HISTORY OF THE OLD ERA

The most well-known traditional alliance in central Palau was Ngetelngal, a confederation made up of the villages that are now known as Melekeok, Ngiwal, and Ngchesar. Among them, Melekeok served as the political and cultural seat of Ngetelngal.

Historically, Ngetelngal bordered the villages of Ngerard, Ngerdmau, Ngeremlengui, Ngetbang, and Irrai. These borders were not static—territorial boundaries shifted over time due to migrations, inter-village alliances, traditional relationships, foreign encounters, and more recent changes in social and political structure.

During the German administration, Ngiwal separated from Ngetelngal, while Ngchesar formally seceded during the Japanese period, marking the gradual dissolution of the confederation. Prior to these separations, Ngetelngal included the following communities:

• The four sub-villages of Melekeok
• Ngiwal (also known as Kiuluul)
• Choldiais and Bungelkelau — now recognized as the present-day state of Ngchesar
• Additional extinct or abandoned villages that were once under Ngetelngal’s jurisdiction

These records reflect the organization of Ngetelngal before the fragmentation that occurred in the early 20th century under colonial restructuring.

The Ngetelngal confederation was historically made up of four core regions: Melekeok, Ngiwal, Choldiais, and Bungelkelau. These regions comprised multiple active villages as well as now-extinct or abandoned settlements. The list below reflects the structure prior to the separation of Ngiwal and Ngchesar during the German and Japanese periods. (See the photo on your right)

Key:
*Villages marked with (+) were active sub-villages at the time.
Villages marked with () were extinct or abandoned by the time of documentation.
*Villages marked with (++) are sparsely documented or uncertain in historical records.

Ngetelngal is referred to as Artingal. 

In ancient times, the village of Chelab held a prestigious position on the east coast (desbedall) of Babeldaob, ranked second only to Melekeok in status and influence. At that time, only three major polities existed along the eastern coastline: Melekeok, Chelab, and Ngerbau (located in present-day Ngarchelong).

Chelab’s leadership traditions were rooted in deep ceremonial protocols. When a new elder was selected to hold the chiefly title of Ngirarois—the head chief of Chelab—he would undergo a period of seclusion lasting approximately three months. This was a sacred and symbolic phase of initiation into leadership.

On the final day of this seclusion, the Reklai, high chief of Melekeok and regarded as the chief of the east heavens, would personally emerge to bring the elder out of seclusion. This act formally marked the completion of the initiation ceremony. From that moment, the elder was recognized as the official titleholder of Ngirarois.

The title Ngirarois belongs to the Roís clan, the ruling clan of Chelab, and signifies the authority and responsibility of leadership within the village.Ngatpang: A Peaceful Power at the Center of Babeldaob

According to oral tradition, Ngatpang was once the ruling polity of all Palau in ancient times. While no further written records have been found to elaborate on this rule, elders consistently affirm Ngatpang’s former prominence.

Ngatpang was regarded as the center of Babeldaob, symbolically referred to as the center of the olukl—the bamboo stick used as the spine for folding palm leaves in traditional thatching for houses and bai. This reference emphasizes Ngatpang’s central geographic and cultural position on the island.

There are no known migration stories of people entering Ngatpang. In fact, the village of Ngerdubech within Ngatpang is said to have descended from the heavens, which gives meaning to its name. The term “dubech” refers to a young coconut sprout, while “duubech” means to grow, emerge, or originate—symbolizing divine or ancestral origin. In some contexts, Ngerdubech and Ngatpang are used interchangeably.

Traditionally, Ngatpang is known as a peaceful community, with no recorded history of warfare. The people of Ngatpang are said to have never initiated or engaged in battles, and as a result, the village did not develop expertise in military strategy or weapon-making.

A historical alliance once existed between Ngchesar and Ngatpang. In earlier times, the area that is now Ngchesar was considered the eastern coastal region of Ngatpang. A physical testament to this connection remains in the form of a stone causeway called Chetoilechang, which was constructed by the people of Ngatpang for access to the fishing grounds in the lagoon of Ngchesar.

