Kagoshima University Research Center for the Pacific Islands, Occasional Papers No.34, 41-67, 2001
Part 1, Section 1, Report 5. The Progress Report of the 1999 Survey of the Research Project“Social Homeostasis of Small Islands in an Island-zone”

41

RURAL BULIDINGS ON YAP ISLAND
Mitsuyoshi TSUCHIDA

Abstract
Rigorous investigations on rural houses (Tabinaw), community houses (Peebay), unmarried men'shouses (Faluw) and a women's house in a village on Yap Island were carried out in 1999. Researchon their architectural features and on sustainable development technologies for them was done thereafter.
As a result of the investigation, it is obvious that the Yap people are inheriting traditional building
techniques and handing them down to the next generation. It is very important that Yap people are able
to live harmoniously with nature and not destructively “confront” natural phenomena.
Keywords: Community House (Peebay), Men’s House (Faluw), Rural House (Tabinaw) Sustainable
Development Technology, Traditional Techniques, Women’s House

Introduction
In order to investigate fifteen houses, including four rural houses (Tabinaw), four community houses (Peebay), six unmarried men’s houses (Faluw), and one women’s house, our threeperson research team stayed on Yap Island for 13 days from October 21 to November 2 in 1999.
The purpose of our investigation was to do research on the materials, beam, joints and wooden
flooring used in these houses, as well as the building methods chosen.
While reinforced concrete buildings are now being built all over the world, traditional materials and techniques are still being actively applied to vernacular architecture on the island of
Yap. The traditional autonomy of this small island seems to be a factor here.
In this paper, we would like to point out the unique features of vernacular architecture on
Yap Island. And later we hope to compare them with those of other Asian vernacular architectures.

Unique Architectural Features
Rural houses (Tabinaw)
The forms of rural houses on the island vary due to the influence of modern architecture.
Among the four we investigated, one is in what we call the “old” traditional style, two are in traditional style and the fourth, built with reinforced concrete, is in modern style.
The one in old traditional style was built in Bechiel Village (Fig. 1-4) and is very large inscale. It consists of two parts: two open spaces, one in front of and one in the rear of the mainbuilding (Fig.4), and a closed space in the middle, i.e., the main building. The two traditional
houses, built in Rumuuq Village (Fig.5-7) and Runuw Village (Fig.10-12) respectively, consistof an open space in front and a closed space in the rear (Fig.8). The kitchen (Fig.6, 7) and toilet(Fig. 12) are separated from the main building, whereas in recently built reinforced concrete
houses the kitchen is usually placed within the main building, and, thus, open space disappears

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before closed space (Fig. 13-15).
Since local people are used to drinking rainwater, galvanized iron is used as roof material
and rainwater flows down to a tank below.
Traditional community houses (Peebay)
We investigated four traditional community houses, one each in Kaday Village (Fig. 16-21),
Tomor Village (Fig. 22-25), Bechiel Village (Fig. 26-30) and Anoth Village (Fig. 31-35).
Table 1. Data on community houses (Peebay)
Height of the Height of thePlace Width Depth
platform core column

Number of thecolumns and span

unit: mmWidth of the Direction of
main building:Width of eaves ridge beam

Kaday 4358 13254

850

4070

5（from north to south：
3323,2883,2883,3385 ）

4358
933

north-south

Tomor 7076 19956

625（7155）

7（from east to west：
3750,2900,2735,2795,3025,3183 ）

5814
631

east-west

Bechiel 6680 18388

440（6075）

7（from north to south：
3750,2900,2735,2795,3025,3183 ）

5220
730

north-south

Anoth

395

（4250）

2（10528 ）3595
0north-south

4（from north to south：
2100,2487,4378 ）4595
0north-south

3595 10528

Runuw 4594

8965

210

A large traditional community house, 7.076 meters in width and 19.956 meters in length(Table 1), was built in Tomor Village in 1999 as a venue for people from several villages around.
Although detailed investigation could not be carried out, we can say that this Peebay, which wasbuilt with modern reinforced concrete also widely used in other areas, is still similar in form to
the traditional wooden one. Able to hold 250 to 300 people, the Peebay is the biggest buildingin Tomor Village.
We found the following common characteristics among these four Peebays :a. They were all built on a platform. Since there is no exterior wall on any of their four sides,
people can enter them from anywhere.
b. They are open, and thus a continuation of exterior spaces. Moreover, narrow passages beside the Peebays can function as dancing places (Malals).
c. With plain thresholds between them, columns standing directly in the earth in the middle ofthe buildings are used to support the ridge beams. Split bamboo or wood slivers are laid out,
and people seat themselves in different places on the floor according to their age, sex andstatus.
Men’s houses (Faluw)
We investigated six men’s houses situated in Balabat Village (Fig.36-40), Runuw Village(Fig.41-46), Amun Village (Fig. 47-51), Maaq Village (Fig. 52-55), Waloy Village (Fig.57-61)
and Bechiel Village (Fig.62-64) respectively. We also investigated one women’s house (Fig.6567) in Rumuw Village.

