Rubak Master Baseball 2007

Here are various stories of Medechiibelau, told by Rurecherudel and translated by Johnson:

The Shark:

“Medechiibelau joined another god from the village of Ngchesar, one of the Airai villages on the east side. And the name of that god is Ngaid. So Medechiibelau and the Ngaid went to the hills to carve their toys. Medechiibelau was trying to carve a kingfisher out of wood and Ngaid was trying to carve for himself a shark, a black tip shark."

“And while they were carving their toys on the hills, Medechiibelau began to like the shark better than his own kingfisher. It looked much better. So he began to think how to get the shark. So he told his friend, the god from Ngchesar village, Ngaid,‘Oh, lets go back to the village and spend the night and come tomorrow.’

"Now when you would carve things out of wood you would have your work areas. One was working in one area and then there was another area. And he said, ‘if we go there and sleep and spend the night and we return tomorrow, if somehow my carving is placed at your work site and yours on mine, then you would not complain, just let things be that way'."

Palauan Kingfisher, perched on a wire near Uchulangas landing place.

The shark is a prominent motif on the end beams (ongiau) at the Bairairrai.

"And then they came to the village and spent the night. Then while they were sleeping, Medechiibelau went back at night and switched the carvings and placed the shark on his area and put the kingfisher on his friend’s area. But when he went to the site that night, he walked backwards, so his foot prints were always in reverse, so he would not be accused of having gone back previously. He went backward all the way, and then forward to the village.

"So when they went the next day the shark was on his side. So he started working with the shark and his friend was working on the kingfisher. So the friend was still being true to his commitment—he didn’t say anything. He just started working on the kingfisher."

"Medechiibelau finished the shark and he brought the shark back to his home in Ngerkiklang. It was a beautiful shark. Matukeóll is the Palauan name."

Upon returning from the taro patch, his mother clears her throat to alert him. Painting in the Bairamelengel.

"Then after he brought this wooden shark to his home, he told his mother—he somehow had a mother, maybe an adopted mother, but a mother—he told her, “when you go to the taro patch at Ngerduais, do so but please, when you come home, before you step to the perimeter of the house yard, be sure to "ahem"—do that. It’s clearing the throat.

"That is the Palauan way for visitors to alert people in the house, so that they can get ready to meet you. Houses were open, so if they were doing something that was kind of private, they could react properly to receive the guest.

"So he told his mom, ‘when you come please make that noise, before you come to the yard, so I know that you are returning'."

"But when his mother goes to the taro patch in the morning, he would remove the flooring materials— you know you can lift the floor boards. He would remove the floor and turn the house into a pool. And he would play with his shark by beating on the house, and barking like a dog. Whooh! Whooh! And the shark would be swimming back and forth.

"So if you go to the lagoon and a black tip shark shows up and you bark, they react. Because that was conditioned by Medechiibelau. And the reason why he asked his mother to make that noise, is so that he can then convert the house back to its normal condition. But when the mother returns, the floor is kind of wet."

Storyboard in the Bairairraishowing the shark swimming around in the house.

Sharks adorn the walls of the Bairamelengel. as a symbol of Medechiibelau.

"So the mother did that for some time and everything was okay, but then one day the mother became kind of curious because the floor is always wet when she returns. So one day when the mother returns she says to herself, ‘I am going to find out what my son is doing.’

"So she walked stealthily and started peeking through the door, and saw her son playing in this pool with his shark. So she says, ‘oh, my son what is happening here?’ Because this god can play like a child. So he felt bad about the way the mother felt about what he was doing, this kind of supernatural thing.

"So he took his toy shark to the pier, to the dock below, and threw the shark into the water. And the shark was always seen in that area in the lagoon here. Presumably the same shark which is the pet of Medechiibelau; it hangs around that area now.”

Medechiibelau standing next to the brown coconut fronds. Instead of bending the coconut fronds, he was bending his knees. Painting in the Bairamelengel.

Bending the knees:

“One day the mother said, ‘I am going to the taro patch, and we don’t have any firewood, so while I am gone, please get some firewood.’ She was referring to the long stems of the coconut fronds. She said, ‘bend some for me.’ By 'bend' she means you bend them and bring them into the house.

