Working
Inventory of Stones in Belau
Richard J.
Parmentier
Brandeis
University
June, 1989
Vocabulary
for stone works:
balang
"limestone"
bad
"stone"
bad el chei
"stones from the sea"
bad er a
omoachel "river stones" (used in spells)
btangch
"backrest, standing stone"
cheldukl
"paved with stone"
cheluatl
"defensive wall"
did el bad
"stone bridge"
klidm
"face"
kingall
"seat"
metengetang
"forked stone"
oleketokel
"offering stand, altar slab"
ollachitnger
"teaching stone"
ollumel
"stone water vessel"
risois: "natural
stone formation"
terrekelel a
udoud "money measuring stone"
uleoech el
bad "stones for casting spell"
typology of
carved faces:
A: large,
rough-hewn andesite conglomerate with sunken eyeballs; called
"Great Face" by Osborne;
"large eyeball style" by Hidikata
B: smaller
finished stones with thin nose with high bridge,
oblong smiling face, small topknot
Bad el Ketau
[Stone of the Red Snapper]
Ngcheangel
Hidikata
1973 fig 83
"a
little sun-house, but made of stone rather than wood. The door
opening was
a hole, where you could offer sacrificial gifts for the
catch of the
ketau] fish, which are also called keremlall], the
red
Myripristia; hence the stone is also named Bad el Ketau." (Kramer)
Bad er a
Buil [Stone of the Moon]
Ngerard
Roisingnang
hill
Badmerouch
Imeiong
pillar
Parmentier
slides
Bad er a
Chilong
Nglabang
Parmentier
slides
Bairulchau
=
Bairemechau
Ngerechelong,
Ngerulechau
Type A
stone
colonnades and 6 puddingstone andesite faces
Hidikata
1973 fig 71
Osborne 1966
fig 63B
Osborne 1979
figs 122-148
Lucking fig
8
"By far
the most striking and obvious characteristic of these unusual
carvings are
the huge, staring, bulging eyes set beneath a bulging
forehead. The nasal and alveolar area is low and
curves down to an
open mouth
with pits at each end and typically three huge teeth or
fangs
prominently displayed. One is at
each side, curving outward
below or
inside the pits and the third is central.
Below the mouth 4
wide
wedge-shaped depressions, opposing one another in pairs,
apparently
form the highly stylized outline of a quadruped, facing up
into the
mouth of the Being--or they may represent the latter's
genital
area." (Osborne 1979:161).
"The
salient characteristics show well in one or another of the
illustrations:
the bulging forehead, goggle eyes, the three central
'teeth'; the
pits and the side fangs and the quadruped-like object
below. I have wondered if this last is not a
stylized representation
of the more
clearly delineated animal figure which I consider to
depict a
crocodile on the Koror 3 stela (Osborne 1966:112-115, fig.
30a)
[Dirrangerekesuaol]." (Osborne 1979:176)
Beduch Liel
Ulimang
Hidikata
1973 fig 23
"this
klidm] from the side clearly looks as though it were a typical
stone
phallus." (Hidikata 1973:22)
Bekeurebodel
[Brave of Ngerebodel]
= Ius el bad
[Crocodile Stone] (Hidikata)
= Bad el ius
(Osborne)
Ngerebodel,
blai Ngerukoi
ref: story
of Bekeurebodel and Osecheluib
Hidikata
1973 fig 3
Kramer II:3
fig 51
Osborne 1966
fig 46
"the
prominent ears and general thickness and crudity, slant eyes, and
small mouth
are the outstanding features" (Osborne)
Hidikata
says it was given to Bekeurebotel as a reward by Mad of
Ngerard
Boi
[Rooster]
Ollei
rooster on
hexagonal basalt pillar
Hidikata
1973 fig 76A
Kramer II:3
33 fig 9
Osborne 1966
fig 64A
"At
first the rooster and its pillar were in Ngetmel. When this
village was
abandoned, the natives brought it to Ngerebau. Later,
when this
was beseiged and conquered by Ngebuked, they were both taken
as loot, and
the stones were loaded on a bamboo float.
