Thalolo

My friend, Teej recently wrote about the death season here on Yap. I would like to talk about my own experience on this subject. Recently, my host father Maffel died. He had been battling an illness that made it hard for him to breath. I’ve known and loved him for almost two years and I’ve never known him not to be sick. Even though he was sick, he always was the peacemaker and he always had kind words to offer.
Yapese funerals are a blend of customs. The family has a meeting to decide when and where the funeral will take place. The women are in charge of cooking (traditionally people would bring baskets of uncooked lak-taro and fish). Nowadays the women cook meat & taro for the men. The men are in charge of preparing the burial site and digging the grave for the body to rest. The family also provides food and refreshments for visitors coming to the wake. The men and the women meet in separate places at the wake. This allows each group to grieve separately (normally in Yapese culture, you shouldn’t cry in public or even in front of family). The women adorn the body with flowers, lava lavas and small trinkets. The women stay with the body at the wake until the next morning. Extended family and friends come to pay respect and mourn for their lost friend. The Yapese ladies lament in a beautiful way of chanting and crying. This is called thalolo.
At the funeral, the men carry the body (in the adorned casket) to the burial site. A priest will say a few words (some families might have a service) and people place flowers in the grave.
On Yap there is a death season. People seem to pass over in multiples of three. When you hear of someone’s death, you know that there will be more to follow.