"But when his mother returned from the taro patch in the evening, there were no coconut fronds. So the mother says ‘what happened?’ He said, ‘you told me to bend, so I went under the coconut tree and I was bending my knees continuously all day.’

"It is a Palauan kind of play with words. Because if you speak Palauan, when you say to 'bend the frond,' you can also say just ‘bend.’ So he was bending himself instead."

Chad:

"One day when there was an early morning low tide, it is a good time to go fishing. And the mother was craving for fish or sting ray liver. She said, ‘Son, if you can, go and catch and bring me the liver, I will be very happy.’

"But the word ‘liver’ in Palauan is chad, which is synonymous with ‘human.’ So when the mother left, he went out and chopped somebody’s head off and brought the head to the house in a basket and covered it. And when the mother came, the mother opened the basket and there was no liver, but a human head. And he said to his mother, ‘you are asking for chad, which is either liver or human. So that is it for you.’

"Kind of an impossible kid!"

"He went out and chopped off somebody's head and put it in the basket."

 

The chief of Ngerechelong and several elders (rubak) in front of what might be the chief's house. Belau National Museum photograph.

"Is it straight?"

"One day Medechiibelau went to the village of Ngerechelong, that is the northern tip of Babeldaob. And when he went there, the rubak there, the elderly men, were building a bai. They were digging the ground for the posts, and they were working toward the lunch break.

"And these rubak were kind of contemptuous of Medechiibelau. He always kind of looks rather lowly, and is not an honorable-looking person. So they were contemptuous."

“And they looked at him: he had no lunch, nothing there, and he knew that. So while the food was stored somewhere in the bai or someplace where they were working, he organize his troops, the ants, to go there and try to haul the taro, the feast, the sweets to one corner where he had put some leaves.

"So at the lunch break the rubak kind of looked at him and said ‘look at the poor, poor soul over there, you know, he is not going to have any lunch.’ When they went into their baskets, all the food was gone, only shells, the peels and the bones were left! And Medechiibelau went to the corner and started enjoying his lunch, because his ants were helping him."

A Palauan dish of sweetened taro with coconut milk.

Posts of the Bairairrai.

"The rubak got mad. They realized this is a kind of an unusual person. So after the lunch break they told him to take a coconut shell and go into one of the pits that they were digging, and told him to scrape the dirt there to help.

"But they conspired to kill him while there. They took a big log and they were going to crush him in the pit, so they went and dropped that huge post or log. It is a local tree called blacheós. And they thumped him.

"But when they hit him, he went inside the log to the top, and looked down at the rubak and says, ‘is it straight?’ "

"So today that very tree, blacheós, when you cut it, there is a hole in the middle, which was done by Medechiibelau. Kind of a playful god."

"You see that canoe being ridden by women?" Johnson says, pointing to the painting above. "That is a true story, an Airai story. Those women are from Oikull Hamlet, an association of young ladies, known as Ngara-Kerisebsúb, which means the ‘Association of the Curls,' referring to their curly hair."

Rurecherudel begins the story:

"The people of Oikull village of Airai heard rumors about a beautiful kabékel—that's a war canoe—in Aimeliik, in the village of Chelechui, so they sent this association of young women, the Association of the Curls, to go to the village in Aimeliik. But when they arrived there, they also realized that the people from Ngeremeskang village of Ngeremlengui were also there to negotiate the purchase of the same war canoe."

“So, in the evening, the leader of the Oikull Ladies of the Curls, told her ladies to allow the ladies from the other village to take a bath first—because they have to go to the stream or the well—which they did. And when it became their turn, she told them, ‘after you finish bathing, on the way back to the bai’—where they were staying—‘please take a branch of a tree, any tree, and take it with you.’

"Then both groups of ladies from Oikull of Airai and from Ngermeskang of Ngeremlengui slept in the big bai. Those were the good old days, you know. It's a common lodging area. And the head of the Oikull ladies—Dirratkelkang is her name—told her ladies, ‘after everybody falls asleep, you put the twig underneath your blanket'."

