Kanifay

Kanifay is a municipality in the Western Caroline Islands.

Alternative spellings and historic names include: Kanifu, Kanifai; Nif, Nof

Kanifay is a part of the island of Marbaa' within the group of islands termed "Yap," itself part of the titular Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia.

Subunits

Villages within the municipality include: Malai, Gal, Nif, Nel, Fra

As with many placenames in Micronesia, Kanifay is a geographic 'pars pro toto', in which the name of a constitutive village, island or atoll is often used describe the larger island, atoll or island grouping in which it is the predominate member.

Population, Language and Religion

The 2010 FSM Census reported a population of 314. Yapese is the spoken language and religious affiliation is primarily Roman Catholic, with a minority of Protestants.

Governance

Spain laid claim to the Carolines from the time of initial discovery in the early 1500's but made no attempt to occupy or administer them. In 1885 a Governor for the Carolines was appointed by the Governor General of the Philippines and presence established in Pohnpei and Yap. In this Spanish Period (1521-1899), Kanifay fell within the Western District of the Spanish East Indies.

After the Spanish-American War, Spain sold the Palau, Caroline, and Marianas Islands to Germany in 1899. In this German Period (1899-1914), the Caroline, Palau and Mariana Islands (excluding Guam), along with the Marshalls, annexed in 1885, were titled Imperial German Pacific Protectorates. The Carolines become an administrative district of German New Guinea under direction of a vice-governor and Kanifayfell within the Western Caroline District.

The Carolines were seized from the Germans by the Japanese early in World War I. Despite protests from the United States, including the Yap Crisis, the Islands were in 1920 mandated to Japan by the League of Nations. In this Japanese Period (1914-1941), Kanifay fell within the Yap District of the “Nan'yō Cho” or South Seas Government.

Following liberation of the islands in the War in the Pacific, the islands were administered by the US Navy. The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was formalized by United Nations Security Council Resolution 21 in 1947. The Navy passed governing duties to the Department of the Interior in 1951. During the USN Period (1945-1947) and the TTPI Period (1947-1979) Kanifay fell within the Yap Administrative Unit and then the Yap District.

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) was established with the end of the Trust Territory. The FSM is one of three “Freely Associated States,” or “FAS” nations that entered into a Compact of Free Association or “COFA” with the US. The treaty and agreements provide economic assistance to the countries, secured US defense rights and set defense responsibilities, and allow FAS citizens to migrate to the United States.

Traditional Culture

Pre-Contact

Kanifay was part of the Tabinaw, or Yap Land Title and Kinship System (sometimes called the "Yapese Caste" system.

Pre-contact social order was characterized by: a social hierarchy with stronger chiefs where violence used to seize and maintain power (Goldman Level 2 of 3); occasional interpersonal violence (between individuals who frequently, but not always, are known to one another); one or just a few deaths per year (2 on Younger's 0-4 scale); chronic warfare, defined as armed aggression between political communities or alliances of political communities, essentially continuously (4 on Younger's 0-4 scale).

Property rights were characterized by: a land tenure system based on patrilineal ownership (Sudo, Type 4). Food resources are owned by the agnatic (patrilineal) lineage and inherited patrilineally.; a system of sea tenure in which the reef-lagoon is owned by families (Sudo Type 4).

Present Day

Traditional chiefly authority is exercised by the Council of Pilung.

In Yap, traditional leaders have a role in governnance that enshrines them as a "Fourth Branch." As John Haglelgam, former President of the FSM observed in his "Traditional Leaders and Governance in Micronesia" (1998), “in Yap, the traditional leaders have formal roles in the government. The Yap state constitution created two councils of chiefs: one for the main islands of Yap and one for the outer island chiefs. These councils are empowered to review and disapprove an act of the state legislature if it violates custom and tradition… The legislature cannot override the veto of these councils but can incorporate their objection in the bill and return it for their review. So far. the councils have used their power sparingly. The councils have also expanded their power to review policy of the executive branch which has forced the governor and his cabinet to justify their policy to the councils… The two councils are in essence public watchdogs, making sure that elected officials and bureaucrats are doing their job.“

Electoral Divisions

The legislative branch of the Federated States of Micronesia is unicameral. Two types of Senators are elected: at-large senators, one for each of the four states, who serve four-year terms, and population-based senators, representing specific constituencies, who serve two-year terms. The President of Micronesia is elected by the Congress from amongst the four at-large senators, after which a special election is held to (re)fill that seat.Kanifay is represented in the FSM Congress by the Yap, At-Large Seat Senator, and the Yap, Sole Population-Based District Senator.

Education

The Local Education Agency, or “school district” for Kanifay is the Yap State Department of Education and Kanifay falls within the Waab Zone.