But the
rooster
frightened everyone by crowing when it got to Ngebuked, and it
seemed that
the voice came from the inside of the stone. The natives
were so
frightened that they carried the rooster on a bamboo float to
Oketol near
Mengellang, and thence to Ollei" (Kramer)
Chebecheb
[Facing Down]
Imeiong, on
bai platform
taken to
Ngetechum as payment
ref: story
of destruction of Uluang
Chebei el
Bad [Taro Stone]
Ngeredubech
risois] upon
which a man rode down from heaven
Chedebsungel
Bad
Ngeredubech
Hidikata
1973 fig 16A
natural
stone
"he
said that it was a cursing stone, and that if anyone procured one
of his
enemy's articles and offered it to this stone and cursed him,
the person
would become sick and die" (Hidikata 1973:17)
Chiuaiu
[Sleeper]
Melekeok
Type A
Osborne 1979
fig 100
Parmentier
slides
Delangerik
Ngerechelong,
hill Cheleos
Kramer II:3
fig 2
Delarok
Ngeredelolk
Hidikata
1973 fig 105D
Dellalchelid
[Mother God]
Ngeredubech
Type B
Hidikata
1973 fig 18A
represents
Iluai, mother of Medechiibelau
Dengarech
[Face Up]
Imeiong, on
bai platform
taken to
Ngetechum as payment
ref: story
of destruction of Uluang
Dirrabakaruus
Ngcheangel,
Ngerdimes village
Osborne 1966
fig 93A
ref: story
of Orachel
stone was
moved from ancient village to present location
"It is
said to be Dirrabakaruus and is referred to above as a
Janus-faced
stone, although one side is infinitely more finished than
the
other. It would appear that the
second face, although in the same
outline, had
been added long after the first was done.
As I recall,
the unusual
piece stood about 3 feet high. It
is not one of the usual
Palauan
style and is thus, as far as I know, unique. The peculiar bib
below the
chin does not occur elsewhere." (Osborne 1966:309)
Dirrangerekesauaol
[Mrs. Ngerekesauaol]
= Tekeok el
Mid [Stubborn of Ngeremid]
Ngeremid
Type A
Kramer II:3
fig 53
Hididata fig
4A
Osborne
1966 fig 91A
"It was
very fragile, like the stone at Ngerebodel. It was made by
rough
striking, and was so worn out and covered with green moss all
over, that
it was difficult to distinguish it from other stones. The
upper part
was said to show the face of a mother, and the lower part
the back of
her child sucking milk, with its four limbs spread."
(Hidikata
1973 8)
"On
stone square A there is a stone slab of Dirrangarekesauaol with a
large face,
and a child below it; the fern growth at the top gives the
whole thing
a peculiar appearance. Legend tells
that a woman from
Ngerekesauaol
once came back from a fishing expedition and watched the
ruk]
dance. The dancers had a salt-water
tabu, and she had a salty
smell;
accordingly she was very ashamed, and she turned into stone
with the
child still at her breast" (Kramer)
"carved
monolith, spread-eagled quadruped below human face" (Osborne)
"A
young mother holding her infan in his arms" (Belau Museum)
Dirramellomes
[Mrs. Bright]
Ngeredubech
Type A
Hidikata
1973 fig 17
"the
characteristics of this kind of stone image are large eye-sockets
and no nose
at all. Even if the line of the
nose is visible to some
extent,
there is no shape of any fleshy nose.
When there is a mouth,
big teeth
are shown more often than not. All
these characterisics are
those of a
skull." (Hidikata 1973 18)
Iechadelchol
Imeiong,
Ngeluong
Iechadrachuoluu
[Mr. Protection]
Imeiong
Osborne 1966
fig 51A & B
Parmentier
photo 2
Parmentier
slides
Iingerturong
[Cave of Ngerturong]
Imeiong
Kramer
III:6, fig 206
Parmentier
slides
refuge seat
Iluai
Ngersuul,
Tmachel
face is worn
away, .6 m high
"in the
past food was offered to her on festival days" (Hidikata
1973:74)
Iluochel
Type A
Ollei
Kramer II:3
fig 11
ref: story
of Iluochel, who introduced taro
Imechei
Ngetbang
Hidikata
1973 fig 15A
natural
stone
Imiungs el
bad
Ngellau,
Illai bai
Hidikata
1973 fig 88
Lucking fig
69
Parmentier
slides
ref: story
of Milad
circular
mortar stone
at
Ngerutechei, taken to Orukei in Imeiong, then to Ngellau
Isngel a
Choi
Ngebei
"The
stepping stone on the Ngebiul side, Isngel a Choi, has a face
without any
mouth, on the ditch side. The story
goes that once upon a
time a man
called Choi, who came from Ngebiul, told a great many lies,
and so the
chelid] cut off his mouth and turned him into stone"
(Kramer)
Kedung
[Behaved]
Ngerutoi
Hidikata
1973 fig 25A
Kingellel a
Buil [Seat of the Moon]
Ngetmel,
house Iromel
Type A
Hidikata
1973 fig 80
Osborne
1966:208?
