cite journal |last1=Chambers |first1=Geoff |journal =eLS | title = Genetics and the Origins of the Polynesians |publisher= John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|date=15 January 2013 |doi=10.1002/9780470015902.a0020808.pub2|isbn=978-0470016176 }}</ref>]]
Based on the current scientific consensus, the Micronesians are considered, by linguistic, archaeological, and human genetic evidence, to be a subset of the sea-migrating [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian people]], who include the [[Polynesians]] and the [[Melanesians]]. Austronesians were the first people to invent oceangoing sailing technologies (notably [[Catamaran#Development in Oceania and Asia|double-hulled sailing canoes]], [[outrigger boat]]s, [[lashed-lug]] [[boat building]], and the [[crab claw sail]]), which enabled their rapid dispersal into the islands of the [[Indo-Pacific]].<ref name="Doran1981">{{cite book |last1=Doran |first1=Edwin B. |title=Wangka: Austronesian Canoe Origins |date=1981 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=9780890961070}}</ref><ref name="Dierking2007">{{cite book |last1=Dierking |first1=Gary |title=Building Outrigger Sailing Canoes: Modern Construction Methods for Three Fast, Beautiful Boats |date=2007 |publisher=International Marine/McGraw-Hill |isbn=9780071594561}}</ref><ref name="Horridge1986">{{cite journal |last1=Horridge |first1=Adrian |title=The Evolution of Pacific Canoe Rigs |journal=The Journal of Pacific History |date=1986 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=83–89 |jstor=25168892|doi=10.1080/00223348608572530 }}</ref> From 2000 BCE the Austronesians assimilated (or were assimilated by) the earlier populations on the islands in their migration pathway.<ref name="Bellwood1988">{{cite journal |last1=Bellwood |first1=Peter |title=A Hypothesis for Austronesian Origins |journal=Asian Perspectives |date=1988 |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=107–117 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/5105193.pdf |access-date=1 May 2019 |archive-date=1 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501105624/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/5105193.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bellwood 1991">{{cite journal |last1=Bellwood |first1=Peter |title=The Austronesian Dispersal and the Origin of Languages |journal=Scientific American |date=1991 |volume=265 |issue=1 |pages=88–93 |jstor=24936983|bibcode=1991SciAm.265a..88B |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0791-88 }}</ref><ref name="hill&serjeanston1989">{{cite book |editor=Hill, Adrian V.S. |editor2=Serjeantson, Susan W. |title =The Colonization of the Pacific: A Genetic Trail|publisher =Oxford University Press|series =Research Monographs on Human Population Biology No. 7|year =1989|isbn = 9780198576952}}</ref><ref name="Bellwood2006">{{cite book |last1=Bellwood |first1=Peter |last2=Fox |first2=James J. |last3=Tryon |first3=Darrell |name-list-style=vanc |title=The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives |date=2006 |publisher=Australian National University Press |isbn=9781920942854 |url=https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/comparative-austronesian-series/austronesians |access-date=23 March 2019 |archive-date=2 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402234524/https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/comparative-austronesian-series/austronesians |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="blench2012">{{cite book|author =Blench, Roger|editor =Tjoa-Bonatz, Mai Lin|editor2 =Reinecke, Andreas|editor3 =Bonatz, Dominik|title =Crossing Borders|chapter =Almost Everything You Believed about the Austronesians Isn't True|publisher =National University of Singapore Press|year =2012|pages =128–148|isbn =9789971696429|chapter-url =http://www.rogerblench.info/Archaeology/SE%20Asia/Berlin%202010/Blench%20Austronesians%202012%20offprint.pdf|access-date =23 March 2019|archive-date =30 December 2019|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20191230083644/http://www.rogerblench.info/Archaeology/SE%20Asia/Berlin%202010/Blench%20Austronesians%202012%20offprint.pdf|url-status =live}}</ref> This intermingling occurred in the northern coast of New Guinea and adjacent islands, which was the location where the Oceanic language family developed around four thousand years or so ago, after the Austronesian languages of this area grew distinct and became a separate branch of the Austronesian family.<ref name=Petersen/>
[[File:Carte lapita.png|thumb|250px|A map of the Lapita-cultural area]]
Migrants entered Micronesia from the east and the west. Migrants from the west came from the [[Philippines]] and [[Indonesia]], and settled [[Mariana Islands|the Marianas]] around 3500 years ago, after which [[Palau]] was settled around 3000 years ago.<ref name=Petersen/> Migrants from the east came from eastern [[Melanesia]] and settled the [[Gilbert Islands]], [[Marshall Islands]], eastern and central [[Caroline Islands]], [[Sonsorol]], [[Pulo Anna]], [[Merir]] and [[Tobi (island)|Tobi]].<ref name=Alkire/><ref name=Petersen>{{cite book |last1=Petersen |first1=Glenn |title=Traditional Micronesian Societies Adaptation, Integration, and Political Organization in the Central Pacific |date=2009 |url=https://www.academia.edu/14545649}}</ref> The migrants from the east belonged to the [[Lapita culture]] and settled eastern Micronesia over the course of several hundreds of years from perhaps the [[Santa Cruz Islands]], around 500-100 BC. In the following centuries, the Oceanic language variant brought by the Lapita migrants diverged and became the [[Micronesian languages|Micronesian branch]] of the Oceanic languages.<ref name=Petersen/> [[John Lynch (linguist)|John Lynch]] tentatively proposes a relationship between the Micronesian languages and the [[Loyalty Islands languages]] of Melanesia, but with the caveat "that this is something that could well be further investigated, even if only to confirm that Micronesian languages did ''not'' originate in the Loyalties."<ref>{{cite book |last=Lynch |first=John |author-link=John Lynch (linguist) |editor-last1=Lynch |editor-first1=John |year=2003 |chapter=The Bilabials in Proto Loyalties |title=Issues in Austronesian Historical Phonology |location=Canberra |publisher=Pacific Linguistics|pages=153-173 (171) |doi=10.15144/PL-550.153}}</ref> Yap was settled separately approximately 2000 years ago, as its language was brought by an Oceanic-speaking source in Melanesia,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Carson |first1=Mike T. |title=Austronesian Migrations and Developments in Micronesia |date=2013}}</ref> perhaps the [[Admiralty Islands]].<ref name=Petersen/>