Model of a Palauan canoe, this one called brotong and intended for carrying cargo. Belau National Museum photograph.

Sleeping mat stored on the tie beam of a bai. Belau National Museum photograph.

"In the olden days you sleep on a mat, then there's another mat which is used as a blanket. It's formed like an A-frame, so when you sleep it covers all the way. So when they fall asleep, ‘you put the twig to keep it up so that it looks like you're still sleeping, and then I will open the floor.’

"Because the floorboards were placed against the support beam. They are not nailed. ‘Then you sneak out of the house. And then you will find the home of every chief of the village and try to win their favors. And I shall be responsible for the High Chief of this village'."

“That night, after supper, the female head of the rival village named Mara-gos Swit told them ‘let's have supper, and tomorrow we’ll go do negotiations with the chiefs of the village and we'll see who'll get it.’ And then when everybody was fast asleep, the head of the Airai - Oikull group woke everybody up and they sneaked out, and she told them ‘you will negotiate, each one is assigned to each chief. It's your turn to negotiate a deal tomorrow before they wake up.’ So they did their nightly negotiations, each one to each of the ten chiefs, and Dirratkelkang went to the head of the village, reblú is his title."

“So the deal was secured and sealed that night. They came back, slept until the next morning.

"And then they went to the pier, and they were to do the demonstration—rowing demonstrations. The Association of the Curls, the Oikull Ladies, said, ‘let the other village go first.’ So the other women rowed the war canoe toward their village in Ngeremlengui and back three times. And they're supposed to leave all their belongings on the pier so the owners of the canoe know nobody would run away with it."

The Oikull Ladies test-driving the kabékel. Tie beam in the Bairairrai.

The Ngeremeskang ladies on the pier, wanting to know why the Oikull ladies are leaving with the canoe. Tie beam in the Bairairrai.

"When the Airai -Oikull group's turn came, the head lady told them, ‘leave all the baskets and your handbags on the pier, just take the most valuable things you have.’ And then they rowed toward Airai and back, two times. Then the third time, they just came all the way! That's why the lady on the pier is standing, waiving, and asking the chief, ‘how come they leaving? How come they’re going all the way home?’

"And the chief said, ‘well when your turn came, you should have taken the canoe. It's too late.’ Because, you know, he couldn't quite divide the canoe into two pieces. So the ladies came all the way to Airai, because those ladies are famous for negotiations in Palau. Perhaps because of their femininity or what, but that's a well known story. So ‘beware of the ladies.’

The Oikull Ladies return with their new canoe. Tie beam in the Bairairrai.

"When they returned with the war canoe, the Oikull council of chiefs were trying to build their bai, and they were fixing the stone platform for the bai. When they were about finished with the foundation for the bai, then they put those rocks in all around it. They were about to build a bai. Then they heard about a beautiful bai in the village in Ngchesar, called Ngeraus. There's a beautiful bai there.

"The Association of the Curls heard about the bai, so they went to see it and to negotiate its purchase. This is the same Oikull ladies known as Ngara-Kerisebsúb, the Association of The Curls. They went to negotiate the purchase of this bai at Ngeraus village in Ngchesar."

"So they went to the bai and they began to negotiate with the chief of the village that they'd like to buy the bai and take it to Oikull, because the bai can be disassembled and rebuilt.

"While they were negotiating, one of the chiefs was not there. He was the bravest, named Chebekeu. He was a rough type of a person, a warrior. He was out fishing, and when he returned, his wife went to see him at the dock and said, ‘hurry up and go to the bai because they're about to sell the bai and you're not there.’ So this chief took his adze and went toward the bai, saying out loud, ‘who is going to sell this bai without my permission?’ "

Locations mentioned in this story.

End of the stone platform where one of Airai Village's three bai once stood.

"While he was on his way, the head of the Ladies of the Curls jumped out of the bai and went to meet the man, and took him by the hand and took him to the hillside somewhere away, to some private area, in the shade of some trees, and did her negotiation.

"Whatever she did, when they came back, this warrior said, ‘you can take the bai and the stone platform too.’ It's a Palauan saying. When a lady knows a man or courts a man and takes his money and his shirt and everything, we refer to that lady, the Oikull lady, the great negotiator. Beware of the ladies."

