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> Like a man circumcised, insufficient skin. Circumcision seems to have been known in Palau prior to contact, perhaps through contact with the Philippines, but was not widely practiced. As in this context, it usually draws attention in the form of ridicule. The idiom applies to any circumstance in which there has been insufficient preparation or planning; a premature decision. |
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> Like coconut syrup. A general reference to incestuous relations. That this is a recent idiom, probably first used during the period of Japanese administration, is suggested by the Japanese word "ameyu," used in Palau to mean coconut syrup. The incident from which the idiom derives is said to be one in which a Palauan coconut-syrup maker had relations with his wife's sister. |
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> Like the name of the bai at Chol: "Empty." A bai in the northern community of Chol is (or once was) called Medederiik, meaning "deserted" or "empty." The idiom may apply to a person without possessions, a poor man. |
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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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> From the Metkul boundary point at Ngirair, Palau is yet huge up to Ngerechelong. This saying is given two meanings, both negative, pertaining to the people of northern Palau and to Ngaraard particularly: (i) the people of northern Palau are so provincial that they still think Palau is a huge country; (2) the people of northern Palau are the biggest liars (a play on "to deceive," which sounds like Belau [Palau] ). The idiom may be shortened to "Men of the point" (Chad ra bkul), referring to a point of land at Ngirair marking the boundary of Ngaraard. Or the act of patting the elbow (bkul) may carry the same meaning. Actually, the idiom is of fairly recent vintage, pertaining in part to resistance on the part of some of the people of northern Palau to administrative programs instituted by the Japanese. |