A 2022 genetic study has shown that the various peoples inhabiting Micronesia have diverse genetic origins and originate from distinct streams of migration. Micronesia was settled by three separate streams of First Remote Oceanian lineage, which corresponds to East Asian ancestry and clusters closely to modern day peoples of the Philippines such as the [[Kankanaey people|Kankanaey]] and the [[Amis people|Amis]] and [[Atayal people|Atayal]] of [[Taiwan]].<ref name=Liu/> The first wave of First Remote Oceanian lineage settled the Mariana Islands around 2800 BCE. A second separate wave settled Palau around 2400 BCE. A third separate wave settled Central Micronesia around 2100 BCE. The peoples of Central Micronesia and Palau have a degree of Papuan ancestry, but this is absent from the peoples of the Mariana Islands. The study also supports the Admiralty Islands as the source of the Central Micronesian peoples and languages.<ref name=Liu>{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Yue-Chen |title=Ancient DNA reveals five streams of migration into Micronesia and matrilocality in early Pacific seafarers |date=1 July 2022 |url=https://reich.hms.harvard.edu/sites/reich.hms.harvard.edu/files/inline-files/2022_Liu_Science_Micronesia.pdf |access-date=25 May 2024}}</ref>

==List of ethnic groups==
The Micronesian peoples can be divided into two cultural groups, the [[High island|high-islanders]] and the [[Low island|low-islanders]]. The Palauans, Chamorros, Yapese, Chuukese, Pohnpeians, Kosraeans and Nauruans belong to the high-islander group. The inhabitants of the low islands ([[atolls]]) are the Marshallese and the Kiribati, whose culture is distinct from the high-islanders.<ref>{{cite web |title=High-island and low-island cultures |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Micronesia-cultural-region-Pacific-Ocean/Contemporary-Micronesia |access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref> Low-islanders had better navigation and canoe technology, as a means of survival. High-islanders had access to reliable and abundant resources and did not need to travel much outside of their islands. High islands also possessed larger populations.<ref name=Alkire/>

