We got to visit a bai over Christmas vacation. A bai is a traditional meeting house (sometimes for the community, sometimes for men only), and the one we visited was from the late 1800s, but has been kept up to this day. This one was in Airai. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what it's like.
 |
| The beams depict different legends and symbols that are important to Palau | | |
 |
| The spider is an important symbol in the bai (we also saw some real ones next to the paintings that were very big) |
 |
| The rooster is also an important symbol (there were a lot of them on this bai--each one different) |
We got to see not only the outside, but the inside of this bai. It was really amazing--intricate, colorful, and rich with history and symbolism. It made me realize what a unique culture there is here, even with the infusion of American, German, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese traditions. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and understand a little more about Palau culture. Until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment