The Republic of Palau is made up of more than 200 Pacific Ocean islands, but only eight of these islands are permanently inhabited. It is believed that the original settlers of Palau came from Indonesia as early as 2500 BC. The Palauns are a composite of Polynesian, Malayan, and Melanesian lineage. Being a blood relative is important in Palau as kinship traditionally was and still remains the major determinant of social status. Traditional customs are evident in a value system that distinguishes between people on the basis of social status and sex.
Palau’s earliest history remains mostly a mystery because exactly why, how or when people first arrived on the islands is unknown. As for dates of their arrival, carbon dating of artifacts from the oldest known village sites on the Rock Islands and the terraces on the Babeldoab date civilization here as early as 1,000 BC. It is also known that Palau once sustained a population much larger than that of today.
Although in the past few decades, Palau has adapted to an international economy, Palauns for the most part identify with their traditional culture. Several of the traditional ceremonies, such as the omersurch birth ceremony, ocheraol first-house ceremony and the kemeldiil funeral services are widely practiced and codes and beliefs adopted by Palauan forefathers are still highly revered today. Palauan villages were and still are organized around 10 clans that are determined matrilineally. A council of chiefs from the ranking 10 clans governs the villages, and a parallel council of female counterparts play a significant advisory role in the control and division of land and money.
Men and women had strictly defined roles to perform for the continuity of the village. The sea was the domain of the men who harvested the fish necessary to sustain life in the village. They also were responsible for carrying on battles. Inter-village wars were common, so men spent a lot of time in their meeting houses where they perfected their canoe building and refined their skills with weapons. Women on the other hand, were in charge of the home. They cultivated vegetables and also harvested shellfish and sea cucumbers from the shallow reefs. Until the 1800’s Palauans were tattooed, with the women of the high clan displaying the most ornate designs. Men wore their hair in tight buns while the important chiefs wore bracelets made from vertebrae of dugongs.
The local language, Palauan, is spoken throughout the islands, except for the Southwest Islands, where the people speak a Yapese dialect. Palauan is primarily a spoken language, so there is considerable confusion about the correct spelling of names. Since there is no set standard, almost every land map that exists of the islands spells the names differently. Most names have been Americanized so they are easier to pronounce. English is now the official language of the 16 states of the Republic of Palau.
The most remarkable early foreign contact took place in 1783 when the vessel Antelope, under the command of an English captain, Henry Wilson, was shipwrecked on a reef near Ulond, a Rock Island located near Koror and Peleliu. With the assistance of the Koror’s High Chief Ibedul, Wilson and his men stayed for three months to rebuild the ship. When Captain Wilson left to return to England, he took Ibedul’s son, Lebuu along so that he might go to school. Unfortunately, Lebuu died from smallpox in his new country. So the English arranged a return voyage carrying news of the death along with gifts for Chief Ibedul. From that time forward, many foreign explorers sailed through Palauan waters, and the islands were exposed to more and more European contact.
Foreign governance of the Palauan Islands officially began when Pope Leo XIII claimed Spain’s rights over the Caroline Islands in 1885. Two churches were established and maintained by four Capuchin priests. After the founding of the churches, the alphabet was introduced and the inter-village wars stopped. Spain sold the Carolines to Germany in 1899, and Germany set out to exploit the natural resources. Native labor was forced to mine phosphate in Angaur, and coconuts were planted to expand crop production. At that time, the German administration also began exercising its influence over Palauan customs by banning the month long traditional feast called mur because the Germans viewed the celebration as a waste of time and profit.
Following Germany’s defeat in WWI, the League of Nations ordered that the Caroline Islands be passed to the Japanese. Japan concentrated on the economic development of the islands. The Japanese also established free public and vocational schools for the Palauans. The Japanese influence was enormous because they shifted the Palauan’s economy to a market economy. Another important change was that market ownership changed from the clan to individuals. In 1922 the territory once ruled by Chief Ibedul, Koror, became the administrative center of all Japanese possessions in the South Pacific. The population reached a record high of 40,000 people, but fewer than 10 percent were Palauans.
Following the defeat of Japan in WWII, the Carolines, Marianas and Marshall Islands became United Nation’s Trust Territories under US administration. Palau was named one of six island districts. As part of this arrangement, the US was to improve Palau’s infrastructure and educational system in order for it to become a self-sufficient nation. This finally came about on October 1, 1994, when Palau gained its independence upon signing of the Compact of Free Association with the United States.
The Compact of Free Association with the United States provides Palau with $500 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities. The economy now consists of primarily agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. The population enjoys a per capita income of $5,000, twice that of the Philippines and much higher than most of Micronesia. Prospects of a profitable tourist industry have been enhanced by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific and by the fishing prosperity of leading East Asian countries.
Only about 15,000 people inhabit these islands today, and there is a large gap between generations. The older generation was raised during the Japanese occupation, and many still speak fluent Japanese. The younger generation was raised under American influence, and they speak English. Families that are able to afford it send their children to the United States or to Hawaii for high school or college. Many do not return. As a result, there is a shortage of young professional Palauans on the islands. Forty percent of the population works for local government while most of the others work for fishing or tourist related businesses.
http://www.underwatercolours.com/necopal.html
http://www.informatik.uni-tuebingen.de/95fact/ps.html
http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/
http://www.visit-palau.com/cult.html
Written by: Elizabeth Bassett