« In political life, every occasion for intercourse between two tribes is based on an exchange of certain money, the value and the amount of which is determined by custom. In social life, everyone is bound by custom to make certain carefully regulated expenditures in relation to his position in the community. Everyone is responsible for his cousins, his children, and his household, and must pay for them. Every act performed for a stranger must be paid for, just as any injury to a stranger must be compensated for in this way. Family life is likewise founded only on the basis of money. »

« It is said that the money originated from the beautiful shining eyes of one of the heavenly beings […] Just as they describe a divine origin to the money, so it is, according to them, that the kinds of money live an actual life like the gods in that island. »

« Regarding modern Palau, without an understanding of the economic relations involved in the Palauan money, udoud, no description can be complete. From village to village, house to house, and person to person, udoud, Palauan money, is always of greatest importance. Therefore the exchange of udoud has an effect on the rise and fall of a household, as well as on the prosperity or destruction of a community. »

« The Palauans exhibit an emotional attachment to their money that verges upon the mystical. They tend to identify themselves with it and the things that are intimately associated with it […] Palauan money is essential to social position and it must play a part in every arrangement that testifies to the social or political importance of an individual […] [The] uses [of Palauan money] ramify widely in the culture, so widely, in fact, that every individual is necessarily affected by the demands for it. Now, as in the past, it is impossible for a Palauan to get along without making use of the native type of money to a greater or lesser degree. » [1]

«…[h]igh indices of refraction, possess considerable hardness, display isotropism, and contain proportions of elements which are not typical of mineral specimens. Moreover, the elongated or drawn bubble patterns and tendencies toward concoidal fracturing indicate the high probability of artificial fusion. The only possible conclusion as to the material from which the Palauan prisms and other opaque bead money is made is that it is glass not stone ».

« Knowledge of the different forms of money and of their respective values is a cultivated art. It is, moreover, a jealously guarded prerogative of the chiefs and of a few others in the limited circle of their supporters upon whose abilities and judgements they can rely ».

« The importance of this money in trade has naturally led traders to try and smuggle in pieces of glass, porcelain bits, or imitation pearls ; but these efforts are mostly supposed to be failures. It is significant that the Palauans maintain they can easily distinguish the autochthonous money from those introduced in recent times. »

« It was quite common for a man to secure money merely by asking his sister to obtain it from her husband. Or chiefs might obtain quantities of money as the result of the services of the young women from their village who served as attendants in other villages’ clubhouses […] Palauans recognized that the women of the clan were a major source of revenue through the patterned financial payments made by their husbands ».

« Some women who were expected to give an important valuable to a brother’s “custom” used pressure, threats, and tears to win their way. Their husbands or their husbands’ kinswomen gave a valuable to preserve the peace and affinal relationship. Moreover, should the H/HZ [husband/husband’s sister] not give a valuable, some women secretly borrow from others in order to save their public reputations. When a woman does so, she has obligated her husband to repay the lender for the use of the valuable. She may elect to shame her husband publicly by letting it be known that she has to gain a valuable from a source other than her husband ».

« It [omeluchel] takes place when a man feels that his obligations are mounting and nothing of importance in his life or in the lives of his children has happened to provide him with a vehicle for disposing of them. Some pressure may also come from his brothers-in-law if they begin to feel that they have outdone themselves and have received nothing in return. They may come to regard their sister’s husband as slow in paying. If they are not on very good terms with him they then begin to make unpleasant remarks and circulate damaging rumors about him. At the same time, they urge their sister to nettle her husband until he sees fit to pay his debts. It is far better for a man’s domestic relations as well as for the sake of his prestige to keep his accounts in order ».

« No business of importance was ever undertaken by them without first consulting with their Priestess […] First, the chiefs met in front of the bai [meeting house] and after talking over the business, they repaired to the hut of the Priestess on the half bend and seated themselves in silence. In a few moments one of their number would make known their business to her […] A curtain of mats was drawn round to screen her from the gaze of visitors. In about five minutes she would begin to deliver her message as she received it from her gods. At times a few questions were asked. Payment was always made on the spot, generally a glass bead or a piece of stone resembling brimstone. Pale green glass [i.e., cheldoech] was not valued ».