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Rural Bulidings on Yap Island

Called faluw by local people, men’s houses are the most important buildings on Yap Island.
There is usually one men’s house in each village, and, even at present, men’s houses are stillbuilt by traditional methods. We also found a building under construction as a men’s house in
Rumuw Village which had been formerly used as a women’s house for 20 years. With no platform at the base of the building and no fittings on the windows, the wooden-wall-enclosed wo
men’s house is quite different from the men’s house. We asked several local people what theycalled the women’s house, but nobody knew, and probably it had no name at all. Since we only
find one example, it is possible that women’s houses were rarely built.
The common characteristics of the men’s houses are as follows:a. Located along the seaside, they are built with their ridge beams facing east and west, whichshows consciousness of the sunrise among local people.
b. The platforms are very high. With walls made of bamboo or palms on each side, and withfittings on windows, men’s houses are closed spaces.
c. With the central one being the biggest, five splendid core columns stand in a line in the middle of each building. Except in one building, a hearth, and, in some cases, several hearths,
are set in front of these columns.
A big men’s house is now under construction in Runuw Village. It was said that the construction
would take eleven carpenters three to six months to complete.
The building process for men’s houses is as follows:First, the platform where the columns will stand is built by piling up stones roughly 30 centimeters in diameter. Since the building is near the sea, the platform is set approximately 70 centimeters higher than those for rural houses and community houses.
The columns are built together with the platform, and the stones of the platform are used
to fix the columns. All of the structural columns are set directly in the earth, except that, in some
Table 2. Data on men’s houses (Faluw)

unit: mmWidth of Height of Height of Number of columns Width of main build- Direction of
Place
PeriodWidth Depth open
core
and spaning: Width of eaves ridge beam
space platform column
1999
5（from east to west：
3920(the inside part)
Balabat under
3246
650
4950
east-west
c onstruction 5203 14478）
3491,3977,3210,3246
634(the ouside part)
Runuw

under
5302 2003 nothing
construction

660

5820

5（from east to west：
5350,4620,4390,5670）

4660
321

east-west

Amun

1994

4924 11957 nothing

680

4640

5（from east to west：
2488,3533,3643,2293）

3538
693

east-west

Maaq

1991

4973 15333

2715

870

4895

5（from east to west：
4218,4210,4190,3326）

4153
410

east-west

Waloy about 1992 4256 11254

None

820

4040

5（from east to west：
3008,2598,2823,2825）

3410
423

east-west

Bechiel about 1968 4910 12196

None

920

4380

5（from east to west：
2685,3405,3378,2728）

3680
615

east-west

Rumuw(women’shouse)None5（from north to south：
2685,3405,3378,2728）

4594
none

northsouth

4594 8965

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cases, columns at the outer corners of the building are laid on wooden pedestals as a frame forthe walls. The structural columns stand in a line under the ridge beam to support it. Since thesehigh central columns are curved (Fig.42), and the ridge beam is relatively straight, when they are
joined the curved columns can be rotated to fit the beam. Once the positions of the columns areset, the stones can be piled up and fixed in place (Fig. 44). Because in all of the buildings wesurveyed there are just five columns under the ridge beam, some construction rules evidently
exist.
The distances between the columns are variable (Table 2), and, in the direction at rightangle to the ridge beam, columns without pedestals stand on each side of the central line of columns symmetrically. According to our investigation, four buildings have six columns on eachside of the middle row of columns; one building has seven, and the other eight, a pattern seemingly not regular at all. The columns on the two sides are curved, but the cross beams to connect
them are straight. Just like the ridge beam, straight cross beams become the standard to erect thewhole building. Because principal rafters are laid between ridge beams and cross beams, construction would be too difficult if curved beams were used. At the same time, it is obvious thatstraight ridge beams and cross beams are very important to the building.
In some cases, cross beams are set on all the columns standing in line, but, in other cases,
they only cover the four middle columns (Fig.37). In the latter situation, the columns on eitherside without cross beams are set apart from the center. Although this is a more complicatedmethod, it is intended to make the building stronger. Since this building method was found onlyin three villages-Balabat Village, Runuw Village and Anum Village, it is clear that it is not universally applied.