The story goes as follows:

When the early settlers of what is now Ngchesar arrived at the coast, they sought permission from Ngerdubech in Ngatpang to settle the land. The elders of Ngatpang granted the request on the condition that the newcomers regularly provide fish to Ngerdubech as tribute.

For a time, this agreement was honored. Ngchesar’s villagers fished the lagoon and offered portions of their catch to the people of Ngerdubech. However, as Ngchesar grew in strength and numbers, resentment began to build toward this tributary arrangement.

In a symbolic act of protest, Ngchesar once sent a ray fish pierced with multiple spears as their offering. The elders of Ngerdubech immediately recognized this as a message—a warning of war. In order to avoid conflict, they responded swiftly by abolishing the tribute, formally releasing Ngchesar from its obligation.

Thus, Ngchesar gained its independence from Ngerdubech without bloodshed, marking a peaceful yet powerful shift in inter-village relations.

Initial European contact with Palau occurred sometime between the 16th and 18th centuries, with exact dates varying based on interpretations of ship logs and other recorded encounters. By 1696, however, Palau was definitively acknowledged in a letter written by a Jesuit priest stationed in Manila, who reported the arrival in southern Samar of 29 individuals from Palau who had been blown off course.

Between 1696 and 1712, the Spanish made several unsuccessful attempts to establish Christian missions in the islands. These efforts were ultimately abandoned in 1712. 

In 1783, the British ship Antelope, captained by Henry Wilson, wrecked in Palau. The published account of the crew’s three-month stay on the islands generated foreign interest in Palau and helped open the islands to trade in trepang (bêche-de-mer), pearl and button shells, turtle shell, and copra.

Foreign trade intensified through the mid to late 1800s. One notable trader, David D. O’Keefe, transported laborers from Yap to Palau to quarry stone money disks. This diverged from the traditional Yapese method of transporting stone by canoe, which eventually led to the devaluation of stone money in Yap.

Spain formally claimed possession of Palau in 1886. Although their occupation was relatively brief, it was marked by the active suppression of traditional practices and the introduction of Catholicism.

Missionary efforts centered in Oreor (Koror) and Babeldaob, particularly along the east coast (Desbedall). As described in The Catholic Church in Palau, Capuchin missionaries introduced a European-style education system that included literacy, numeracy, geography, and other academic subjects—contrasting sharply with Palauan learning systems that were grounded in interpersonal relationships and hands-on cultural activities.

By April 1893, Father Luis de Granada had established a chapel (St. Joseph) and residence in Ngarchelong, where he also ran a small school. His efforts, however, were met with resistance due to his strong opposition to traditional practices, such as klumengelungel (clubhouse concubinage).

He later moved to Chelab in Ngaraard, where similar disapproval awaited him. Seeking a more receptive audience, he relocated to Ngiwal and then to Melekeok, where he found some protection under Reklai Ngiracheremang. Despite this support, his continued condemnation of Palauan customs bred local resentment.

Father Luis died of a brief illness in 1903. Though he was buried on the Udes clan’s burial platform designated for Reklai titleholders, his bluks (grave marker) was made of coral, not basalt—signifying his foreign origin and connection to the sea.

Palau came under German administration in 1899, after Spain sold its remaining Pacific territories following the Spanish-American War. This marked the beginning of a new colonial chapter, during which the German authorities introduced infrastructure projects, labor systems, and administrative reforms that would shape the islands well into the 20th century.

Following Spain's withdrawal from the Pacific after the Spanish-American War, Germany acquired all Spanish possessions in the region—with the exception of Guam. Over the next 15 years, the German administration introduced new economic ventures and permitted the spread of Protestant Christianity in Palau.

The Germans instilled a new work ethic in Palauan society. Young men were actively discouraged from spending idle time in village clubhouses (bai) and were instead recruited to work in colonial projects. Many were employed in coconut planting on designated village plantations. Others were transported to Angaur, where they worked in the phosphate mines, alongside imported Micronesian laborers between 1908 and 1910.