« A person is a precious thing, and so even if a person is not one of our relatives the very same thing will happen. A chief who is skilled at this strategy will send his messenger to the landing place carrying a small piece of money. The messenger will tell them to weigh anchor and go back to where they came from. But if the money is not given the men’s club will enter the village and knock down the canoe sheds and cut down betelnut trees. »

« In earlier times there was very little udoud to go around. Simply put, the rich had money and the poor had none at all. If the child of a rich family is fined, the title-holders know that there will be udoud available to pay the fine. There is a principle that my father told me. He said that senior people should never reveal their money to younger people. He told my mother not to tell me the amount of udoud in the house, because if I knew then I would feel free to break the law. Wait until a person is older to reveal the money in the house. »

« These women (Idellkei and her clan people) are foolish. If we see this in the style of the traditional way, highly valued udoud, like Belelai and Oliuch, will not be devalued, and may even become more valuable if they are given to a clan that can compete with the Idid, such as Uudes of Melekeok. Besides, the udoud would not be missed. Even if such valuable udoud did go to a house in Ngersuul that does not hold a high status, it is nothing but a pity for the udoud. Moreover, it would be meaningless, because there is no way for an insignificant house to utilize udoud even if they wanted to. The only way they could use them is if they were to take them to the Reklai [chief of Melekeok] or the Ibedul [chief of Koror] and exchange them for smaller udoud. Even if they keep it the way it is, they would simply be laughed at. It isn’t possible to increase the status of the house with the udoud […] Instead of asking for udoud, she should have requested 1,000 yen by saying that she and her family had spent a lot of money for the feasts the other day. »

« If a man is industrious or had Palauan money and had many sisters, he was considered wealthy. A man may have more money than [chiefs] Ibedul and Reklai but he is still low in status because what determines your status is birth and not money or bravery. »

« It is recognized that the history of a given piece – who has owned it, what transactions it has figured in, etc. – contribute as much to its value as does many of its intrinsic qualities ».

« When the children did as they had been told, all the money inside fled from there. At first, the klikes [a small type of money] ran to the canoe and picked up a pole ; a few chelebucheb followed, then the other money pieces. They poled away from there and landed in Ngebuked ».

« Those who made the path paid a bachel to Idid. And now are you, Arurang, stupid enough to try a different strategy ?

Back then you did not fear to pay a bachel and a kerdeu, and when they were put in the canoe, Ngarameketii and Ibedul [from Koror] were there to take them.

So now, Urdmau, you cry over cooked taro [i.e., spilled milk], and you, Melaikesuk, are one crazy man trying to prevent payment from Urdmau’s people. »

« It is significant that the Palauans maintain they can easily distinguish the autochthonous money from those introduced in recent times ; it has often amused me to see them at the close of a transaction test a piece to see whether it is real or not by holding it up to the light, wiping it with a cloth, and, finally, rubbing it on a cheek or nose. »

« The chelid [spirit or gods] of Ngeraod, the seat of the gods, wanted to hold a feast but did not have the necessary money. He went to a man on Mount Ngulitel and asked his aid. This man answered : “Let me know the day when you want to have the feast and I shall come over to Ngeraod.” The chelid sent him the required information and the man of Ngulitel (near Keklau) arrived at the time set and brought along a bag of money. The chelid accepted it with the assurance that he would pay it all back in the near future. When the time had come for him to return what he had borrowed, the chelid took the empty bag and filled it with all the different types of fruit that he could find. They were transformed into money, which was given the names of the fruit, and thus it was possible for the chelid to pay his debts ».

