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CLASSIFYING TRADITIONAL PALAUAN MONEY: ETHNOMATHEMATICS CONVEYS CULTURAL PRIDE

By Peter E. Patacsil, Ph. D.

CSNA R5857

INTRODUCTION

The Republic of Palau is part of Micronesia and consists of a cluster of 343 islands located in the western Pacific Ocean, 550 miles east of the Philippines. Its population of approximately 19,000 people reside on only nine of the islands. In 1944, U. S. Marines fought a savage battle with Japanese troops entrenched in caves on the island of Pelelieu. During the fighting, 11,000 Japanese and almost 2,000 Americans perished. Palau is the smallest of the four political units that emerged from the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands that were administered by the United States after the second world war under a United Nations mandate.

United States currency is used throughout the republic. The colorful modern-day coins featured in coin catalogs are sold as souvenirs. Paulau is credited with having issued the world's first Elvis Presley postage stamp.

ORIGIN OF TRADITIONAL PALAUAN MONEY

The origin of udoud, the traditional money of Palau, has never been firmly established. This traditional money is of foreign manufacture and of foreign importation. In 1783, the Antelope, a British merchant ship (Captain Henry Wilson), was the first western ship on record to have visited Palau. Both pottery money and glass bead money were already in use at that time. It is thought, however, that udoud was in existence long before then. According to German ethnologists, the pottery pieces or bar gorgets (see Figure 1) may be of Asiatic origin. Another theory is that Malayan peoples who lived in both Yap and Palau brought the money to Palau. This theory is reinforced by the fact that antique polychrome beads (see Figure 2) were used in Borneo and Timor and were highly prized on both of these islands.

USES OF UDOUD

Despite the uncertainty regarding its origin, udoud is an important part of Palauan culture and is, or was, used in social practices and/or social institutions such as birth rites, death rites, divorces. inheritance, marriage, politics, religion, and war. Paulauan women wear pottery pieces and/or glass beads around their necks (see Figure 3). A necklace or iek is usually assembled from clan money and worn on special occasions by high ranking women. Further, female students at the University of Guam (UOG) can be seen on campus adorned with necklaces made of Palauan money. These are usually single pieces strung on a black chord. In contemporary terms, the value of traditional Palauan money can vary between US $100 and $100,000.

CLASSIFYING PALAUAN MONEY

Ubiratan D'Ambrosio of Brazil, the father of ethnomathematics, defines this discipline as mathematics that is practiced among identifiable groups including: national-tribal societies;