There are three hills in Airai State whose origins lie in stories told by the chiefs of Airai Village.

The first of these concerns two limestone ridges found within the volcanic regions of Babeldaob in Airai State. This story is told by Rurecherudel with translation by Johnson:

"Medechiibelau, at one time, came with his friends, the gods, to take their taro, their baked taro, called delúl. Delúl is to cook something in open fire. No water, just exposed to the fire. And the gods then picked up the taro, the baskets of delúl, and were going all the way to Ngerechelong.

"Ngerechelong is the northern tip of Babeldaob, where there is Bairulechau. Bairulechau is now one of the historical sites in Palau where you see huge rock pillars. These were supposed to have been the posts for the major bai for the gods, called Bairulechau. It's a famous historical site in Palau."

Stone pillars at Bairulechau. Image from the Trust Territory of the Pacific Archives.

Uloik, a food-carrying basket. Belau National Museum photograph.

"And while they were the leaving the village of Airai, Medechiibelau felt a little saddened by the fact that the feast food is being carried out of his village to Ngerechelong., so he shed some tears to express some sadness. The gods realized that he was unhappy about the fact that the Airai feast food was being taken to a different village.

"So they dropped off one basket right on the hill and it turned into a limestone ridge, shaped like a basket. It's called Ngellangel. The word langel means ‘crying,’ so Ngellangel is ‘the land where he cried.’ Now there's a limestone ridge that sticks out of the ground as you go up the hill, called Ngellangel."

"As they kept going toward where the airport is now, on their way to Ngerechelong., Medechiibelau wanted to keep the entire feast food in his village. Now the gods were working at night. They had to go to Ngerechelong. at night. So Medechiibelau came next to a hill named Merrós-el-Bersóech. Merrós is 'crowing,' bersóech is 'snake.' It's a hill known as ‘the crowing snake’ because there was a snake there. And Medechiibelau, seeing the snake, told him to crow like a rooster. So the snake crowed, and the gods thought it was day break, so they had to drop the basket.

"So the second basket of baked taro is at the quarry site and that land is known as Belúl. So we have the Ngellangel, the place where he cried and the second place called Delúl, the the basket of baked taro. And the hill where the snake was found is today known as Merrós-el-Bersóech, the Crowing Snake. That's the story of Medechiibelau and how those two limestone outcroppings exist in the middle of this volcanic island."

Ngellangel, the first of the two "baskets."

"You see that quarry?" Johnson adds. "We were opposed to quarrying it. That was one of two limestone ridges in the middle of Babeldaob. They usually exist in the ocean. And that is supposed to be Medechiibelau’s basket of taro. It’s privately owned, but it’s a historical landmark.

"After they started demolishing it, people began to die, the people who were doing it, so one of the persons that was responsible for it offered appeasement money, trying to deter the curse. They got really nervous, because there was a series of deaths. Which may have been coincidences, but you know how the mind works."

Tie Beam in the Bairairrai, depicting the tale of Echo.

The Story of Echo is told by Rechuld (Number Four chief), and translated by Johnson:

"A certain chief was going to host a feast, so he requested a group of young men from the village of Ngermid in Koror, to go fish for the feast. And they were able to catch only two things: one was a turtle, and the other was a mermaid—half fish and half human—which we call Echo. When you speak, it imitates you, like a parrot."

The fishermen depart.

The fisherman catch a turtle and an "echo" (mermaid).

"So they were coming in their canoe towards Airai Village, the fishermen, and they came through the opening near Omuchel, and while there the turtle and this fish were very quiet inside the canoe. So the older person told the young man, ‘could you please open the hold of the canoe and check to see if the turtle is still there?’"

"And this fish called Echo overheard what they said, so Echo broke out of the hold and jumped into the Rock Islands and began to repeat whatever was said. That’s why today if you go to the Rock Islands and scream, then they scream right back at you. It explains the story of Echo. So you can see the Echo breaking through the hole and jumping to the rock islands. And these were made a long long time ago."

Echo jumps out of the hold and escapes to the Rock Islands.