Archeological evidence has revealed that some of the [[Bonin Islands]] were prehistorically inhabited by members of an unknown Micronesian ethnicity.<ref name="history">{{Cite web|url=http://www.iwojima.jp/ogasa2.html|title=小笠原諸島の歴史|website=www.iwojima.jp}}</ref>

===Banaban people===
Raobeia Ken Sigrah claims that Banabans, native to [[Banaba]], are ethnically distinct from other I-Kiribati.<ref name=Sigrah>{{cite book|last=Sigrah|first=Raobeia Ken, and Stacey M. King|title=''Te rii ni Banaba.''|year=2001|publisher=Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji|isbn=982-02-0322-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CKIr1eg77IwC}}</ref> The Banabans were assimilated through [[forced migration]]s and the heavy impact of the discovery of [[Phosphate mining in Banaba and Nauru|phosphate in 1900]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/earshot/banaba/11163312|title=Banaba: The island Australia ate|date=30 May 2019|website=Radio National|language=en-AU|access-date=6 June 2019}}</ref> After 1945, the British authorities relocated most of the population to [[Rabi Island]], [[Fiji]], with subsequent waves of emigration in 1977, and from 1981 to 1983. Some Banabans subsequently returned, following the end of mining in 1979; approximately 300 were living on the island in 2001. The population of Banaba in the 2010 census was 295.<ref name="B2012">{{cite web| work= Office of Te Beretitenti – Republic of Kiribati Island Report Series|title= 19. Banaba|year = 2012 |url= http://www.climate.gov.ki/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/19_BANABA-revised-2012.pdf| access-date=28 April 2015}}</ref> There is an estimated 6,000 people of Banaban descent in Fiji and other countries.<ref name="Teaiwa1">{{cite book |last= Teaiwa |first= Katerina Martina|author-link= |date= 2014 |title= Consuming Ocean Island: Stories of People and Phosphate from Banaba|url= |location= Bloomington|publisher= Indiana University Press |pages=  |isbn= 9780253014528}}</ref><ref name="Teaiwa2">{{cite web| last =Prestt | first =Kate |title= Australia's shameful chapter|publisher= 49(1) ANUReporter |page=|year = 2017|url= https://reporter.anu.edu.au/australia%E2%80%99s-shameful-chapter| accessdate=19 September 2021}}</ref>

The Banabans spoke the [[Banaban language]], which has gone extinct due to a shift to the Gilbertese language, introduced by Christian missionaries that translated the Bible into Gilbertese and encouraged the Banabans to read it. Today, only a few words remain of the original Banaban language.<ref name=Sigrah/> Today, the Banabans speak the Banaban dialect of Gilbertese, which includes words from the old Banaban language.<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=gil Kiribati]</ref>

=== Refaluwasch people ===
[[File:Carolinian people in 1915.jpg|thumb|Carolinian/Refaluwasch people in 1915]]
Refaluwasch people are a [[Micronesian people|Micronesian]] ethnic group who originated in Oceania, in the [[Caroline Islands]], with a total population of over 8,500 people in [[Northern Mariana Islands|northern Mariana]]. They are also known as ''Remathau'' in the Yap's outer islands. The [[Carolinian people|Carolinian]] word means "People of the Deep Sea." It is thought that their ancestors may have originally immigrated from [[Asia]], [[Indonesia]], [[Melanesia]] and to [[Micronesia]] around 2,000 years ago. Their primary language is [[Carolinian language|Carolinian]], called ''Refaluwasch'' by native speakers, which has a total of about 5,700 speakers. The [[Refaluwasch]] have a [[Matriarchy|matriarchal]] society in which respect is a very important factor in their daily lives, especially toward the [[Matriarch|matriarchs]]. Most [[Refaluwasch]] are of the [[Roman Catholic]] faith.

The immigration of [[Refaluwasch]] to [[Saipan]] began in the early 19th century, after the [[Spain|Spanish]] reduced the local population of [[Chamorro people|Chamorro]] natives to just 3,700. They began to [[immigrate]] mostly sailing from small [[canoes]] from other islands, which a [[typhoon]] previously devastated. The [[Refaluwasch]] have a much darker complexion than the native [[Chamorro people|Chamorros]].

