Our Culture
We represent three different nations, and an even wider range of cultures. Some share characteristics, while others vary from one another. But none are exactly the same. Here, we feature small windows into some of the traditions, arts, beliefs, practices, and ways of life from our homelands that COFA residents in Texas feel is important to preserve and share on.
Pingelapese Warrior Stick Dance
Sepir Yakana shares a traditional art from his home island of Pingelap in the state of Pohnpei.
Two New Videos
In these videos, Retired U.S. Army Combat Medic Instructor Sepir Yakana talks about his childhood on the island of Pingelap, in the Pohnipei state of Micronesia, and shares an introduction to two of the four warrior stick dance traditions.
Early in 2019, Sepir’s and his daughter Sabrina participated in Texas Folklife’s annual Apprenticeship in the Folk & Traditional Arts. She learned the tradition art of Pingelapese stick dance from her father. Starting at the age of nine, he has performed stick dance for nearly 51 years, and is able to perform the extremely difficult task of reciting all four chants and their associated movements simultaneously.
Retiring from the U.S. Army and settling in Copperas Cove, Sepir is one of, if not the sole, practitioners of the art form in Texas. He chose to participate in the Apprenticeship Program to preserve and pass on this culture to others in the Micronesian community.
"Through stick dance, it makes them know who they are," Sepir said. "It’s like you’re finding yourself when you look back."
Sabrina was born in Pohnpei but moved to the US when she was five years old. While growing up primarily doing hula dancing, listening to and watching her brothers learn stick dancing got her interested in the tradition early on. Before the apprenticeship she had been involved in the dance for 20 years, starting at 15 but only knowing half of the dance, reflecting the years of dedication required.
Sabrina chose to participate in the program as way to learn and perform all four chants and associated dances. She has also started to teach her son, representing three generations of the Yakana family learning the tradition.
“We all want to be connected with someone, especially in a world filled with identity crisis," Sabrina said. "To belong to a group, a family, and to know this will be something that you do makes a difference.”
These videos are the result of a collaboration with Texas Folklife. Video editing was contributed by Pete Breithaupt of Texas Folklife and Egan Kolb of El Rancho Pro. Initial support for the creation of these videos was provided by the Texas Commission on the Arts. Additional support was provided by Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and the state and local arts agencies.
Learn more about this project and COFA Veterans in this post from Texas Folklife.