“They took this turtle to the home of this chief that ordered it. And they began to prepare it for the great feast. He invited the visitors, all the chiefs of Palau. So this person, this chief that lives up on the hill, starts cooking the turtle for the chiefs, and when he was supposed to serve the meat, they opened the pot and saw the eyes were still open."

They took the turtle to the home of the chief.

"So they got nervous and put the lid on, until the chief from Ngerechelong. went there and looked in the pot, and the turtle spoke. It said ‘don’t be afraid, my eyes are open—they are not eyes, but a kind of Palauan money’—the round ones—‘please take them.’

"The chief from Ngerechelong was able to take these pieces of Palauan money, after which the turtle said, ‘I am cooked now, you can serve up.’

"They finished the meal and the chief from Ngerechelong, on the way home, he dropped the head somewhere up on the hillside, so it’s now called Ongebítel el Chelong (‘trash-discarding place of Ngerechelong.’). And he took the Palauan money."

Approximate locations of the hills discussed on this page.

"So from now on, even today, when the chiefs of Palau get together, the chief of Ngerechelong has the duty, the privilege, of serving."

Medechiibelau has more stories of ways in which he fooled the gods.

"Medechiibelau played a lot of tricks on most of his friends throughout Palau," Walter told us. Here are two such stories, told by Rurecherudel and translated by Johnson:

"One day Medechiibelau and his friends, the gods, seven of them, were residing at Belualaruchel, their place up in the hills of Airai. They decided to have a canoe race. I think they began in the place in Airai Village called Omuchel, and they were to sail through the Rock Islands along the way to climb and to take the pine tree branch and to bring it back.

"And Medechiibelau knew that there is a place in the Rock Islands called Ongebítel Klemát. Klemát is the rope for controlling the sail of the canoe, and the name Ongebítel Klemát is a ‘place where the mast are dumped,’ ‘the dumping grounds for masts'."

Sail on a traditional Palauan canoe, at the Etpison Museum in Koror.

Course of the canoe race.

"And Medechiibelau knew that there is a god there, a supernatural person there, who loves to cause the canoes to capsize or to sink. He has a long hook. When a sailing canoe goes by, he would hook the mast and then pull it, so that they would not be able to sail beyond. And Medechiibelau knew that.

"So on his canoe, he prepared seven masts with seven sails, and when all the gods went by, all of their sails were destroyed. But when Medechiibelau went by, every time the god hooks his mast, he put another one on, and the seventh time he was able to flee from him and escape his reach."

"While splashing his canoe, racing his canoe to Kayangel, he saw another god, called Uchelkebesadel—he is the god from Ngerekebesang— whose canoe was moving very fast, because he was able to avoid that too. So on the way to Kayangel, he realized that he may not be able to get the pine tree ahead of his friend from Ngerekebesang.

"So he created a storm, to create invisibility, then he took a detour: instead of going to Kayangel at the northern atoll, he went to Ngerechelong at the northern tip of Babeldaob, and took his pine tree and returned, winning the race because nobody saw him."

"So he created a storm, to create invisibility..."

"And then he planted that pine tree on top of the Rock Island ridge below Airai View Hotel, and it is still standing there today as his trophy for winning that race among all the gods. It is still there today.

"And the name of his canoe was Titímelukáll. And the fast canoe belonging to Uchelkebesadel from Ngerekebesang is called Ikibala. Titímelukáll, titímel is a tree in Palau with a round, tart fruit. And you don’t make a canoe with titímel. It is not good timber, it is very soft. Ukáll is a big tree. You make canoe out of ukáll. So Titímelukáll means a combination of a very soft wood and a big wood. Medechiibelau carved his canoe using the good tree, ukáll, but he put the bark of titímel, the lousy tree, on the outside to mislead his opponents!"

"Medechiibelau and his good friends the gods went out one day. It was like a picnic and having a good time. And he didn’t have any lunch because he didn’t have a home, you know. While his friends had nice baskets of food: coconut candies roasted with honey, and local nuts, and fish and all the good stuff.

"So before lunchtime came, he went out into the woods and collected some fruit. It is a long green fruit, and very tart, more tart than a lime. He went and collected some of the fruits in his basket and took some taro leaves and kind of covered them."

