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> Be strong, shallows are close Crossing the lagoon, a canoe is poled in shallow water, paddled in deep. The phrase refers to canoeists tiring after a long paddle over deep water. Applied when someone is about to give up, though better times are ahead. |
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> Like the terriid, in the taro garden but hungry The terriid, a bird, is often seen in the taro garden but, unlike the purple swamp hen which eats taro corms, the terriid seems to eat nothing. The idiom may apply to anyone who works hard without recognition, or to a man frequently in the company of women but with no success as a lover. |
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> It's like the birth of a rat with one offspring per mother. It's something that happens just once, something I put up with only once. According to this saying, the rat bears but one litter. Hence the application "once is enough" about an act that bears no repeating. |
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> She's like the clams at Murael, lying face up (and open) and asking for news. i.e., she just sits at home asking passersby about what's going on outside. Murael is a reef near Ngerechelong where, as elsewhere in Palau, the various kinds of tradacna shell bask, open and feeding, in the shallow lagoon. The saying applies to gullibility combined with high curiosity for news and to persons who simply sit at home, letting the happenings of the community come to them via passing persons. |
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> Like the oar of Ngerechemai, breaking on the down stroke A rapid stroke technique in rowing, originated at Ngerechemai in northern Palau, consists of dipping the paddle deep with a strong, rapid stroke and bringing it forward with a smooth flip. The technique gives the appearance of considerable ease, while the canoe obtains great speed. The coxswain desiring more speed of his men may shout at them: "Besos Lechemai!" ("Oars Ngerechemai!"). The secret of the success of Ngerechemai racing canoes was not known until observers noted that the oarsmen frequently broke their paddles on the swift downstroke. Thus, when the secret of a successful leader-the leadership technique or magic that he uses-is revealed, this idiom may be applied. |
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