Inheritance of Traditional Technology
Excluding the rural house (Tabinaw) here, I would like to focus attention on the traditional
technology applied in the construction of community houses (Peebay) and men’s houses(Faluw).
Structure (column, cross beam, beam and ridge beam, etc.)
Construction begins with the laying of stones for the platform. Big stones are piled up in
three layers and the columns are fixed at the same time. From several remains found on the island where nothing is left but platforms, we can conditionally confirm the existence of holes forcolumns in the past also.
The columns are made from the Terminalia tree, and the stone base is covered by divided
and barked boards. Round columns are lined up in three rows-one in the middle and two moreon either side of it. Huge and curved, the columns in the middle row reach to the ridge beam
above them. Since columns on the two sides are also curved, they match the straight ridge beamand the cross beams well. More beams are laid on these cross beams, and ridge beams and principal rafters are laid on top of them. The ridge beam protrudes at the two ends and makes theroof incline upwards.
There is an additional wooden platform on the outer side of the side columns in these buildings. Corner columns are positioned on it and connected up with cross beams made of bamboo.
Both the corner columns and beams are made of pandanus wood, and are tied together in aRural Bulidings on Yap Island

45

unique way by coconut fiber cord to form an artistic pattern (Fig.3, Fig.24, Fig.33, Fig.43,
Fig.49, Fig.58).
Large-scale building
We mentioned that the Peebay is the largest scale building on the island-it is a long andslender rectangle of about 20 meters in length, more than 7 meters in width and with center columns more than 43 centimeters in diameter. In some cases, logs for the joints of this building are
cut in halves to be connected to each other, which we think of as the primordial form of the socalled “halved joint”. In most other cases, cords are used to connect jointed members (Fig.38).
In the situation where column and cross beam are connected, usually only the cross beamis cut to make the combination fit. When beams and posts are combined, cords are usually used,with posts being cut in order to protrude a little below the beam so as to make it easier to tie thecords (Fig.33). From these facts, we know that, instead of developing a joint technology, emphasis was put on how to tie cords in order to secure the different parts of a joint.
As for building tools, it seems that saw, hammer and chisel were enough for the carpenters.
The technology developed to accomplish such a large-scale building by tying most of the joints
with cords is really worth a thorough assessment.

The Uniqueness of Technology
Compared with modern advanced technology, no-pedestal columns, ridge-beam-supportingcolumns, primordial joints and cord-connected joints might be considered simple and inferior
technology. On the other hand, the local people can find coconuts everywhere to make cords, andcan also gather other architectural materials easily. The technology they apply in the constructionof large-scale buildings with only these materials should be considered advanced technology.
A traditional building does sway in the wind, but, since joints are connected with cords,
flexibility prevents the building from being demolished. When the wind blows very hard, thepalm leaf roof will blow away, which will save the columns, beams and so forth from being destroyed. If the roof is blown away it can be repaired, but if the structure collapses it has to be rebuilt. It is really ingenious for the Yap people to protect the structure by making the roof
“dispensable” when the wind is strong. Here is a traditional way to coexist with nature by constructing flexible structures: not to “go against” nature by constructing solid ones. And furthermore, based on a full understanding of a human being’s position in nature, this is a unique
technology which has made sustainable development possible. Since it is also connected with thespirit of autonomy of the islanders, we think it well worth full evaluation.

Acknowledgements
I wish to thank my students Naoki Takezoe and Kousuke Yamamoto for their assistance in
the investigation on Yap Island. Thanks are also due to graduate students Su Liu, Jian Tang,
Hideki Tanaka, Fumie Yoshimitsu and Fei Dai for finishing the drawings of those buildings, andto graduate student Fei Dai for help in translating the article. And I am especially indebted toProfessor Peter King (University of Sydney) for revision of this article.

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Fig. 1. Exterior view of rural house: Bechiel Village.

Fig. 2. Interior view of rural house, Bechiel
Village: the core column is set in thecenter.
Fig. 3. Cords made of palm tree fiber are used to join the
different parts of the house: Bechiel Village.

Fig. 4. Plan of “old” traditional house: Bechiel Village.

Rural Bulidings on Yap Island

47

Fig. 5. Mr. Roarad's traditional house: Rumuuq Village. Fig. 6. Mr. Roarad's kitchen and dining room:
Rumuuq Village.

Fig. 7. Hearth of Mr. Roarad’s house: Rumuuq Village.

Fig. 9. Plan of Mr. Roarad’s kitchen anddining room: Rumuuq Village.

Fig. 8. Plan of Mr. Roarad’s house: Rumuuq Village.