However, mine work was generally undesirable due to Angaur’s remote distance from Babeldaob and Koror. For the first time, wage labor became common among young, unmarried Palauan men, marking a shift from traditional male economic roles such as canoe-building and community labor. Despite earning wages, many of these men followed customary expectations by giving their earnings to their maternal uncles, in accordance with matrilineal tradition.

The German administration promoted cottage industries and actively encouraged the expansion of coconut plantationsacross clan and family lands in Babeldaob. A key agricultural focus at the time was the effort to eradicate tebkabk, a disease that afflicted coconut leaves.

In the social realm, German officials attempted to reform local customs. They strongly opposed klumengelungel(clubhouse concubinage) and discouraged ancestral worship and veneration of spirits, which led to the destruction of many ulengang—sacred spirit shrines. These efforts included the imposition of fines and confiscation of Palauan bachel (traditional bead money), much of which was later transported to Germany and is now displayed in European museums.

While the German authorities allowed the entry of Protestant missionaries, it was the Palauan Catholic converts who became the most vocal in opposing the spread of Lutheranism. At the same time, potent German medicines introduced by the missionaries contributed to both improved health outcomes and increased missionary influence. This had a lasting effect: even into the 1970s, Palauans continued to seek certain medicines from Emmaus Mission in Koror, the Protestant mission headquarters.

At the outbreak of World War I, Japan seized control of Germany’s colonies in the Pacific. After the war, the League of Nations formally awarded Japan a mandate over all former German Pacific territories north of the equator, including Palau.

In contrast to the Spanish and German administrations, the Japanese pursued an aggressive colonization strategy. They placed Palau under naval administration, initiated large-scale commercial development, and actively encouraged the settlement of Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean migrants. These settlers worked on Japanese-owned plantations, as well as in various public infrastructure and economic ventures.

During the Japanese administration of Palau, the island of Babeldaob underwent extensive development. In the late 1930s, bauxite mining operations began in Ngaremlengui and Ngardmau, continuing through the final years of World War II. For a brief period, manganese was also mined in Ngaraard, from a small surface deposit roughly one acre in size, located about 2,000 feet west of Chol village (Palau Planning Office, 1977).

The Japanese established agricultural settlements in several key locations: Airai, Aimeliik, Ngaremlengui, Ngchesar,and Ngiwal. Notably, southern Ngaremlengui, particularly the area along the Ngeremeskang and Ngkebeduul Rivers, saw significant transformation under Japanese agricultural development.

These settlements were assigned Japanese names, even though they already had Palauan designations. For example:

• Ngerbekuu (Ngiwal) was renamed Taiyo
• Ngerdorch (Ngchesar) became Shimizu-mura
• The Ngerderar area was known as Ringio
• Ngermeskang Plantation (Ngaremlengui) was called Asahi

As documented by Wil Chee-Planning, one of the most ambitious settlements was the Garumisukan Colony (Palauan: Ngeremeskang), later renamed Asahi-Mura. Families from Japan were recruited by the South Seas Government to establish a self-sufficient agricultural colony. Most settlers originated from the Asahigawa District of Hokkaido.

By 1940, the community had grown to include over 100 Japanese families, functioning similarly to a rural Japanese village. Though originally envisioned as a self-sustaining settlement, the success of pineapple cultivation prompted a shift toward cooperative commercial farming.

The colony entered into a contract with the South Seas Pineapple Company, which built a small canning factory within the village. The processed fruit was exported to:

• Japan
• Japanese military garrisons across Asia
• Other regional markets via Nantaku Pineapple Company (Nantaku Hori K.K.)

By 1944, Asahi-Mura featured:

• A residential area
• Shops and stores
• A large schoolhouse
• Storehouses for produce
• A small military installation, including a power plant, barracks, a garage, and additional facilities

A network of trenches and foxholes near the camp suggests that it may have functioned as an extension of the military training facility in Ngatpang.

The Japanese administration also made efforts to manage Palauan social structures, often working through traditional chiefs. When a chief was cooperative, he was supported. However, those who resisted Japanese control were sometimes undermined or replaced by more compliant leaders. In many instances, chiefs were deposed and replaced by others more aligned with Japanese interests. This created a climate of fear and compliance, as villagers sought to avoid retaliation.