===Chamorro people===
[[File:Chamorro people in 1915.jpg|thumb|Chamorro people in 1915]]
The [[Chamorro people]] are the [[indigenous peoples]] of the [[Mariana Islands]], which are politically divided between the [[Territories of the United States|United States territory]] of [[Guam]] and the United States [[Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands]] in Micronesia. The Chamorro are commonly believed to have come from [[Southeast Asia]] at around 2000 [[Common Era|BC]]. They are most closely related to other [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] natives to the west in the [[Philippines]] and [[Taiwanese aborigines|Taiwan]], as well as the [[Caroline Islands|Carolines]] to the south.

The [[Chamorro language]] is included in the [[Malayo-Polynesian languages|Malayo-Polynesian subgroup]] of the [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] family. Because Guam was colonized by Spain for over 300 years, many words derive from the [[Spanish language]]. The traditional Chamorro number system was replaced by Spanish numbers.<ref>{{cite book | first = Rafael | last = Rodríguez-Ponga Salamanca | title = Del español al chamorro: Lenguas en contacto en el Pacífico | language = es | trans-title = From Spanish to Chamorro: languages in contact in the Pacific| location = Madrid | year = 2009 | publisher = Ediciones Gondo | isbn = 978-84-933774-4-1 | oclc = 436267171}}</ref>

===Chuukese people===
[[File:Scenes from every land, second series; a collection of 250 illustrations picturing the people, natural phenomena, and animal life in all parts of the world. With one map and a bibliography of (14580547887).jpg|thumb|Chuukese man on Moen ([[Weno]]), 1900s]]
The [[Chuukese people]] are an [[ethnic group]] of [[Chuuk State]]. They constitute 48% of the population of the [[Federated States of Micronesia]]. Their language is [[Chuukese language|Chuukese]]. The home atoll of [[Chuuk Lagoon|Chuuk]] is also known by the former name "Truk".

In Chuukese culture, the men were expected to defend and protect their family. They were very protective of their clan, lineage identity and property. Backing down from a fight is not seen as manly.<ref name="TheMicronesians"/>

===Kiribati people===
{{redirect|Kiribati people|information on the population of Kiribati|Demographics of Kiribati}}
The Kiribati people, also known as ''I-Kiribati'', ''Tungaru'', or ''Gilbertese'', are the indigenous people of [[Kiribati]]. They speak the [[Gilbertese language]]. They numbered 103,000 as of 2008.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

===Kosraean people===
The Kosraeans or Kusaieans are the indigenous people of [[Kosrae]]. They speak the [[Kosraean language]]. They number around 8,400 as of 2013.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

===Marshallese people===
{{redirect|Marshallese people|information on the population of the Marshall Islands|Demographics of the Marshall Islands}}
The Marshallese people ([[Marshallese language|Marshallese]]: ''kajoor ri-Ṃajeḷ '', ''laḷ ri-Ṃajeḷ'') are the indigenous inhabitants of the [[Marshall Islands]]. They numbered 70,000 as of 2013.{{cn|date=March 2024}} Marshallese society was organized into three social classes, the ''iroji'' was the chief or landowner that headed several clans, the ''alap'' managed the clan and the ''rijerbal'' (worker) were commoners that worked the land. The three social classes treated each other well and with mutual respect.<ref name="TheMicronesians"/>{{quotation needed|date=February 2024}}

===Nauruan people===
The [[Nauruans]] are an [[ethnicity]] inhabiting the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] [[island]] of [[Nauru]]. They are most likely a blend of [[Indigenous peoples of Oceania|other Pacific peoples]].<ref>{{cite book|title=FutureFish 2001: FutureFish in Century 21: The North Pacific Fisheries Tackle Asian Markets, the Can-Am Salmon Treaty, and Micronesian Seas|first=C.D. | last = Bay-Hansen|year=2006|publisher=[[Trafford Publishing]]|isbn=1-55369-293-4|page=277}}</ref>

The origin of the Nauruan people has not yet been finally determined. It can possibly be explained by the last Malayo-Pacific [[human migration]] ({{circa|1200}}). It was probably seafaring or shipwrecked [[Polynesians]] or [[Melanesians]] that established themselves in Nauru because there was not already an [[indigenous people]] present, whereas the Micronesians were already crossed with the Melanesians in this area.