« Money is very scarce and people are clever in thinking about this problem. A woman is going to think carefully about marrying into a high-ranking house (meteet), or into a distantly linked house that holds an important piece of money. For example, Ngerebesakl was the money of my father and was the “marriage payment” of Ngitechob, who was the sister of Rengiil Ngirturong. Ngirturong in turn disposed of it at Koror for Bilung Taru. Then the brother of this Bilung married into Ngiual and so the money was disposed of in Ngiual. Then the younger sister of Techereng sought after it and married Chuong Ngirateuid. People said : “They are relatives and married !” But this woman told me : “It is the udoud that I want to take.” And so when Chuong died they brought the udoud back to Koror. »

« One day, a boat was drifting about in which seven kinds of money were seated ; they had left their island, Ngarutt [Ngeroad ?], in search of other, more appealing places. They had been drifting about in the ocean for sometime without fulfilling their wishes. At last, they reached Palau. In the harbor, Berrak, who was the highest ranking of them all, was stretched out on a platform, ordered Mengungau, the next in rank, to go ashore and survey the island. Mengungau was just as indolent as his chief, so he ordered Chelebucheb, just below him, to do it ; he did not go but assigned it to Cheldoech who told Kluk. Finally the much pestered Olelongel had to go because he had no one to obey him […] So, as it happened, Berrak was deserted by his own people and chiefs. He himself, then, went to get them, but the place pleased him so that they all remained and led the lives they were used to. Berrak does nothing but eat, drink, and sleep, the higher always commands the lower. And so it is […] that, just as it is among us people, so the large pieces sit quietly at home and do nothing, while the smaller pieces busily circulate, doing the work for the more valuable kinds as well as themselves. »

« The old Rubak [Ngiraklang Chelungel] of the place came down to the raised square pavement, which was at one end of the great house where our people were ; he was brought on a board slung with a rope at each end, and carried by four men. After he was seated, a messenger came and spoke to Ibedul, who immediately said something to the rubak in the great house, and they all went out on the pavement, and seated themselves with much respect ; Ibedul also quitted the house, leaving none but the English in it ; yet did not go to the old Rubak, or take any notice of the ceremony carrying on, but sat down under a tree, where he could not be observed, and amused himself in making the handle of a hatchet. After some time spent in conversation, the old Rubak distributed beads to the other rubak, in the following manner ; the old Rubak gave them to an officer in waiting, who advancing into the middle of the square, and holding them up between his forefinger and thumb, made a short speech, and with a loud voice called out the person’s name for whom they were designed, and immediately ran and gave them to him, and then returned in a slow pace to the old Rubak for the next, which was presented in the same manner. Captain Wilson remained in the house observing the ceremony, till the linguist was sent to him, when he went out, and was directed to a seat near to his friend Rechucher, and soon after two tortoise-shell spoons, and a string of red beads, which were made from a coarse species of cornelian, were brought forward, which the before mentioned officer holding up, called out Englees, and instantly ran and presented them to the Captain. Ibedul’s beads, which were glass [note in original : The beads spoken of were of their own making, being a kind of coloured earth baked ; they made them also at Pelew (Ibedul’s beluu “village”), but our people had never any opportunity of seeing how they were manufactured. They also considered as beads the glass ones last mentioned, being only bits of broken glass, which they had the art of drilling ; some beads they saw of this kind were made of green and white glass, being small pieces of broken bottles which had been got out of the Antelope], were given to Rechucher, who personated the king on this occasion ».

« The chief [of Melekeok] gave into the hand of a rubak a bead, which he very carefully inclosed in his hands, and then moved slowly toward Ibedul, with his body bent, as is usual on approaching the King [i.e., Ibedul]; he said something in a low tone of voice, that seemed to meet the approbation of the assembly ; he then appeared to be in the act of presenting this bead, and Ibedul on the point of receiving it, when he suddenly drew back his hands, and asked, If so rich a present did not entitle the bearer to some reward ; the King immediately gave him a China bead of the second size ; as soon as the rubak had received it, and not till then, he, with great solemnity, resigned the rich present to the hands of Ibedul ».

