Waqaab (Yap Island)

Yap Island is an island located in the western Pacific Ocean, part of the Federated States of Micronesia.

Yap is famous for its stone money, known as Rai or Fei: huge doughnut-shaped, carved calcite disks up to 4 m in diameter (the most are much smaller). The tiniest can be as little as 3.5 cm across. Many of them were introduced from other islands, including New Guinea, although the majority originated in Palau. Their worth is determined by the size of the stone as well as its history. The disks were historically revered by the Yapese because the substance resembled quartz and they were the most gleaming items available. The stones eventually became legal money and were even required in some transactions.

On the island, there are four more sorts of currencies. "Mmbul" is a length of lava-lava, which is used for loincloths. Then there's "Gau" or "Gaw," a 10-foot-long shell necklace. "Yar" is money made of big shells about eight inches wide that have been punctured and tied on a coconut rope. Finally, "Reng" is the term given to money made of turmeric, which is powdered and combined with water before being molded into a ball and used in tribal rites.