===Palauan people===
{{redirect|Palauans|information on the population of Palau|Demographics of Palau}}
The Palauans or Belauans ([[Palauan language|Palauan]]: ''Belau'', ''ngukokl a Belau'') — are the indigenous people of [[Palau]]. They numbered around 26,600 as of 2013.{{cn|date=March 2024}} Palauans are not noted for being great long-distance voyagers and navigators when compared to other Micronesian peoples. The taro is the center of their farming practices, although breadfruit has a symbolic importance.<ref name=Petersen/>

===Pohnpeian people===
The Pohnpeians or Ponapeans are the indigenous people of [[Pohnpei]]. They number around 28,000. They speak the [[Pohnpeian language]].

Pohnpeian historic society was highly structured into five tribes, various clans and sub-clans; each tribe headed by two principal chiefs. The tribes were organized on a feudal basis. In theory, "all land belonged to the chiefs, who received regular tribute and whose rule was absolute." Punishments administered by chiefs included death and banishment. Tribal wars included looting, destruction of houses and canoes and killing of prisoners.<ref name=Native>{{cite book|title=The Native Polity of Ponape |volume=10 |series=Contributions to Anthropology |first=Saul H |last=Riesenberg |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |year=1968 |pages=38, 51 |isbn=9780598442437 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JV-0AAAAIAAJ |access-date=1 January 2012}}</ref>

===Sonsorolese people===
The Sonsorolese are Micronesian people, that inhabit the islands of [[Pulo Anna]], [[Merir]] and [[Sonsorol]] in the island nation of [[Palau]]. A small proportion live in both the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] and the [[Federated States of Micronesia]]. The Sonsorolese are linguistically related to the Tobians. Most Sonsorolese live in the village of [[Echang]] near [[Koror]], where they moved for economic reasons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sonsorol.com/language/index_eng.htm |title=Sonsorolese language |journal= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314051132/http://www.sonsorol.com/language/index_eng.htm |archive-date=14 March 2007|access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref>

The Sonsorolese are both linguistically and culturally most closely related to Carolinians. Ethnographic information about them was left by [[Jose Somera]], a member of the [[Don Francisco Padilla]] expedition who discovered the islands in 1710. According to him, their clothing consisted of an apron, cloak and conical hat, and was similar to that described by Paul Klein in 1696 among the Carolinians.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://micsem.org/pubs/articles/historical/frames/earlyeurfr.htm|title=Early European Contact with the Western Carolines|website=micsem.org}}</ref>

===Tobian people===
Tobian is a [[Micronesian languages|Micronesian language]] spoken in the [[Hatohobei]] (Tobi) and [[Koror, Palau|Koror states]] in [[Palau]] by about 150 people. In particular it is spoken on the island of Tobi (Torovei) in Hatohobei State, and also on Koro Island in Koror State.

Tobian is also known as [[Hatohobei]] or Tobi. It is closely related to [[Sonsorolese language|Sonsorolese]].

The Tobians share a cultural heritage that shows close ties with peoples of the central [[Caroline Islands]], more than 1000 km to the northeast and on the other side of Palau.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last1=Snyder|first1=David.|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/003299366|title=Archaeology and historic preservation in Palau|last2=Adams|first2=William Hampton|last3=Butler|first3=Brian M.|date=1997|publisher=U.S. National Park Service|series=Anthropology research series / Division of Cultural Affairs, Republic of Palau 2|location=San Francisco}}</ref>

===Yapese people===
The [[Yapese people]] are a Micronesian ethnic group that number around 15,000. They are native to the main island of [[Yap]] and speak the [[Yapese language]].

