Women lead Palau, and its Cultural Arts

Palau came into contact with Spanish explorers in 1710. Spain's influence over the region was later challenged by Germany, which eventually purchased the Caroline islands from Spain in 1899. At the start of World War I Japan took over administration of the islands, expanding infrastructure, copra and phosphate production initiated by the Germans. The United States took over after World War II and Palau became part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) administered by the US. The Spanish, German, Japanese and American periods all marked a transformation of social and political practices and particularly roles and relationships based on age and gender.

Queen of Palau: Palau is traditionally a matrilineal society in which land, rights, obligations and descent are traced through the women in a community.

In 1981 Palauans attempted to create a nuclear free constitution which held it back under the TTPI for another a decade due to the US's unwillingness to accept such a constitution. Palauan women were at the forefront of a grassroots movement to keep Palau nuclear-free and in 1988 and 1994 made submissions to the United Nations Trusteeship council and the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on behalf of the Coalition of Women's Organization of Palau to Keep Palau Nuclear-Free. After much resistance, and the assassination of anti-nuclear President Haruo Remeliik in 1985, the constitution was finally amended and today Palau is a self-governing republic in "free" association with the United States. The US continues to maintain its defense and other strategic interests in the island group, and pays the Palauan government compensation for retaining its military interests. The economic subsidization of its economy has resulted in Palau holding the highest per capita GDP of all Pacific island groups.

Proper posture and movement is crucial and much preparation goes into creating the elaborate and colorful costumes.

Palau is traditionally a matrilineal society in which land, rights, obligations and descent are traced through the women in a community. Women's groups established the social networks, enhanced prestige of kin groups and took part in public decision-making. In many Micronesian islands, however, men still retained public power and carried important leadership titles. In Palau, however, senior women in a chiefly clan would select the male paramount chief. According to Palauan activist Isabella Sumang, "In our Palau culture, it is women who have the responsibility for preserving the land for generations still to come." There are two paramount chiefdoms based on matrilineal descent but today there is mixture of this matrilineal power with modern patriarchy especially in the arenas of Christianity, economic and political leadership. Nevertheless women's interest groups in Palau are strong and actively participate in the economic, social and political landscape of the islands.

A woman's two-piece dancing skirt is made from the fiber of treated hibiscus bark and the color that the skirt is dyed represents the family or clan.

Women play a central role in the Palauan performing arts. Dance is usually learned at the bai or community houses, though women were not traditionally allowed to enter the structures, and rehearsed at home. In the past high-ranking girls occupied the center position in a line of dancers but today they are organized according to height or talent. Proper posture and movement is crucial and much preparation goes into creating the elaborate and colorful costumes. In the old days girls danced topless but today they wear a woven pandanus bra. The performers are usually covered in coconut oil that is colored with tumeric made from a well-dried root. The turmeric oil is also used in the important rituals surrounding a first-time mother. A woman's two-piece dancing skirt is made from the fiber of treated hibiscus bark and the color that the skirt is dyed represents the family or clan. The characteristic bent knee and moving hips of a dancer accentuate the colorful skirt.

In the pre-colonial period both men and women performed, usually in front of the bai. The performing arts or ngloik reflect people's interaction with their communities and the environment. They also marked special occasions, dramatized stories, involved incantations for successful agricultural activities, preparation for or celebrate after a battle and for entertainment. The performances also mediated the relationships between the human and the supernatural.

Palauans continue to maintain the necessary ancestral and cultural links to preserve Palauan identity while negotiating modernity.

According to Faustina Rehuher Palauan dances or ulekbut el ngloik involve two central parts, or pairs of dances, a "mother" dance or delal a ngloik and a humorous dance or beluulchab. The mother dance conveys important messages and the humorous dance allows performers to joke about current events. Rehuher describes three elements which make up an excellent performance: besiich which describes a dancer's physical appearance and impact, kldachelbai referring to the composer/choreographer's creativity and cheldecheduch which describes the content of the performance and the message it is conveying. Many songs or chants contain old Palauan words that are not part of the everyday vernacular in Palau. This is understood to be the language of the ancestral spirits.

Matmatong or marching songs and dances were introduced during the German period and are based on the observation of marching soldiers and the marching dances appear in various versions across the Micronesian islands. The matmatong dances are accompanied by an array of instruments from the single harmonica to keyboards or complete bands and the costuming is more contemporary. A host of outside musical influences including pop, rock, country and reggae continue to shape contemporary Palauan musical practices.

Despite the period of colonization and increasing change in the current phase of globalization Palauans, and the women in particular, continue to maintain the necessary ancestral and cultural links and practices to preserve Palauan identity while negotiating modernity. This balance was displayed most clearly when Palau hosted the 9th Festival of the Pacific Arts in 2004.

Katerina Martina Teaiwa, PhD
University of Hawai'i at Manoa