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Fig. 10. Exterior View of another rural house: Runuw Village.

Fig. 11. Kitchen and dining room (box on the left side is a cupboard) of another rural house: Runuw Village.

Fig. 12. Toilet of another rural
house: Runuw Village.

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49

Fig. 13. Exterior view of Mr. Mangefel’s house: Runuw Village.

Fig. 14. Interior view of Mr. Mangefel’s house: Runuw Village.

Fig. 15. Plan of Mr. Mangefel’s modern house: Runuw Village.

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Fig.16. Exterior view of community house: Kaday Village.

Fig. 18. Joint of column, beam and principal rafter,
community house: Kaday Village.

Fig. 17. Interior view of community house: Kaday
Village.

Fig. 19. Hearth and column set directly on the
ground, community house: Kaday Village.

Rural Bulidings on Yap Island

Fig. 20. Plan of community house: Kaday Village.

Fig. 21. Section of community house: Kaday Village.

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Mitsuyoshi TSUCHIDA

Fig. 22. Exterior view of community house: Tomor Village.

Fig. 23. Interior view of community house: Tomor Village. Fig. 24. Joint connected with cord, community house: Tomor Village.

Fig. 25. Plan of community house: Tomor Village.

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53

Fig. 26. Exterior view of community house: Bechiel Village.

Fig. 27. Interior view of community house: Bechiel Village.

Fig. 28. Decoration of core column and beam,community house: Bechiel Village.

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Mitsuyoshi TSUCHIDA

Fig. 29. Plan of community house: Bechiel Village.

Fig. 30. Section of community house: Bechiel Village.

Rural Bulidings on Yap Island

Fig. 31. Exterior view of community house: Anoth Village.

Fig. 32. Interior view of community house: Anoth Village.

Fig. 33. Joint of beam and post, community
house: Anoth Village.

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Mitsuyoshi TSUCHIDA

Fig. 34. Plan of community house: Anoth Village.

Fig. 35. Section of community house: Anoth Village.

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57

Fig. 36. Exterior view of men’s house: Balabat Village.

Fig. 38. Detailed combination of cross beams,
men’s house: Balabat Village.

Fig. 37. Outside corner column (166×263mm) and inside round column (265mm diameter), men’shouse: Balabat Village.

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Mitsuyoshi TSUCHIDA

Fig. 39. Plan of men’s house: Balabat Village.

Fig. 40. Section of men’s house: Balabat Village.

Rural Bulidings on Yap Island

Fig. 41. Men’s house under construction: Runuw Village.

Fig. 43. Detailed combination of column and post(bamboo) of men’s house: Runuw Village.

Fig. 42. Interior view of men’s house underconstruction: Runuw Village.

Fig. 44. Column without pedestal, fixed bystones: Runuw Village.

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Mitsuyoshi TSUCHIDA

Fig. 45. Plan of men’s house under construction: Runuw Village.

Fig. 46. Section of men’s house under construction: Runuw Village.

Rural Bulidings on Yap Island

Fig. 47. Exterior view of men’s house: Amun Village.

Fig. 48. Interior view of men’s house: Amun Village.

Fig. 49. Detailed combination of column andbeam, men’s house: Amun Village.

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Mitsuyoshi TSUCHIDA

Fig. 50. Plan of men’s house: Amun Village.

Fig. 51. Section of men’s house: Amun Village.

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63

Fig. 52. Exterior view of men’s house: Maaq Village. Fig. 53. Interior view of men’s house: Maaq Village.

Fig. 54. Plan of men’s house: Maaq Village.

Fig. 55. Section of men’s house: Maaq
Village.

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Mitsuyoshi TSUCHIDA

Fig. 57. Interior view of men’s house: Waloy
Village.

Fig. 56. Exterior view of men’s house: Waloy
Village.

Fig. 58. Members tied separately, men’s house: Waloy
Village.

Fig. 59. Hearth and column without pedestal: Waloy Village.

Rural Bulidings on Yap Island

Fig. 60. Plan of men’s house: Waloy Village.

Fig. 61. Section of men’s house: Waloy Village.

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Mitsuyoshi TSUCHIDA

Fig. 62. Exterior view of men’s house: Bachiel Village.

Fig. 63. Interior view of traditional men’s house: Bachiel Village.

Fig. 64. Plan of men’s house: Bachiel Village.

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Rural Bulidings on Yap Island

Fig. 65. Exterior view of women’s house: Rumuw Village.

Fig. 66. Interior view of women’s house: Rumuw Village.

Fig. 67. Plan of women’s house: Rumuw Village.