He went into the forest....

Tet, a Palauan bag for holding betel nut

"Then when the mealtime came, all his friends were eating this good food, and he went aside and started kind of eating the fruits, and salivating and making noise like it is a very great meal. Licking his lips. And all the gods became began to be curious about what is he eating, and they wanted to grab his lunch, but he just keep hiding it.

"And his friends finally took his basket, which he kind of begrudgingly gave to them, and when they got his basket he took over their lunches, which was much better. So he fooled his buddies."

“Medechiibelau has a lot of stories. He was famous for being clever and fast. He was a clever god, he was well known for being clever. He became the number one chief in Airai Village. He is still our number one chief, but because he does not have a human form, the man who sits here, Ngirkiklang, is his representative to claim his share from the food. But we still refer to him as our god, our chief. And our number four chief, Rechuld, is the friend of Medechiibelau.”

Here is their story, told by the chiefs of Airai Village:

“While Medechiibelau was visiting or staying at the Belualaruchel, he kept hearing a sound of the conch shell. You can blow through a conch shell and it makes a loud noise. He kept hearing that every day, so he came to the village and met with the chief Rechuld.

"This man today bears that title, the Rechuld, the four ranking member of the council of chiefs in Airai, called the Ngarairrai. But at that time, his name was Ngirkosolik. And Medechiibelau inquired of him, ‘where is the sound of that horn coming from? Who is responsible for that?'"

"An elder (rubak) blowing a conch shell horn (debusech) used to announce war, the passing away of titled men or to summon the community to the house of chiefs for important meetings. The debusech was also used to warn the community of danger or possible siege (benged)." Belau National Museum photo; caption from "History of Palau."

The hill of Belualaruchel is located up beside the Airai Elementary School today.

“So he came to ask Ngirkosolik, ‘who makes that noise, that sound, the sound of the horn?’ And Ngirkosolik told Medechiibelau that it is the horn to signal the meal time—three times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner—the mealtime for a person by the name of Semdiu, who lived on Ngerduais island.

"Ngerduais is near the reef, across from the Airai lagoon, where the boats are moored today."

“After he learned of the story of Semdiu and the horn, he went up to the land of Belualaruchel where the gods are staying. And he told the gods to go down to the dock below Airai Village, and he told the gods to attempt to throw rocks to that island. And he said, ‘he who can throw a stone to the island will become the owner of the island, acquire ownership of the island.’ It is like a contest among the gods.

"But on the way down from Belualaruchel, from the hillside, he caught a small bird called chesisebangiau (cardinal honey-eater), like a red robin. You can hear them making noise outside. It is a small-size bird with a red color, red-chested and kind of black wings. It is called chesisebangiau. So he caught one on the way down from the Belualaruchel down to here."

Cardinal Honey-eater (chesisebangiau). Illustration by Takesi Suzuki, in Engbring (1988).

Ngerduais is a ways across the bay from Airai Village.

"All the gods went to the area down by the pier known as Tab, to the site know as Ngeremenglong. There is a house there now. When they went there, then each one attempted to throw a stone to Ngerduais island, but everybody failed since the stones only fell into the lagoon. That’s because the island is of course way out by the reef. "

“After each of the gods failed to throw a stone to the island, it became Medechiibelau’s turn. On the way down he put the cardinal honey-eater inside his mouth, pretending that he was chewing betel nut, but basically keeping the bird alive. Then when his turn came, he took the robin from his mouth, kind of secretly so nobody could really realize it, and then he threw that bird, and it started flapping it wings.

"When he threw the cardinal honey-eater, it began to flap its wings and he would say to his friends the gods, ‘well that is my betel nut, it is opening.’ Because when you chew betel nut, sometimes it can open like a husk opens up. So he was telling his friends ‘that is my betel nut, it is opening now'."

A chewed wad of betel nut. Palauans chew betel nut. green, husk and all.

 

Trees atop the ridge at Ngerduais.

