Tulei ma Surech

"Lak kom kora ngkel chad ra Ngerchemai el miltom ra mlai ma uel." This is the Palauan saying that came as result of the events of the second story; The canoe, the man, the turtle. It is usually used in times where a person has to make decisions or used as a lesson about being greedy.

Nostalgia is the word that comes to my mind every time I remember this story. This was one of the stories I grew up listening to. Growing up before I went to school I had to stay with my grandparents in Aimeliik during week days and this story was one of our favorites from my grandma. I remember how we used to sleep/camp in the living room and grandma would tell us this stroy. I was always so fascinated with the witch's house that was made out of cakes and candies and cookies and all that yummy goodness; lol. That was pretty much the part that stuck with me. But now as an adult, especially as a mom this was hard to read because I cannot imagine being with someone who despises my kid to a point where they would talk me into pretty much abandoning my child in the middle of the nowhere to fend for herself simply because we were so poor we didn't have enough food to eat. Yes I know its just a story but that doesn't make it any less painful to think about. Personally I think the lesson of the story is,  Be kind! Be nice! Do unto others as you would have them do unto you! Thank you for you support always. Much love and Aloha.

Renguk--- My heart Mengkerengek--- Guardian

This story took place on a very old island that used to exist in Ngiwal State, called Ngibtal Island. These stories can be found in (tekinged.com) in the books section and the book that I've been talking about is called Legends of Palau Volume I & Volume II which I got from the Palau National Museum. As always Sulang and Mahalo for all your support, AST

Melech was a giant bird god that could transform into a man. Palauans used to call shooting stars Melech because of how in the story when his feathers caught on fire he flew out of the house up into the sky like a shooting star. They also believed that when they saw a shooting star that it was Melech looking for his next meal.

Madrengebuked is the high chief of Ngaraard  Chersachel is a tree with fruits that bear nuts in the nutmeg family Demailei leaves of a plant/tree called Palauan Palma brava Kelel a Charm is a type of tree called (Campnosperma brevipetiolata volk) These stories can be found on a website called (tekinged.com) in the books section.

Cheldechedechal a Surech el redil ra Ngercheluuk er Ngiual ma Tulei el chad ra Ngaraard.

This story takes place in Ngcheangel (Kayangel), the northernmost state of Palau about 22 miles from the main island (Babeldaob) and this is a story about how the people of Kayangel took back their island from a man-eating god "Meluadeangel" who used to inhabit their island. When the villagers of Kayangel started to notice that a lot of them have fallen prey to Meluadeangel they got together and decided to leave their village and go in search of somewhere they can live their lives in peace and not have to always be afraid for their life. When the day came for everyone to leave, they decided to leave behind an old woman called Delumumuu because they said that she was old and weak, and unmarried and nobody wanted to the responsibility of being her caretaker and so they left her behind.  They rode in their "kaberruuch" (large war canoes) until they ended up in Ngchesechang, a hamlet in Arai which is about 51 miles south from their home and they seemed to like it so much that they decided to settle down in Ngchesechang. Having been left behind the old woman felt very heartbroken knowing she couldn't do anything about her unfortunate situation, she went back and she lived on driftwood and resorted to eating raw food again being terrified that if she cooked and Meluadeangel saw smoke he would find her kill and eat her. Then one day luck found her and she became pregnant and gave birth to two sons, day by day with luck the boys just grew and grew every day and soon became of age where they started to wonder why their mother did not let them go into the village to play and why they kept on eating raw uncooked food. With this, their mother began to tell them the story about the man-eating god Meluadeangel, and about the sad day when all the villagers got on their canoes and rode out of the island leaving her to die because they did not want to be bothered by the old weak woman and upon learning about this they felt very sad and sorry for their mother and started plotting to kill Meluadeangel.  They eventually killed Meluadeangel by heating up rocks and feeding them to him and when they did their mother told them to set adrift Meluadeangel's stomach until it found Obakrusong, Rdechor, and Spis (all Kayangel village chiefs) and to expand if they asked it if it belonged to Meluadeangel. So when it found its way to the dock in Ngchesechang and they figured out where it came from, the villagers knew that the man-eating god had been killed and that it was safe to return home and so they got back in their canoes and rode back to Ngcheangel. But as they were nearing the island they noticed two men standing on the shore and started questioning who they were because they knew that the only person left behind was the old woman Delumumuu. Nearing the dock the older brother spoke up and said to them, "don't come to the dock just stay right there and rest for a little bit and then go look for another place to go because this island belongs to us."  Upon hearing that the chief who was in charge stood up began to apologize but the brothers wouldn't budge so he then offered that if they let him and the villagers stay that he and his younger brother would gain the chief titles and rule over the island. So the older brother became Obakrusong to rule over Ngerdilong (north) and the younger brother became Rdechor to rule over Ngerdimes (south) and it has stayed that way to this very day. Thank you for tuning it and I look forward to the next story. Don't forget to let me know if there is any particular story that you would want me to do next. Mahalo!

