Another update from our trip to Palau. Wakana had her heart set on seeing an abai, a men's gathering house, in Palau. There is a very old one in Arai state. The abai is still an important part of modern Palauan society but she wanted to see an original.

We rode out to see the Arai Abai which is the oldest on Guam but the taxi driver didn't know where it was. He did manage to find the Palauan war canoe. It is an outrigger paddling canoe for 40 men. The thing is huge! And it was carved from a single log! Amazing.

The taxi driver took us to the Belau Museum where we knew there was a modern replica of an abai. When we got there we saw a group of people watching dancers all lined up in front of the abai. The dancers were men and boys wearing the traditional thew loincloths and carrying dancing sticks. We settled ourselves on a convenient seat to watch but were hustled away from there because we "could be seen by the camera". That puzzled us but we moved on. The men started to dance but we couldn't see much of them because of people standing in the way taking pictures.

After the men finished it was the women's turn. A huge group of women and girls in grass skirts, panadanas brassieres, and other colorful decorations and headresses took their places before the abai. We tried to get a better look but someone kept shooing us away from our vantage points. It turns out the event was being filmed for TV. If I wanted to see the dancing and ceremonies we would have to go back to hotel room and watch it on TV! The other people that were in our way were "the media" who were recording the event for their various publications. I was mad enough to spit nails! We'd spent good money to be on Palau for just such a sight and we were not allowed to enjoy it because it had to be recorded for those who were NOT there! Grrrr. Sigh. It must be another facet of the modern world.