Belau National Museum

Former name	Palau Museum
Established	1955
Location	Koror, Palau
Coordinates	7°20′11″N 134°28′34″E / 7.33639°N 134.47611°E / 7.33639; 134.47611
Type	National museum
Director	Olympia E. Morei-Remengesau
Website	www.belaunationalmuseum.net

The Belau National Museum (BNM), previously Palau Museum, is a museum in Koror, Palau. It is the oldest continuously run museum in Micronesia.

History

The museum was established in 1955. ^[1] It is the oldest continually running museum in Micronesia; initially called Palau Museu, it later changed its name. ^[2] The original founders included Palauans Indalecio Rudimch, Francisco Morei, Alphonso Oiterong and anthropologist Francis M Mahoney. ^[2] Originally located in the former Japanese Administration Weather Bureau, the museum was later relocated to a new building, which was funded by the Government of the Republic of China. ^[3] From 1955 until its location move in 1970, the museum was run by a Museum Committee. ^[1] In 1970 the museum was relocated to a two-storey building in Palau Botanical Garden. ^[1]

In 1973 the museum's administrative structure changed to a non-profit organisation governed by a board of trustees. ^[1]

Building

The museum has two exhibition spaces, an air-conditioned photographic archive, offices and shop. ^[1] As of 2006, the first floor exhibition space displayed Palau's traditional culture and arts, including bead money ( udoud) and the house-buying ceremony known as ocheraol. ^[4]

In the wider museum compound is a library of over 5000 books relating to the history and culture of Palau. ^[5] There is also a statute of Harruo Remeliik, the first president of Palau. ^[4]

Collections

The museum exhibits artefacts from all aspects of the local life of Palauan people, such as artworks, photography, sculptures etc. ^[6] However, according to Philip Dark, due to a lack of security in the museum, by 1988 several important objects had been stolen. ^[1]

In 1988 the collection consisted of over 1,000 objects relating to the historical, anthropological and biological histories of the country. ^[1] There are several hundred images in the photographic collection, many of which are from periods of Japanese and German colonial occupation. ^[5] This archive was an important aspect of a research project undertaken in the mid-2000s to document life under Japanese colonial rule. ^[7] In 2003 the media collection underwent a digitisation programme, funded by a U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership Grant. ^[8]

The museum has also been active in recording Palau's intangible cultural heritage, including taro production. ^[9] As part of the museum's acquisition process, makers of works that are being accessioned into the collection are interviewed and the process of making is recorded. ^[10]

In 2017 the museum's natural science department led a survey of bird life at the world heritage site of the Rock Islands' southern lagoon. ^[11] The same year the museum signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Museum (Prague) to deepen scientific relations between the countries. ^[12]

Bai

In 1969 a traditional village meeting house known as a bai, was constructed in order to showcase and preserve traditional building styles and skills. However it burnt down on 13 October 1979. ^[1] In the early 1990s the bai was rebuilt using traditional methods and is a key feature of the museum today. ^[4]

Gallery

• 
  Reconstructed bai (2007)
• 
  Details on the bai
• 
  Interior of the bai
• 
  The first bai, c.1970s

Overseas collections

Due to legacies of colonialism, important aspects of Palauan heritage are held in collections overseas. These include; recordings of traditional music held at the Berliner Phonogramm-Archiv, ^[13] chiefly costume held at Glasgow Museums, ^[14] pandanus fibre mats from Sonsorol at National Museums Scotland. ^[15] They also include Palauan material from the eighteenth century held in the British Museum: an inlaid, bird-shaped wooden bowl, an oil painting and an inlaid canoe, amongst others. ^{[16] [17]}

In 2005 digital assets of field recordings made in Palau in the 1960s were repatriated to the museum. ^[18]

Gallery of Palauan cultural heritage held overseas

• 
  Bai at Ethnological Museum, Berlin
• 
  Dilukai from the Caroline Islands, Belau (Palau), 19th-early 20th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art
• 
  Sea urchin spine necklace, Staatlichen Museums für Völkerkunde München
• 
  Storyboards, National Museum Ethnology, Osaka
• 
  Alaskan and Palauan objects in National Museum of Finland.

Notable people

• Faustina K. Rehuher-Marugg (1979 - 2009). ^[19]
• Olympia E. Morei-Remengesau (2009 to present). ^{[20] [21] [22] [23]}

See also

• List of national museums
• List of museums in Palau

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Belau National Museum.

• Palau's Rich Heritage in Nature and Culture