Comments on: The “Mystery Skulls of Palau” on the National Geographic Channel, Monday, March 17th at 10 PM

By: Souang Tellei

Souang Tellei — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:41:27 +0000

I can see where that statement can make sense but logically it can also not make any sense at all. We are Palauan, “Mathilda37″, so bones found in Belau can be logically related to modern Palauans.

By: Souang Tellei

Souang Tellei — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:38:02 +0000

Aika meral tekoi. I have heard they got every permit possible. But who knows who is telling the truth here. Who knows who was paid to say what. Who knows? All I know is that Palau is a very small place and news travels very fast. Confidentiality is a western thing. In Palau even the most secret things are public knowledge. We share everything. We share food, money, homes, culture, embarrassments, achievements. Having said that, news of the findings and of the permit attainment would have spread like rampant fire through the island. This did not happen. It was small talk because of a TV show.

Bones are exciting. Get this. There was a potshard found in Melekeok. One little shard of clay that was made of Melekeok clay and dated to 2000-3000 BC. I couldn’t tell you if that was accurate or not but the point is that news was everywhere in the ’90s when that was discovered. So you’d think that ‘finding’ bones would create something a little bit more significant than a quiet rumor.

What really matters I think is that the sanctity of the site be kept. Uneducated and possibly destructive tourists should be kept out. Scientist should be escorted to make sure they are following traditional laws. The knowledge gained be made public for anyone interested to learn. The artifacts preserved for posterity. And the site left sacred.

I’d probably get a few rolled eyes when the sanctity of the site is mentioned. It is what we make it. We make it sacred, therefore it is. It can not be dismissed.

Thank you to all who are concerned. Thank you to National Geographic Society, despite its many shortcomings, I believe its a worthwhile cause with more accomplishments than downfalls. To the people who do the grunt work: You rock.

By: Souang Tellei

Souang Tellei — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:28:15 +0000

Mokokau ra ikal tekingem ngdi ng ngar er ngii a klemerang er a omolekoi er a ngii. (There is truth in this message but fired by the emotions of a true Palauan who is very proud of his/her ancestry and culture and probably only wants to protect his/her identity. Who are we anyway if we don’t know where or who we come from. Respect is the highest law. You can love and abide, but to do that you have to re spectare)

By: Souang Tellei

Souang Tellei — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:20:28 +0000

I appreciate the empathy to the Chad er a Belau concerning the bones found in the Chelebacheb of Palau. I agree that any scientist who finds an archaeological site in a foreign country should have the common sense and decency to just simply inform the government, chiefs and people of his find and ask for permission to excavate and study the bones.
We are a very friendly people but it is true that we don’t like going near sacred burial grounds. I am also a western thinker and I am very curious about these bones and want to know more about those people. Perhaps they were my ancestors. Perhaps they were related to my ancestors. Perhaps my ancestors killed them off or perhaps they married into the greater population of the ancestors of present Palauans.

I was very excited to see the debut on TV on NSChannel but when the time came, the program ran a brief ad and then skipped. On the website the program changed and I never did get to see the program.

Anyway, thank you all for your very commonsensical responses that generally agree with what my reaction would have been. “‘Akke!’ You stumbled upon a sacred burial ground and talked to National Geographic without consulting us? How rude and disrespectful. ‘Ng meral diak el llechuul.’ Scientists are smart people but can lack regard for other humans and their culture. Anthropologists of all people. This amazes me ‘Ng meral mengasireng’ ”

S.Tellei

By: Science Suffers From The Idiots At Scientific American « Anthropology.net

Science Suffers From The Idiots At Scientific American « Anthropology.net — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:01:46 +0000

[...] In addition to egregious political move by Scientific American, the piece is ignorant of the whole process involved in finding, cleaning, documenting a fossil. Fossils don’t come out of the ground perfect. Believe me, I know. Some of the time these findings are as delicate as a ball of dust and require a great deal of care to preserve them during which time it is the primary investigator/discoverer’s responsibility and privilege. I’ve actually discussed this before, very thoroughly in this comment thread. [...]

By: Vi

Vi — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:22:52 +0000

I have seen some Palauans that I thought probably had an ancestor that was “little”. In fact, I know of one woman and her siblings who remind me of little people. Who knows….their probably relatives. I mean if small people can have children of normal sizes, what makes you think that it is pretty unlikely they could be related to someone in Palau. They could of also married the normal size people and bore children. Scientists keep guessing and giving their discovery a story, natives tell stories of people coming in to the island of Palau from other places in ancient times and some Palauans brought these foreigners at the time into their families to become a part of their clan. I have relatives who’s ancestors came from New Guinea and Puerto Rico thousands of years ago. How they became a part of my clan started when my great ancestor brought in people that came ashore and lived on the beach side of the island of Kayangel. We’re not blood related but over the years ties within culture and taking in people into a clan binded us to be related. When I ask my mother “mom are they related to us?” she says it’s “ulak el klauchad”. Tied relations or adoption into a clan. Or “ulak el klauchad el loiak a siukang” meaning related throughout years of custom and tradition. You never know who’s related to who…..

By: Vi

Vi — Mon, 19 May 2008 07:18:14 +0000

P.S.

To A Palauan, I think you’re being a little too harsh on Copeman and National Geograpic. We can’t blame them for one persons faults. It’s just hard for me to believe that all the chiefs knew and one didn’t, especially one of the paramount chiefs, and in Palau there are only two paramount chiefs. Kid a ngelekel Belau, so I understand where your coming from in your argument.

By: Vi

Vi — Mon, 19 May 2008 07:01:23 +0000

To Copeman: In Palauan culture and most islands in Micronesia you don’t go digging up burial sites. When you enter islands in Micronesia, you are a guest, a visitor. In Palau, every piece of land is either owned by a clan, person or the government. In the custom before you trespass into someones land even if taking a shortcut to get to where you are going, you ask permission. It’s not that we claim the bones, who wants bones?? As a Palauan I would think the reason my people were upset is it could of been someones ancestor or someones land. Some places in palau may look like jungle areas but believe me, if it doesn’t belong to a clan or someone, it belongs to the state or government. There’s not a piece of land in Palau not owned by someone. I would be upset if someone came on my land and started digging without my permission no matter what their reason was. If the government in Palau has no right to go on someone’s land without their permission, what makes you think anyone else can?

By: Palau, Lee Berger, and the junction between entertainment and science « Anthropology.net

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:10:50 +0000

[...] and the junction between entertainment and science Jump to Comments Rex Dalton is back on the Palau issue that got so much attention last month. He’s investigated the facts in much more detail than he did previously and does not [...]

By: ‘Hobbit’ sized skulls found on Palau. « Mathilda’s Anthropology Blog.

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:09:20 +0000

[...] some people from National Geographic was the most interesting thing about all of this. The blog’s well worth a visit to the read the just comments. It tells you a lot about how journalists can [...]