Chapter 07
Twenty-Four Performances Across Palauan Music
5 min
The route below is chronological only in broad strokes. It places traditional documentation, colonial-era mixture, 1960s radio, cassette pop and current song in conversation. Unknown credit is stated rather than repaired with invention, and later interpretations are identified as such.
1. Dirrangulbad singers — Two Bamboo Flutes
Ngemiusch, Dirrasibong Ngeruangel and Dirrailengelang Ibiochel are named in the announcement. Hear the voice imitate and imagine paired flutes while the text carries social advice.
This documented belulechab amusement song uses playful syllables whose rhythmic pleasure exceeds literal translation. Follow how sound itself coordinates youthful movement.
3. Ngiwal singers — Kelloi ra Ngiual
The primary dirge gathers grief through repeated communal lines. Listen for pauses and shared breath rather than expecting a solo lament.
4. Ngiwal men's group — Dellerok Canoe Song
An ongurs work-animation song aligns bodies imagined paddling a war canoe. Repeated syllables and directional phrases turn labour into coordinated public sound.
The Japanese title, “Before Dawn,” opens the colonial-language layer. Keep the missing performer credit visible while hearing how the melody entered Palauan memory.
6. Olkeriil Teteo — Kitar Belau
Composed in 1945, the song addresses Belau at a historical rupture. Its direct melody turns national change into an intimate act of singing to place.
7. Kui-Roy Arurang and Friday Night Club — Wakai Inochi
Japanese phrases sit inside Palauan lyrics over a 1960s string-band frame. Her strong voice prevents the bilingual history from becoming a mere curiosity.
8. Kodep Kloulechad — Natsukasi el Belumam
This 1951 place-celebratory song honours Ngerchelong. Hear how a home village becomes a social refrain suited to club participation.
9. Ymesei Ezekiel — Belau rekid
Hear the national anthem as a musician's composition before hearing it as protocol. Its singable range and steady contour make collective language practical.
10. Maria Melaitau and Lucky 7 Band — Bechesiil el Ngara Miyako
Voice, mandolin and guitar carry separation without slowing the social pulse. Japanese geography and Palauan emotion meet in one radio-era performance.
11. Wataru Elbelau — Kele Ke Di Ngara Ngelbesek
His direct vocal line rides a light string accompaniment. Attend to Palauan consonants against the regular guitar rhythm.
12. Hidebo Sugiyama — 4:30
Voice and guitar make the end of the workday feel private. Tape bleed remains audible, placing loneliness inside the material life of the archive.
13. Teruko Rengulbai and Friday Night Club — Ang Kuk Mocha Kebesengei
Mandolin, guitar and low accompaniment turn a Ngiwal place-memory into club song. Her voice controls the narrative centre.
14. Te-ich Tiou and Friday Night Club — Kayangel a Tara Ungil Beluu
This praise of Kayangel is local rather than abstractly patriotic. Hear how a concise melody invites listeners from the named place to answer.
15. Paul Dakubong and Tungelbai Band — Nangaraku Sabisi
Mandolin and fiddle accompany a song attributed to Ymesei Ezekiel. Audible timing strain reveals musicians adjusting to one another in the room.
16. Ngirchoureng — Bai Derengul a Eolt
Jim Geselbracht and Tony Phillips interpret Kodep Kloulechad through guitar and mandolin in 2018. Treat this as a studied revival, not an archival Palauan performance.
17. Sikitong, Brisia and Teresa Rdulaol — E Ngak Ma Uel A Di Osisiu
Three named performers anchor the cassette-era route. Listen for the relation among lead, duet colour and a band sound remembered across generations.
18. Sikitong and Brisia — Bechesik El Di Mle Soak
The second selection keeps Brisia audible as a musical partner rather than a footnote. Compare vocal tone and phrasing with the earlier radio singers.
19. Halley Eriich — Karmaliang
An older title and contemporary cassette production meet in one composer-performer's work. Keyboard and amplified voice reorganise inherited memory.
20. IN-X-ES — Mousobes
The late-1990s hit album marks a commercial Palauan pop generation. Hear electronic texture as local media history, not as the disappearance of tradition.
21. Kendall Titiml — Dodersii Belau
A modern Palauan-language address to country carries family and diaspora experience through a clear lead vocal and programmed accompaniment.
22. Kendall Titiml — Tal Ngimch
Written for the Palau National Marine Sanctuary contest, the first-prize song turns ocean stewardship into a memorable public refrain.
23. Sarah Sugiyama — Euotelel a Klingil A Debel Belau
A named contemporary woman links Palau's sea and national strength through song. Listen for how the educational purpose becomes emotional address.
24. Ngirchoureng — Mengemedaol er a Irechar
End with an openly identified reconstruction of old string-band style. Guitar, mandolin and fiddle show how archive study can create a new diaspora performance.
Frequently asked questions
In Koror, begin with Belau National Museum and ask about the restored Ngerel Belau material, then visit Etpison Museum for wider cultural context. Check Palau Community College and Bureau of Cultural and Historical Preservation notices for public programmes. National days, schools and conservation organisations may announce performances or song contests. Confirm every event close to the date. A village ceremony, church service or dance is not automatically open to visitors, and nightlife sets may mix Palauan originals with international covers.
Questions about Twenty-Four Performances Across Palauan Music
1. What is traditional Palauan music?
Its oldest documented centre is voice joined to dance, story, work and social memory. Men's *ruk*, women's *ngloik*, chants, dirges and occasional songs have distinct purposes rather than forming one generic folk style.
2. What is chelitakl?
*Chelitakl* is a Palauan term for singing or chanting. In dance settings, words, melodic delivery, prompting and movement belong together.
3. What is the difference between ruk and ngloik?
*Ruk* refers to men's traditional dance practices and *ngloik* to women's group dance. Each contains multiple forms with particular movement, text, dress and social knowledge.
4. Why does Palauan music sound Japanese in places?
Japan governed Palau from 1914 to 1944. Schooling and popular culture introduced Japanese language and melodies, which Palauan composers and singers adapted under colonial conditions and carried into later memory.
5. What are the Ngerel Belau tapes?
They are reel-to-reel radio recordings made mainly in the 1960s by the Voice of Palau. Restored reels preserve named singers and string bands performing Palauan love, place and memory songs.
6. Which instruments are common in older Palauan popular recordings?
Guitar and mandolin are central, with ukulele, fiddle, harmonica, percussion and occasional low-string or improvised bass. Older vocal documentation also refers to bamboo flutes and other sound-making implements.
7. Is Palauan cha-cha a foreign genre?
Its dance rhythm travelled from outside, but Palauan musicians localised it through language, melody, band practice and social dance. Its history is one of adaptation rather than simple copying.
8. Who are good Palauan artists to begin with?
Start with Maria Melaitau, Wataru Elbelau, Teruko Rengulbai, Sikitong, Brisia, Halley Eriich, IN-X-ES, Kendall Titiml and Sarah Sugiyama, then follow known composers Kodep Kloulechad, Ymesei Ezekiel and Olkeriil Teteo.
9. Where can I hear Palauan music?
Check Belau National Museum, Palau Community College, national celebration schedules, public cultural programmes and current artist announcements. Do not assume ceremonial performances or church services are visitor entertainment.
10. How should I begin listening?
Pair one chant or dance record with one Ngerel Belau string-band song and one current Palauan composition. Follow the words, named people and place references before adding a broad genre label.