ref: story
of moon cycles
Kingellel a
Ngiraidemai
Ngebei
basalt block
"The
Ngiraidemai in Ngebiul has in front of his house a mighty square
block of
basalt, 1 meter thick and about 2.5 meters high, which is
also his
kingellel]. Formerly the custom was that a man who alleged
he was
possessed by the Medechiibelau had to come here and prove his
calling by
jumping onto the top of the block without the help of his
hands. If he succeeded, his claim was
sufficiently legitimized; he was
bedokel
chelid]." (Kubary "Religion" 23).
Kingellel a
Uchererak [Seat of Uchererak]
Imeiong
Parmentier
slides
moved from
Chedukl to Ngerungelang
Kingellel a
Uchelchelid
Ngerubesang
stone pillar
about 80 cm tall with stone head on top
(Kubary)
Lmangellbad
[Weeping Stone]
Beluuraklngong
Parmentier
slides
smoothly
polished curving upright
Madrangeaol
Type A
Ngchemliangel,
Lbeng bai
Hidikata
1973 fig 11B
Osborne 1066
fig 55C
Hidikata
says .75 m high;
"it is
of andesite and appears to have been brought in from elsewhere
and not to
have been made at the time the probably relatively recent
platform was
constructed. The head is 26
inches tall." (Osborne
1966:183))
Medechiibelau
Type A
Ngetbang
Osborne 1966
fig 55A
Medechiibelau
Kramer II:6,
fig 218
face on top
of post
Meltelngeluul
Ngchemliangel,
Ngelmuul hill
=
Madrangeoal?
Mengachui
[Eats Hair]
Ngetbang,
Urreked bai
Type A
Hidikata
1973 fig 15B
moved from
hillside Ngeremedangeb, carried as tokens of victory
Mengachui
[Eats Hair]
Ngchemliangel
Hidikata
1973 fig 11A
pillar
Mengachui
[Eats Hair]
Melekeok
Hidikata
1973 fig 92
Parmentier
slides
Mengeraod el
Bad
Mengallang,
at bai
"a
flat, rectangular stone measuring some .9 m across, and it looks
like a
female genital stone like the large stone at the ruins of the
bai] of the
old rubak] in Ngkeklau and the triangle stone at Bai
el
Chelab." (Hidikata 1973:51)
Meruubelau
Chelab
stone seat
Kramer II:3
fig 20
Hidikata
1973 fig 34
ref: story
of Meruubelau
Mesekiu el
Bad
Ngeremetengel,
in front of bai
mentioned by
Hidikata, but I collected no information
Mlechell
[Childbirth]
Urdmau
Type B, .6 m
high
Hidikata
1973 fig 27C
Mlil a
Chelebucheb [Money Boat]
Ollei, bai
Kramer II:3
fig 11 (13)
brought from
Ngebuked
ref: story
of Techocho
Mongalmong
Ngeredubech
Type B
Hidikata
1973 fig 16B
called
Odubechelchelid by cult group
Ngartemellang
[About to Destroy]
Imeiong
Parmentier
photo 7
Parmentier
slides
tall pillar
Ngerengarraimeched
Ngerutechei,
at bathing pool
heals skin
sores
Ngiraomekuul
(Bedengel a) [Body of Ngiraomekuul]
Chol
Hidikata
1973 fig 60
Ngiraomekuul
Ngerechol
(Beliliou)
"The
surface of this stone had two scars as if it has been used for
sharpening
objects." (Hidikata 1973:79)
Obadebusech
[Carries Conch Trumpet]
Melekeok
Type A
Osborne 1966
fig 73B
Osborne 1979
fig 154
Parmentier
slides
Obechad
Ngerekebesang
"a
large, natural stone, and not artificial" (Hidikata 1973:11)
Obechad
Ngesang
Type A
ref: Milad
story
Obilmeai
Ngebuked
Type B
Hidikata
1973 36A (calls it Bilmeyai)
Odalechmelech
[Planted at Ngeremelech]
Melekeok
Type A
Hidikata
1973 fig 91
Osborne 1966
fig 73A
Osborne 1979
figs 98, 99
Parmentier
slides
"the
god Odalechmelech of Melekeok is a native of Ulimang" (Kramer)
Olebadabel
[Measuring Stone]
Ngellau,
Illai bai
Hidikata
1973 fig 88B
Parmentier
slides
Olekeok
[Stubborn]
Melekeok
Type B
Kramer II:3
fig 30
Hidikata
1973 fig 90B
ref: story
of Milad
"from
whom the land of Melekeok derives its name and who is
personified
by a stone in the shape of a human head." (Kubary
"Religion"
32)
"Von
