Traditional Councils in the Yap State

The councils are responsible for exercising the functions that relate to tradition and custom, which are not required to be recorded in the written law.

The council leaders have great influence over the resignation of government officials they deem to be in violation of the law and over the selection of candidates for governor and lieutenant-governor of the Yap State.

The councils meet periodically to discuss matters relating to customs and traditions, provide advice to those who come to them for consultation and approval, and organize cultural and heritage events.

[1] At the federal level, the Constitution envisages the creation of a House of Chiefs made up of traditional leaders or elected representatives.

[2] The people of the Yap State preserved a solid set of customs and traditions despite long foreign domination (by the Spanish, Germans, Japanese, and then Americans) and in spite of the depopulation caused by the diseases brought by Europeans and external cultural influences.

[4] The Yap State Constitution recognises four branches of government: the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, and traditional leaders.

[3] The first section of Article III of the Yap Constitution, added in 2006 by an amendment, recognises the role in traditions and customs of the Dalip pi Nguchol[5].

[12][13][14] The third section of Article III states that nothing in the Constitution shall be interpreted as limiting or invalidating recognized traditions or customs.

[3] According to the lawyer Brian Z. Tamanaha, "Unlike the other three branches, however, councils transcend the separation of powers by exercising quasi-legislative, quasi-executive, and judicial functions, not to mention the leadership role".

It is commonly accepted that their role is to maintain and preserve the Yapese cultural heritage, including yalen u Wa'ab, i.e. customs and traditions.

Anthropologist Glenn Petersen suggests that many Micronesians, and particularly the Yapese, are acutely aware of the differences between chieftaincy and statehood, and want to preserve the role of traditional leaders as protectors of the people, to maintain competing power blocs, and not to have federal power alone imposed on them (although they do recognise its merits[2][15]).

[16] They have the power to hold oversight hearings, forcing the state governor, his cabinet, or the entire administration, to justify their policies and actions.

According to former President of the Federated States of Micronesia John Haglelgam, the effectiveness of the councils is limited because their members are relatively uneducated.

[17] As almost exclusive landowners on the islands of which they are chiefs, they are obliged to act as intermediaries for the state for public services.

[19] At the end of March 2019, nine of the ten Pilung council members demanded the expulsion of the American journalist Joyce McClure, who moved to the Yap Islands, accusing her of disseminating false information that could disrupt the state's security.

[20][21][22] McClure published articles about attempts by a foreign company to bribe Yap State governors and lieutenant governors, which they themselves revealed,[23] and about fishing licence cases around Ulithi that led to the removal of the Tamol council member Chief Fernando Moglith.

[24][25] The Yapese legislators rejected the expulsion on April 30, as they considered the request inappropriate and outside the council's jurisdiction.

[10] As anthropologist Stefan M. Krause reports, "Now chiefs meet regularly in a central office to receive a minor stipend, which is mainly for administrative tasks performed for the state.

[10] For Stefan M. Krause, the state has appropriated the traditional authority of the chiefs by incorporating them into their disciplinary institution.

In the early 2010, a large section of the population opposed the establishment of a giant 10,000-room casino hotel by a Chinese company on the Yap Islands, which has since been abandoned.

In this case, the Pilung council at one point negotiated with the foreign investors and one of its members may have received a bribe.

Despite this, the vast majority of the population consider the councils to be the legitimate arbiters of truth in matters of yalen u Wa'ab.