"And the bird flew all the way to the top of a type of pine tree, ngas, that was standing on top of the ridge. And he perched on the bough of that tree. If go to the island of Ngerduais today, that ngas is still standing at the very top of the limestone ridge. So Medechiibelau claimed the island to be his."

Tie beam in the Bairairrai, depicting the story of Semdiu.

“After he claimed ownership, he came to see his friend the fourth ranking chief, Ngirkosolik, and told him, ‘buddy, lets go to my island, please accompany me to my island so that I can find the conch shell, so that I can claim that to be mine'."

“He took his friend the chief Ngirkosolik to the pier down below. He said ‘lets go to see my island’ and Ngirkosolik, says ‘I cannot just walk over, because this is too deep of water, I will sink.’

"Medechiibelau says, ‘don’t worry; when I walk over the water, you have to put your feet in my foot prints,’ because this guy can walk over water. So Medechiibelau was walking ahead of Ngirkosolik who was walking on his footprints over the water."

Medechiibelau leads Ngirkosolik across the water.

Medechiibelau grabs the marlin. Painting in the Bairamelengel.

“They came to a small reef called Ngertua. It is like a reef, a coral area. And while there, a blue marlin with a long snout was bouncing over the waves toward them, so Medechiibelau grabbed the blue marlin by the snout.

"And he took the spike—you know the long, needle-like snout? He broke it, and took it as a weapon with which to kill Semdiu, who was the resident or the owner of the island which he now claims."

“Medechiibelau told Ngirkosolik, the fourth chief, to wait for him on that island, that is one of the small Rock Islands in the lagoon towards Ngerduais. He says ‘you stay here and wait for me.’ So there he is, perched on that kind of a cave. And then Medechiibelau walked to Ngerduais island to meet the villagers.

"But before he got there, he changed his appearance to look very unappealing, complete with ringworm infection."

Medechiibelau tells Ngirkosolik to wait on that little island.

Procession of men and women carrying food to the bai for a special occasion. Belau National Museum Photograph.

“When Medechiibelau arrived in the village he saw the women and other people preparing food. So he said, ‘why are you preparing food? I would like to join you in preparing food for Semdiu.’ Semdiu was like the king or the chief. And he says ‘I would like to volunteer my services to help you prepare the foods for Semdiu,’ and the people said ‘oh, you are not worthy of preparing food for Semdiu. You have ringworm on your body, and you are not worthy.’ See, the gods played these kind of games.

"So he said, ‘okay let that be, but let me just help you carry for the food, since there are more baskets of food than you can carry. I will just follow you and help you to the bai,’ where Semdiu was."

“So Medechiibelau followed the line of people who were bringing food to Semdiu. And when these people came to the entrance of the bai, he squeezed his way all the way to the front of the line.

"And when Semdiu came to receive his food, Medechiibelau stabbed him and cut his throat using the weapon that he got from the blue marlin. He then got into the bai and took the conch shell and blew the horn to announce that he is now the owner, the chief of the island, and then took all the food and started eating the food himself. He became the ruler of Ngerduais island."

From the left: women carrying food to the bai; the conch being blown; Semdiu being stabbed; Semdiu dying.

Medechiibelau frees Ngirkosolik from the rock and renames him Rechuld, "Mr. Rock."

“He went back to see his friend Ngirkosolik, who was waiting for him on that island. He said ‘buddy lets go.’ Ngirkosolik says ‘I can not walk because now I am tied to the ground.’ The rocks had all grown over him, like he had been petrified, made into a rock or something.

"So Medechiibelau pulled him, raised him and said, ‘I will now change your name.’ Because this chief Rechuld was previously known as Ngirkosolik. Medechiibelau says ‘okay, now I lift you, free you from the rock. I will now name you Rechuld’—which is because chuld is the rock—‘You are now Mr. Rock’."

"Now the house of the Ngirkosolik, the previous house site for this man, is behind his house, next to his land. Then he took his friend Rechuld to a different site called Ngerngas. And said ‘now Ngerngas will be your house site.’ So he moved Ngirkosolik to Ngerngas and his name was changed from Ngirkosolik to Rechuld. And Medechiibelau the god went to an area outside of Airai Village and established his home in the land known as Ngerkiklang."