« Bulong is a very valuable bachel mengungau, which I once had in my handbag. A long time ago members of the men’s club of Irrai carried Bulong on a wooden litter (odekoll) to be an offering to the god Medechiibelau, with many people dancing along side. Of course the money was very light but they were acting like it is very heavy, and in this way they were deceiving the god. In German times, this money was used to purchase a meeting house, but before that it was the money of the god of Irrai and was kept in the god’s house. The [German official] Winkler seized this money from the god’s house and used it to purchase a meeting house he had ordered to be built by the men of Ngeremlengui. But when the leaders of the men’s club on the “side of Ngertuong” [allied to the first titleholder Ngirturong] and the leader of the men’s club on the “side of Klang” [allied to the second titleholder Ngiraklang] received the money they were not able to break it into smaller denominations, so that half could go to one club leader and half to the other club leader. My father was at that time the leader of the men’s club on the “side of Klang”. The money stayed put until the death of Ngiraklang Recheboi. When they [his wife’s relatives] came to take the “marriage payment” for his widow it became a very difficult situation at the “death conference” (cheldecheduch) because Bulong was held by Ngerturong house and the money belonging to Klang house was closely hoarded by the women of Klang. Idub, the senior woman from Klang, argued strongly that Omrukl [a money of the class bachel berrak] was rightfully the “children’s money” of Ngiraklang Recheboi and that it could not be given away. But Rekemesik from Tabliual house argued against this, saying : “No, I have already killed plenty of pigs and carried many bags of rice. Give me Omrukl.” Idub at the time was holding some money from Otang, and she tried to give him [Rekemesik] this, but he refused it, saying, “No, give me Omrukl.” The meeting went on all day and into the evening. Ngirturong Sulial and all the other titleholders were sitting in the meeting house. At this point someone pointed out to the women of Klang that there was a piece of money currently held at Ngerturong house that was really the possession of the men’s club leaders of both Klang and Ngerturong. Ngirturong said : “Give me a piece of money to exchange with Bulong, and I will give you this Bulong”. So they took one chelebucheb and gave it to Ngirturong Sulial, and they took Bulong to Klang. And then the people of Klang gave Bulong as the “marriage payment” of this woman, who was from Tabliual house. The meaning of this is “enter from the back” (okiu er a rebai), since the money did not enter by the front door. No chelebucheb could possibly be exchanged for such a large bachel and come in the front door.

It stayed this way until the wartime and then Techeltoech, the leader of Modekngei [religion], acquired Bulong when one of the men from Tabliual, named Rekemesik Ngiraiechol, changed it in order to have more small pieces to distribute to members of the family. Techeltoech was a person very interested in changing money and so he encouraged the people of Tabliual to do this. He gave Rekemesik 1,000 yen and one bachel as the “body of the money” Bulong. And then Techeltoech spent it to “send back” (olmesumech) his wife to Chelab village in Ngerard, so that he could remarry a pretty young woman. Once I said to him : “You and Rekemesik are crazy to throw this money away.” He asked : “Why do you say this ?” I told him that money is like a person, and just like when a woman from Imeiong marries a man from a lower-ranking place she “falls”. When a piece of money falls, it no longer has any usefulness ; it is like it is no longer on the list of money from the house of Idid or Uudes. But there was nothing else he could do since he really wanted to remarry this woman named Bedebii, who was affiliated with Modekngei and had the ability to whistle as if she was a spirit. When the former wife from Ngerard died, there was a young man who had married a woman from Ngiual village, and so later Secharuleong of Melekeok took Bulong as “children’s money”. But when the wife of Secharuleong died about 1965 Lomisang [Reklai, chief ofMelekeok] took Bulong as the “marriage payment”, because one of the younger relatives of Secharuleong had married a person from Uudes [Reklai’s house], and when this young man died they took the “marriage payment” of this girl. And so Secharuleong gave it away to Uudes. »