POHNPEIAN CULTURE

Pohnpei's people offer a look at family life island style. Communities come together to weave a new boat house or just wash the daily clothes. Kids frolic in the water of the many rivers that flow from the mountains and down past the villages.

Pohnpei is famous for its energetic dances and also for the relaxing drink sakau, a kava-like brew. Watching sakau being prepared is an experience unique to Pohnpei. The pepper plant is taken from the wild and presented at a special ceremony. The root is then pounded and mixed with water to form an earthy tasting drink that inspires both myth and magic. This host to the nation's capital has much to offer the visiting nature lover, explorer and hiker.

Western architecture has made substantial inroads, but you can still see a few examples of local building in Micronesia. Traditional community structures were constructed from planks of native mahogany with roofs of thatched nipa palm. Micronesia also has a strong tradition of canoe building. Some of the world's greatest early navigators came from the islands, using canoes much like the ones made today. The canoes have a single outrigger, and are generally made from a hollowed breadfruit tree. Larger ocean-going vessels are made of planks bound together with coconut husk fibres, some of which are 100ft (30m) long.

Before the arrival of the almighty greenback, most Micronesians did their trading with beads, shells and clams.

Pohnpeians are particularly big on yams, and serve dog at traditional feasts. The use of sakau , a narcotic drink made from the roots of pepper shrubs, is huge on Pohnpei, where sakau bars outnumber other bars two-to-one.