Olympia E. Morei-Remengesau is a curator from Palau, who was appointed Director of Belau National Museum in 2009. [1] [2] [3] [4] Born in Koror State, she began work at the museum as an administrator, before moving to the role of Assistant to the Director. [2] She is co-vice chair of the Kraemer Ethnography Translation Project, which translated the works of Augustin Krämer from German to Palauan, and was funded by the German government. [5] [6] She is also the National Representative for the Federation of International Dance Festivals (FIDAF). [7] In 2019 she secured a $10,000 donation from Taiwan to fund a new exhibition to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Palau's independence. [8] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she led the museum, enabling it to continue its community work despite being forced to lay off several members of staff. [2]
Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific. The republic consists of approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caroline Islands with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia.
"Belau rekid" is the national anthem of Palau. Officially adopted in 1981, the music was composed by Ymesei O. Ezekiel, to which the combined words of several authors were set.
The Micronesians or Micronesian peoples are various closely related ethnic groups native to Micronesia, a region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They are a part of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, which has an Urheimat in Taiwan.
Modekngei, or Ngara Modekngei, is a monotheistic religious movement founded around 1915 by Tamadad, a native of the island of Babeldaob, that spread throughout Palau. It rose to political significance between the First and Second World Wars and is currently professed by 5.7% of Palau's population. Modekngei is a hybrid of ancient Palauan customs and Christianity. Followers of the religion believe in the Christian God, recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah, and simultaneously make appeasements to the traditional Palauan deities.
Elicita 'Cita' Morei is a Palauan women's liberation and anti-nuclear weapons activist and writer. She is a member of the Belauan women's organization, Otil a Beluad and author of Belau Be Brave and Planting the Mustard Seed of World Peace.
Roman Tmetuchl was a Palauan political leader and businessman. He grew up in Japanese-controlled Palau and joined the Kempeitai, the Japanese secret police, during World War II. After the war, he became the leader of Palau's Liberal Party. He worked in the Congress of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands from 1964 to 1978 and advocated for Palau gaining a separate status from the rest of Micronesia. He became governor of Airai and engaged in three unsuccessful Palauan presidential campaigns. As a businessman, Tmetuchl led several construction projects for his business holdings and for the Palauan community, including the Palau International Airport and a Seventh-Day Adventist clinic.
The Belau National Museum (BNM), previously Palau Museum, is a museum in Koror, Palau. It is the oldest continuously run museum in Micronesia.
Chinese have been settling in Palau in small numbers since the 19th century. The early settlers consisted of traders and labourers, and often intermarried with Palauan women. Their offspring quickly assimilated with the local populace and generally identify themselves as Palauan. In recent years, Palau has seen a growing expatriate business community from Taiwan, after Palau established formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1999.
Augustin Friedrich Kraemer or Krämer was a German naturalist and ethnographer. Kraemer was a navy surgeon who worked in the Polynesia in 1893–95 and 1897–99.
The sport of baseball is widely played in Palau, having been introduced by the Japanese during their occupation of the island nation. The highest level of league play in Palau in represented by Palau Major League (PML), which is overseen by the Belau Baseball Federation. The country is represented in international play by the Palau national baseball team.
Women in Palau, known also as Palauan women, Belauan women, Pelew women, or Women of Los Palaos Islands are women who live in or are from Palau. Historically, there was a strong "gendered division of labor" between women and men of Palau.
Surangel S. Whipps Jr. is a Palauan businessman and politician, who has served as the president of Palau since 2021. He served as senator from 2008 to 2016. He is from Ngatpang state, Republic of Palau. Whipps assumed office as the President of Palau on 21 January 2021.
Katharine Kesolei was an anthropologist and Senator from Palau.
Mirair Gabriela Ngirmang was a Palauan peace and anti-nuclear activist.
Toluk is a type of valuable traditionally used as currency among the women of Palau.
Yutaka Miller Gibbons was the ibedul of Koror from 1973 until his death in 2021. He was also an anti–nuclear weapons activist and political candidate.
Palau–Taiwan relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of Palau and the Republic of China (Taiwan). Palau maintains an embassy in Taipei and Taiwan maintains an embassy in Koror City. Exchanges between the two nations range from agriculture, culture, education, fishery, medical services, tourism and water supply infrastructure. As of 23 August 2024, Palau is one of only 12 United Nations member states to have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Faustina K. Rehuher-Marugg is a Palauan curator and politician who served as the State Minister of Palau from 2017 to 2021. She was Director of Belau National Museum from 1979 to 2009.
Regina Mesebeluu is a Palauan politician who served as a senator in the Palau National Congress between 2008 and 2012.