Satawal Island

Welcome us with welcome dances when you go ashore on Yap's easternmost island.

Deadly desires of one of the last Micronesian master navigators

There is something very particular about the few leftover bags of information in a global environment where information is available at the push of a mouse, which are only found in the heads of a few people. In Micronesia, one of the last strongholds of learning, the tradition of navigating is still almost entirely transmitted through verbal instruction from a guide to his selected schoolchildren.

Traditionally, navigating, also called "wayfinding", consists of orienting oneself over long stretches, using only the environment (stars, swell, cloud, etc.) as a signpost. The term "Master Navigator", however, is restricted to the best and most capable people who have deserved the esteem of their ancestors and the confidence of their people.

That is why today there are only a few master navigators left, which are regarded by many as "living treasures". It was not long ago, with great sorrow, that we sacrificed another great Master Navigator instructor, Francis Sermonyoung from Satawal Island in Micronesia. Francis gave me some shredded pages he had been writing one last October when I saw him.

This is the handwritten estate of Francis Sermonyoung: The navigator Francis Sermanyoung was inaugurated on July 24, 1957 on Satawal Island, Yap State[part of the Federated States of Micronesia]. In this secluded outlying island he spends his first years studying ancient tradicion. Early on, he was particularly interested in sailing, a valuable part of his island's cuisine.

In the early evenings and on Sunday, when humans were resting, he visited family members with such abilities and abilities. Throughout this period he grew a great deal of appreciation for those who provided their abilities and expertise, and he is very thankful to his masters. When he mourns her demise, he realises that his striving to acquire her abilities and expertise will one of these days make it necessary to hand them on in order to sustain a sustained lifestyle on our inhabited isles.

In 1980 Francis got Margie Chiplo and has 3 children and 2 girls. Sermanyoung' s motherly side of the familiy has a well-known Rodinwoak (master of all tradtional arts and knowledges, especially of tradtional navigational knowledge), the deceased Louis Repanglug. Sermonyoung' s navigator education in navigational tradition comes from a long line of sailors, starting with his grandfather Pesieo, a well-known 1900s rhapin woak.

Franziskus was mobilized as a seafarer in ritual'pwo' rituals of two shipping school. On the occasion of the pronunciation, a packet similar to a certificate that represents skill and know-how is wrapped around the wallet with a piece of blanket of white coir, while the hand is placed on lavalava (traditional cloths ) given by a relative or friend in the name of the instructor.

During his first Pwo ceremonial, which took place in July 1997 in Polap, Chuuk, Frances was introduced to the Faenuurh Schol. The second Pwo ceremonial introduced him to the Waeriyang Maritime Academy. The performance took place in April 2007 on Satawal and was directed by Master Pius Mau Piailug, who was himself from the Waeriyang Academy of Navigational Science.

At this second dedication, the pack that represents skill and understanding was bound around Francis' right hand arm, as he had already been blessed into Faenuurh Pwo with a pack around his right toes. Currently, Navigator Sermanyoung is one of the oldest to advise on Satawal encounters and group activities, which includes an ongoing fatherly side of the familiy service to teach young people about the traditions and abilities.

It has evolved diagrams to instruct the teachings of conventional stellar science, and uses these diagrams to instruct others. In the last year, when his spouse took the place of a medical nurse from the island of Eauripik, Francis instructed many Eauripiks in both sex.

After his return to Satawal, he has been continuing his lesson and has given 126 pupils a copy of his Battle Star taught. Knowing the battlestars is a way to forecast the forecast, which is important for travellers before they go angling and travelling between the isles.

Mau Piailug and Navigator Sermanyoung believe that unless the people of the island are concerned about handing down old traditions and techniques, we will loose them with each and every one. It should be a matter of common interest, as our ancestors' ability and know-how allowed them to lead lives for many centuries in a way that was durable, economic and ecologically sound.

Nowadays, many peoples are adopting new culture and skill and knowledge that are not sustained on our island. The use of satellite positioning systems is also increasing, but without the necessary navigational expertise, the risk of a breakdown of GPS could result in expensive searching and rescues or deaths.

Ancient ways and abilities and knowledge must not be sacrificial to the new ways that are not lasting on and for our isles. Sermanyoung, therefore, wants us to join forces to revitalize and maintain our culture, our tradition and our know-how. That means working with all our island heads, heads of governments, institutes and schools to share, document and conserve our legacy.

It thanks its forefathers, its people in Satawal and all, which will take part in this project.