Miklucho-Maclay says that the stone chelid] Olekeok receives
sacrifices,
and that it rises from the earth when club people have
captured a
head, and that residents of the village don't know anything
about
it." (Kramer)
Oleketokel
[Offering Stand]
Ngerutoi
Hidikata
1973 fig 24A
brought from
Uluang
ref: story
of destruction of Uluang
Ongeluluul
[Whisper]
Ngiual,
Belod
Parmentier
slides
ref: story
of Kelulau
Orachel
Ngetbang
risois
ref: story
of Orachel
Oreor el bad
Oreor, in
front of Irachel blai (formerly a shrine)
ref: story
of Milad
Orrengeschais
[Hear News]
Ngetbang,
road near Urreked
Hidikata
1973 fig 16A
Orrengeschais
[Hears News]
Melekeok
Hidikata
1973 fig 91
Parmentier
slides
Osecheluib
Ngerard
Hidikata 1973
fig 47
"well
esteemed by the new society people" (Hidikata 1973)
ref: story
of Bekeurebodel
Sokodiang
Ollei
120 cm tall
Kramer II:3
fig 11 (12)
represents
Olungiis, who freed the daughter of Techocho
Tang el
Ongos [Pillar of the East]
Ollei
Hidikata
1973 fig 75D
forked
monolith, .54 m high
Tekeok el
Mid see] Dirrangerekesauaol
Tekeokisuul
Ngersuul
Type B
Hidikata
1973 fig 96A
Teleuecheldui
Ngerutoi
Hidikata
1973 fig 25C
"It was
said that only people who became gods could mount the stone,
pehaps indicating
it was a seat for humans who acted simultaneously as
chief and
priest" (Hidikata 1973:25)
large flat
stone
Temdokl
Irrai
Kramer II:3;
photo in III:6, 18
taken to
Germany?
ref: story
of Milad
small head
statue
Temdokl
Ngebuked
Hidikata
1973 fig 40
small face
ref: story
of Milad
"According
to folklore there was certain person (Temdokl) residing at
the entrance
of the settlement whose duty it was to keep a watch over
things
inside and outside of the settlement and to report any trouble.
The stones
may have been put here in remembrance of this figure."
(Hidikata
1973)
Terrid
[Bird]
Ngesang
Type A
Hidikata
1973 45B
ref: story
of Milad
Tet er a
Ollei
moved to
museum in Oreor
stone coffin
Hidikata fig
3
Tmud
Ngerutechei
Type A
Lucking fig
37
Parmentier
slides
Tunglch [?]
Ngerechol
(Beliliou), Ibesachel bai
"nothing
was known about this god called Tunglch, but because it seems
he has been
worshipped by the natives for many years, we may assume
the
designation was not new" (Hidikata 1973:79)
Uchelchelid
(Bedengel a) [Body of Uchelchelid]
Ollei
Uchelkebesadel
(bedengel a)
Ngerekebesang,
Roiskebesang
Type A
Hidikata
1973 fig 8B
"This
hard stone had a small indentation where the nose would be, as
illustrated,
but an indefinite pair of hollows to the sides of the
indentations
for eyes, but the stone cannot defintely be claimed to be
artificial"
(Hidikata 1973:10)
Uchelchelid
(bedengel a)
Type B
Hidikata
1973 fig 6
"The
lower part was left bluntly pointed, probably because it had been
stuck in the
ground in the past. It was brought from a stone pavement
(cheldukl])
called Ulechouch beside an association (bai]) called
Ngerebachesis
in Desekel. It was said to be
Bedengel a Uchelchelid,
obviously a
recent designation and meaning." (Hidikata 1973:10)
Uchelkeklau
see] Ngkeklau group, stone (d)
Uchuladebong
[Origin Point Where We Go Forth]
Ngerutechei
pavement in
front of Olechaulchau bai
Parmentier
1967:237-41
Ux[Unnamed
Stones]
Chelab,
Roisang
Type A
Hidikata
1973 fig 46
"two
weird klidm], but aside from the explanation that 6 is a god
and 7 a
goddess, no other tradition exists about them. These slightly
over-worked
images are perhaps the creation of the later years of the
large
eyeball style." (Hidikata 1973:37)
Imeiong
Osborne
1966:47C & D
cf. Osborne
1979: fig 171!