A significant demographic shift occurred during this time: movement from inland to coastal areas. After participating in cultural exchange trips to Japan, some traditional leaders began relocating their people to nearshore settlements, initiating a new phase of development referred to as beches el beluu (“new settlements”).

To support this resettlement, the Japanese constructed:

• New stone paths
• Docks
• Landing facilities for diesel-powered boats

These infrastructure upgrades significantly enhanced mobility and access to trade and military transport.

During World War II, the Japanese military transformed Babeldaob into a fortified stronghold. Military camps were established in multiple locations, including Aimeliik, Ngardmau, Ngaremlengui, the interior of Ngchesar, Ngarchelong, and other areas across the island.

As Japan braced for an American invasion, the Palauan population fled their villages to escape the rising tension, heavy militarization, and eventual bombing raids. Families from Koror, Peleliu, and Angaur evacuated to Babeldaob, seeking refuge from relentless shelling.

• Ngarchelong residents took shelter in the forests of Ngebuked and Desengong, an ancient village in the southwestern region of Ngaraard.
• Chol villagers (Ngaraard) fled to the forests of Ngebuked. Meanwhile, Ngkeklau villagers remained in place. Others from Ngebuked relocated to the forests of Ngetcherong.
• Ngiwal villagers dispersed across several areas in their state, including Chimolech, Ngerchelebed, Ngercharm, Idelui, and Orraterruul.
• In Melekeok, most residents sought safety in Chimolech (Ngiwal). Those from Ngerubesang moved to Ngeorai, a location between Ngerubesang and Ngeruikl (Ngchesar). One family took shelter in Idelui (Ngiwal).
• Ngchesar residents scattered to sites such as:
  • Roisrakebeas, a ridge west of Ngersuul
  • Oletael, west of Ngeruikl
  • Ngerkautong and Ngeremngar
• Villagers from Irrai hid in Ngchesechang and in a cave in Ngersuul (Ngchesar).
• Those from Oikull went to Ngerdesolech and Olechalmodechel.
• Ngerusar residents fled to a nearby rock island near Ongelungel, east of the village.
• Ngetkib villagers took refuge at the base of the rock islands, south of what is now the Airai View Hotel. Many, however, chose to stay, placing their faith in the village god Obakelsechal, believed to offer divine protection. That belief was strengthened when a bomb landed in Ngermelkii (a section of the village) but failed to explode.
• Imeliik villagers evacuated into the forests of Imul and Ngerdobotar.
• In Ngatpang, families camped around Ngereklamadel (Meche-bechubel), including Ngereuuich (between Melukltang and Mechebechubel), Ngerbiduul, and Omeloteldelasech, where even a few evacuees from Kororfound shelter.
• Residents of Ngaremlengui found refuge in several locations, such as:
  
  • Ngetmur
  • Isebong
  • A cave in Ngchemesed
  • A cave in Ngebesek, known locally as the Cave of Milad.

As World War II intensified, the people of Ngardmau fled to remote locations for safety, including Ngertuker, Ngerchedach, Irur, Ngermasech, and Ngereklabong.

Most residents of Koror were relocated to Ngerdobotar in Aimeliik. This area became so heavily populated with evacuees that it was referred to as "the second Koror." According to oral history, Japanese military officials advised the relocation, anticipating intense bombardment of Koror and wishing to prevent civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, the people of Ngerkebesang sought refuge on Ngerchong, a rock island near Peleliu. Residents of Peleliufled to Ngebuked in Ngaraard, often joining relatives already settled in inland camps across Babeldaob. The people of Angaur moved to Ngkeklau, while those who remained behind survived by hiding in caves for the duration of the war.