==Languages==
[[File:Languages of Micronesia.en.svg|thumb|upright=1.65|Languages of Micronesia.]]
Fifteen distinct languages are spoken by the Micronesians.<ref name="TheMicronesians">{{cite journal |last1=Palafox |first1=Neal |last2=Riklon |first2=Sheldon |last3=Esah |first3=Sekap |last4=Rehuher |first4=Davis |last5=Swain |first5=William |last6=Stege |first6=Kristina |last7=Naholowaa |first7=Dale |last8=Hixon |first8=Allen |last9=Ruben |first9=Kino |title=People and Cultures of Hawaii |date=1980 |doi=10.1515/9780824860264-018 |at=15. The Micronesians |publisher=University of Hawaii Press|s2cid=239441571 }}</ref> The largest group of languages spoken by the Micronesians are the [[Micronesian languages]]. They belong to the family of [[Oceanic languages]], part of the [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian language]] group. They descended from the [[Proto-Oceanic language|Proto-Oceanic]] language, which in turn descended via [[Proto-Malayo-Polynesian language|Proto-Malayo-Polynesian]] from [[Proto-Austronesian language|Proto-Austronesian]]. The languages in the Micronesian family are [[Marshallese language|Marshallese]], [[Gilbertese language|Gilbertese]], [[Kosraean language|Kosraean]], [[Nauruan language|Nauruan]], as well as a large sub-family called the [[Chuukic–Pohnpeic languages]] containing 11 languages. The [[Yapese language]] is a separate branch of the Oceanic languages, outside of the Micronesian branch.<ref name=Alkire>{{cite book |last1=Alkire |first1=William H |title=An introduction to the peoples and cultures of Micronesia |date=1977}}</ref>

Two [[Malayo-Polynesian languages]] are spoken that do not belong to the [[Oceanic languages]]: [[Chamorro language|Chamorro]] in the [[Mariana Islands]] and [[Palauan language|Palauan]] in [[Palau]].<ref name=Alkire/>

==Micronesian navigation==
[[File:Micronesian navigational chart.jpg|alt=Micronesian navigational chart|thumb|[[Marshall Islands stick chart|Micronesian navigational chart]], these were used by Micronesians to navigate through wind and water currents.]]
{{main|Micronesian navigation}}
Micronesian navigation techniques are those navigation skills used for thousands of years by the navigators who voyaged between the islands of [[Micronesia]] in the [[Pelagic zone|open]] [[Pacific Ocean]]. These voyagers used wayfinding techniques such as the navigation by the stars, and observations of birds, ocean swells, and wind patterns, and relied on a large body of knowledge from oral tradition.<ref name="PIM1955-6">{{cite web| last =Holmes| first = Lowell Don | work= XXV(11) Pacific Islands Monthly |title= Island Migrations (1): The Polynesian Navigators Followed a Unique Plan |date =1 June 1955|url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-319422511/view?partId=nla.obj-319629151 | accessdate=1 October 2021}}</ref><ref name="PIM1955-8">{{cite web| last =Holmes| first = Lowell Don | work= XXVI(1) Pacific Islands Monthly |title= Island Migrations (2): Birds and Sea Currents Aided Canoe Navigators|date =1 August 1955|url= https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-318911458/view?partId=nla.obj-318923632#page/n90/mode/1up| accessdate=1 October 2021}}</ref><ref name="PIM1955-9">{{cite web| last =Holmes| first = Lowell Don | work= XXVI(2) Pacific Islands Monthly |title= Island Migrations (3): Navigation was an Exact Science for Leaders|date =1 September 1955|url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-318911518/view?partId=nla.obj-318928849 | accessdate=1 October 2021}}</ref> [[Weriyeng]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Gladwin|first=Thomas|title=East Is a Big Bird|url=https://archive.org/details/eastisbigbirdnav00glad|url-access=limited|year=1970|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=0-674-22425-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/eastisbigbirdnav00glad/page/n218 200]}}</ref> is one of the last two schools of traditional [[navigation]] found in the central [[Caroline Islands]] in Micronesia, the other being [[Fanur]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Woodward|first=David|title=History of Cartography|year=1998|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-90728-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k_NoubO0RiYC&q=%22Fanur%22+navigation&pg=PA470|access-date=2010-08-04|page=470}}</ref>