Irrai
(Osborne), Ngeremid (Hidikata 1973)
Type B
Hidikata
1973 fig 4B
Osborne 1966
fig 69A
"A
human image with a face on each of the four sides was carved on top
the
cylindrical stone, as shown in the figure.
The front and rear
faces were
male, and the right and left faces were female. According
to an old
man, it stood in front of the shrine when he was a child."
(Hidikata
1973:9)
"It
recalls, in the shaping and handling of nose and eyes, the large
carving at B
1. The west face is clearly that of
a female; the eastern
is broken
and eroded but does not appear to have represented a woman,
while the
northerly face is a less well-established duplicate of the
southern"
(Osborne 1966:222)
Melekeok
Type A
Osborne 1979
fig 97 (Stone H)
Melekeok
Type A
Osborne 1979
fig 103 (Stone D)
"Instead
of the eye sockets and eyeball boss and the elaborately
toothed
mouth, there is a seeming merging of forehead area and toothed
area so that
a stylistically reduced representation of a face appears.
There are
two elongated downward pendant bosses, one on each side.
These may be
the malar area. Within these is a
pair of deep vertical
grooves
terminating abruptly at the forehead, apparently delimiting
the eye
sockets. The latter are separated
by an elongate, vertical,
slightly
downward flaring ridge which could be nasal." (Osborne
1979:135)
Ngerdermang,
near Ulimang
Type B
Hidikata
1973 fig 54A
Ngerdermang,
near Ulimang
Type A
Hidikata
1973 fig 54B
Ngerdmau
Type B
Osborne 1966
fig 68 (sketch)
Parmentier slides
"a
small, roughly cylindrical stone on which a face had been carved"
(Oborne
1966:215)
Ngerebodel
Osborne
1966:44D
Ngereklngong
Type A
Ngereklengong?
= Osborne B 3
Type A, 2
stones
these are
the ones I could not locate
Ngesang
Hidikata
1973 45C
standing
stone with forked top
Ngkeklau,
Ngaramesikt bai
grouping of
stones:
Hidikata
1973 fig 57
Osborne 1966
fig 72A
Kramer II:3
fig 21
(a)
"mast" (orrakl]) of Uchelkeklau, pillar
(b)
"sails" (ears]) of Uchelkeklau; large triangular stone, upright
in Kramer,
lying flat in Hidikata, missing in Osborne?
(c) unnamed
Type B face: "formed largely by grooving; it is a head,
blocky and
flattened on top, with large slanting almond-shaped eyes,a
long, low
nose, labial grooves, a small upcurved mouth and a
self-satisfied
smirk." (Osborne 1966:234)
(d)
Uchelkeklau, Type B face: "taller, grim and dour Uchelkeklau....
He stands
about two feet high, above the forest mold. The piece is
the best
example of the art style that I saw." (Osborne 1966:234) (e)
"small
round stone; it is a pensive little thing; the only discernable
features are
two small pecked eyes" (Osborne 1966:234); "it was
brought here
from Ngiual" (Hidikata 1973:46)
(f)
"owl" (chesuch]), Type A face. "A small Great Face, broken
across the
midsection and known as the 'owl'. This upper fragment must
have been
brought from elsewhere to its present position." (Osborne
1966:234).
ref: story
of Uchelkeklau
Hidikata
says all were brought from Ngerechebetang
Ollei, on
terrace B 19 B
Type A
Osborne 1979
fig 187
"Unfortunately
exposure has destroyed he appprently shallow sculping
but he
[Stevens] states in his notes that his interpretation of the
face would
make it closely akin to the Sleeper at B37 [Melekeok],
There are
the two eye sockets and two large depressions below the eyes
with a bar
or boss in each.... Its present position cannot well be the
place where
it first functioned" (Osborne 1979:213).
Ollei, bai
Type A
Osborne 1979
fig 170
Ollei, bai
Type A
Osborne 1979
fig 172
"Great
Face" carved on top portion of upright
End<Verbatim>