This is a story about a giant man-eating snake that inhabited a field overlooking the village of Elechui. The giant snake would go down to the village when he smelled smoke to try and find people to eat. It got to a point where the people of Elechui got so scared that they resorted to just eating raw uncooked taro because they were afraid that if they cooked the giant snake would smell and see the smoke and would come to the village and eat them. One day, the village chief called gathered everyone in the village and told them that they were gonna move somewhere they can live without fearing for their lives all the time otherwise they would all perish if they stayed. And so it was agreed and the day came for them to pack up and move. As they were in the dock getting ready to leave in their canoes, a woman who had no family came to try and catch a ride but no one wanted to help her and kept telling her that they could not take her because they would just get weighed down. Eventually, everyone in the village left and the woman having been left all by herself went back to the village and lived under a tree. The villagers sailed in their canoes to another village a settled to live there. The woman continued to eat raw uncooked taro every day because she too was afraid that if she cooked the giant snake would smell the smoke and come to eat her. One day she started experiencing abdominal pain so she thought that she was getting sick, little did she know she was actually pregnant and she was experiencing labor pains. She gave birth to twin boys and as the boys grew and became of age, they asked finally their mother, "why do we keep eating raw uncooked taro? and why does your mouth look like that?" (Her mouth was swollen and irritated from constantly eating raw taro) So the mother then told her sons of what happened to her on the day the villagers decide to move out of the village. After hearing about their mother's situation the boys were so sad and felt so bad for their mom and so they decide to kill the giant snake. They gathered rocks and heated them up putting them into seven piles. As they were doing this the giant snake began to smell and see smoke so it started making its way down to where they were. When the snake had reached the boys they stood by the first rock pile and as the snake opened its mouth to eat the boys they threw the hot rocks at it and he ate them all, the boys ran to the second pile and continued to throw the hot rocks at the snake to which it kept eating them. On the third pile, the snake had gotten weaker and by the fifth pile, he started to tremble and eventually died. The mother and her sons were overjoyed when the snake finally died and so she told her sons to put the snakes stomach into the chiefs large player and she brought it to the dock put it on the water and said to it, "go adrift, and when you reach land and they ask you if you came from the giant snake in Elechui expand." So the giant snake's stomach drifted all the way to the village where the former villagers of Elechui now resided. Some villagers who were at the dock saw something floating in the water and so they started to ask "are you the stomach of a grouper fish?" and asked if it came from other fishes but nothing happened and when they finally asked if it was the stomach of the giant snake of Elechui it immediately expanded and so the villagers called to the chief to come and see what was going on and as soon as he saw the large platter he knew immediately what it was inside of it and so he told the villagers that they would be moving back to their home of Elechui. The brothers knowing that the villagers were about to return blocked the dock so that they wouldn't be able to come onto the dock and stood with their spears wanting to kill the villagers. The chief tried apologizing to them but they only said, "No you all left our mother alone to fend for herself." But eventually, they all came to an agreement and all was well.

This is a story about two men who lived in caves on the same island but on the opposite side of each other. They never saw each other and never crossed passed and so each thought that they were alone. One was named Beriber and he was a fisherman and the other man was Emaredong who collected sap or nectar and made honey. Each morning they would wake up and go out to work and would come home at night when it was dark so they never saw each other. One day Beriber decided to expand the cave that he lives in and so he started to dig. Emaredong on the opposite side of the island had also decided to expand his cave and so he began to dig as well. Suddenly the wall broke startling Beriber, he looked up and saw Emaredong and exclaimed, "You live on the other side and here I am thinking that I live by myself so I've been throwing soup away." As he said that Emaredong said, "And I thought I was by myself so I've been throwing away honey." After this, they started being and acting like real neighbors visiting each other and sharing food with each other. So the moral of the story is pretty much just like the "love your neighbor" in the bible, you visit each other and help each other out when one is in need of help, you share whatever you have with them a vice versa.  I am not sure how other cultures and other people are with their neighbors but back home in Palau, this is what we do. We visit each other and we help each other out, we clean each other yards, borrow your car, ask for salt or fish or taro, we babysit their kids, and vice versa. It is more than just being a good neighbor because most of the time they are family and that doesn't always mean blood. This was one of those things that when I first moved to Hawaii was an adjustment for me because back home all my neighbor are actually family and so that meant friends, help, fun, I don't like the food in my house I can go to my neighbor's house and see what they're having fr lunch or dinner and you're not worried if you get turned down or shot and killed. But I also understand that it is not the same everywhere.