==Culture==
[[Image:Badrulchau Stone Monoliths 2.JPG|thumb|Badrulchau stone monoliths]]
[[Image:Nan Madol 11.jpg|thumb|A building of Nan Madol]]
Micronesian culture is very diverse across island atolls<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kirch |first=Patrick Vinton |title=On the Road of the Winds: An Archeological History of the Pacific Islands before European Contact |publisher=University of California Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0520292819 |edition=2nd Rev. |location=Oakland |pages=42–45 |language=English}}</ref> and influenced by the surrounding cultures. In the east one finds a more [[Polynesian culture]] with [[social class]]es (nobility, commoners and slaves) and in the west a more Melanesian-Indonesian influenced culture led by [[tribal chief]]s without nobility, with [[the Marianas]] being an exception.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} Nonetheless, the Micronesians form a cultural region, as they have much more in common with each other in cultural practices and social organization than with other neighboring societies in the Philippines, Indonesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.<ref name=Petersen/>{{specify|date=February 2024}}<!--We've been told in the previous sentence how they are similar to their neighbours, but in this one it isn't explained how they all differ from them.-->

The Micronesian cultures evolved from a common foundation and share a common dominator in the relationship and dependence they have with their ancestral lands. The ancestral land influenced the social organization, family structures, the economy, shared food and common work. The Micronesian family is formed from four equally important components, the household, the nuclear family, the extended family, and a lineage. The family and the community would cooperate with fishing, farming, raising children and passing knowledge to the next generations. Individuals and families would conform their behavior to cooperate with the community.<ref name="TheMicronesians"/>

Authority was based on age, and Micronesians were taught to respect and hold their elders in high regard, which they would express by being silent in the presence of their elders. The elders would mediate and resolve conflicts.<ref name="TheMicronesians"/>

===Music and dance===
Most Micronesian peoples lacked musical instruments, and thus produced music only by song and chants. Important men would have songs composed about their abilities or deeds, by wives or partners. These songs could live on even after death and give the men a heroic status.<ref name=Alkire/>

===Religion===
The traditional religions of Micronesia were extremely heterogeneous. However, very little is known about most of them, as the islands were evangelized very early (from the 16th to 18th centuries) so that the indigenous religions could only survive on a few islands. However, some important manifestations of religious practice and thought can be identified for the entire Micronesian cultural space:<ref>{{cite book |last1=Erckenbrecht |first1=Corinna |chapter=Traditionelle Religionen |title=Harenberg Lexikon der Religionen |location=Harenberg, Dortmund |date=2002 |isbn=361101060-X |pages=942–943}}.</ref>

* Similar [[creation myth]]s (origin of people from mythical ancestors - mostly ancestral mothers)
* [[Culture hero]]es (mythical seafarers as bearers of important cultural goods)
* Mythical [[worldview]]s (land and sea areas in different "layers" and cardinal points)
* Dualistic concepts (every material thing and every living being has a spiritual double)
* Free souls, which can leave the body in a dream
* [[Mana (Oceanian mythology)|Mana]] (transcendent power that can be transferred to people, but also to natural phenomena, through performance and deeds, among other things)
* Religiously motivated art styles (carvings on traditional meeting houses and religious facilities)

The traditional Micronesian religions emphasized [[ancestor worship]] and embraced spirits and ghosts. After death, one's spirit would either pass on to an afterworld or stay on the island to either help or harm the living. A natural death would produce a benevolent ghost while an unnatural death would produce a malovent ghost. Other spirits were associated with places, natural objects, special crafts and activities. Various professions would make chants and offerings to their patron spirits, which they believed would control the outcome of their efforts. Micronesians believed that all sickness was caused by spirits. Shamans, mediums, diviners and sorcerers could be consulted to deal with the spirit world. Taboos would often be placed on food and sexual activities before a person would engage in an important pursuit. Violating this taboo would cause a spirit to send sickness or death to the offender or even the entire community.<ref name=Alkire/>

===Mythology===
[[Micronesian mythology]] comprises the traditional belief systems of the Micronesians. There is no single belief system in the islands of Micronesia, as each island region has its own [[mythological creature|mythological beings]].

Traditional beliefs declined and changed with the arrival of Europeans, which occurred increasingly after the 1520s. In addition, the contact with European cultures led to changes in local myths and legends.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

==See also==
* [[Micronesia]]
* [[Micronesian Americans]]
* [[Polynesia]]
* [[Polynesians]]
* [[Pacific Islander]]
* [[Taiwanese Aborigines]]
* [[Austronesian peoples]]
* [[Malagasy people]]
* [[Melanesians]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Culture of Oceania}}
{{Ancient seafaring}}

[[Category:Indigenous peoples of Micronesia]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Oceania]]
[[Category:Austronesian peoples]]