"My family and our relatives lived in the woods of Ngatpang during the war. As children, we were not allowed to stay in the shack during the day, so we roamed through the jungle, playing and foraging for wild fruits.
One day, we came across a house where several foreign men were staying. They wore long robes tied with small ropes, and beads hung from their belts. They were kind to us and gave us little snacks.
I remember loving the feeling of the beads—I would rush to touch them every time we visited. I didn’t know then, but later in life, after becoming a nun, I realized they were rosary beads.
Eventually, we told our families about the foreigners, and they became frightened and warned us not to return. But we still did—until one day, we arrived and found the doors swinging open in the wind. The house was empty.
I learned much later that those men were Catholic priests, held in isolation and ultimately executed by the Japanese."

Palauans refer to the wartime shelters as “hinamba,” a term borrowed from Japanese meaning “refugee camp.” Life in these camps was defined by fear and deprivation. Women quietly visited their taro patches at night, while men risked fishing in the mangroves, always under threat from patrolling warplanes.

Survival depended heavily on access to wetland agriculture and coastal resources. Families with taro patches and dense mangrove forests were better able to endure than those without. Food scarcity and fear shaped daily life, yet the spirit of resilience endured.

Composed during the hardships of World War II, this song captures the emotional toll of war:

Palauan Original:

A llechul ku me ngongtiall
a tekoi me a kngunguchii
Ngiramekemad me ng ongellii
a mekomedil e sechelei
e kid a kuk uai chormang.
Chelebuul er a chereomel
me a sengerenger a uai
meketeketang e Ngirabosech
a mei el omosech
me kede kola denges me a belloi.

English Translation:

I wish we could beg for things
so I could plead with the War-Maker
to stop his war,
for my comrades,
we have suffered enough.
Hardship and hunger in the forest
has dragged on too long.
Now, Famine-Maker has arrived,
forcing us to eat mangrove fruit (denges)
and bitter yam (belloi).

Following the end of World War II, the United States assumed control of Palau under a United Nations Trust Territory mandate, incorporating it into the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI). Under American administration, Palau saw the introduction of modern educational and health care systems, along with significant investments in infrastructure and public services.

By the 1960s, Palau’s education system had evolved to include:

• Elementary schools (Grades 1–6)
• Intermediate schools (Grades 7–9)
• High schools

In addition to public education, several faith-based schools contributed to local academic development:

• Seventh-Day Adventist Elementary and High School
• Emmaus High School (operated by Palau Evangelical Church as a boarding school in Koror)
• Bethany High School in Ngaraard, reportedly the first high school in Palau
• Catholic mission schools, beginning with a kindergarten and eventually Mindszenty Intermediate School, which became a high school in the late 1960s
• Maris Stella Elementary School, opened in 1959
• Palau Modekngei School in Ngatpang, founded in the early 1970s, continues to operate today, though at a smaller scale

By the mid-1970s, nearly all states in Babeldaob had access to elementary education. Graduates of local intermediate and high schools began seeking higher education abroad, especially in Guam, Pohnpei, Saipan, and Truk (Chuuk). In the 1960s, Palauan students started attending institutions such as the College of Guam and the University of Hawai‘i.

Health care infrastructure expanded rapidly after the war. Among the first Palauans to pursue professional education were nurses, doctors, and health technicians, many of whom trained at:

• The U.S. Navy health facility in Guam
• The Fiji School of Medicine
• Regional nursing and medical programs across Micronesia

Scholarship programs supported education in health-related fields, and a primary health care network was created by establishing dispensaries in most villages—except Airai, Aimeliik, and Ngatpang, which had access to the hospital in Koror.

The U.S. administration also oversaw improvements in sanitation, water supply, and transportation infrastructure. By 1976, the construction of the Koror-Babeldaob Bridge linked the main island of Babeldaob with Oreor (Koror), accelerating the development of southern Babeldaob and enabling more effective delivery of goods and services.

Beginning in the 1970s, regions of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands began negotiating for greater autonomy. While some opted for unified status negotiations, Palau chose a separate path. After years of constitutional debates, referenda, and treaty discussions, Palau achieved full sovereignty on October 1, 1994, becoming the Republic of Palauunder a Compact of Free Association with the United States.

This agreement ensured:

• Self-governance and independent nationhood
• Continued U.S. defense provisions
• Access to economic assistance and support for development