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> Like a person somewhere taking a bath, but I'm cold. Applies to any embarrassing act, such as boasting or gossiping, on the part of a friend. |
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> Like the uul [Cettria cantans?] with its house open, calling for rain. The uul may be heard to call out usually just before it rains; some say that it is calling for rain. This seems foolish, since the bird constructs its house with an opening at the top that will let rain in. A person who makes a decision or starts some action without adequate preparation is likened to the uul. |
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> The male heart is like stone. The true man or leader has a strong, unwavering character. His decisions are firm and unchanging. |
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> Like the blowgun of Ngiraeuekelebid. Derived from a humorous and (in Palauan) phonetically funny verse: Eveninga pproachest,h e womenr eturnf rom the gardens. The koranges tree is swaying and the women, looking up, see Ngiraeuekelebid. Confuseda nd embarrassedh,e climbsd own and picks up his blow gun. His plan foiled. "All the men of the village use the blowgun in the mountains. Only Ngiraeuekelebidu ses his in the gardens. Surely, if he uses it in the gardens, he will hit the bull's eye in the crotch." Men are permitted in the taro gardens but only for some special purpose and by leave of the women who may be working there in the deep mud in minimal attire, sometimes with their grass skirts put aside. (Today they work in very old clothes.) Ngiraeuekelebid, leaving the village with his blowgun as though going hunting, climbed a koranges tree overlooking the gardens to spy on the women and was caught. A poor decision or plan that in the end proves embarrassing. |
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> Like the sea-horse worm. The kobesos is a small eel-like creature with the head of a sea horse. It never faces another fish directly but always shies away sideways. The saying is applied to a person who is too bashful or backward in a public situation. |
