One of the most important elements in our Palauan culture that kept our people and communities together in the face of overwhelming tragedies such as wars, wide-spread epidemics, and very destructive typhoons was our island way of staying together to resolve our problems, as a group, or to celebrate, as a group, whatever good fortunes may have come our way. Living on islands that have limited resources, which are subjected to frequent natural disasters, we have conditioned ourselves to expect the worst that nature could throw our way. When natural disasters do come our way most of us manage to survive them with flying colors. Good fortunes, on the other hand, don’t come to us at the whims of nature—we have to plan and work hard to make them realities before we can enjoy them.
In previous years, beginning with the decade of the fifties up until the decade of the Seventies, we had what we called the Palau Annual Fairs, which enabled our people, young and old, and our communities to come together for a few days each year to reaffirm our bond as one special people and to celebrate the good fortunes that we were blessed with during that year under review. During the two or three-day period that we celebrated the Annual Fair, we had gala parades featuring various traditional village organizations or clubs, which reaffirmed their cultural importance and positions in the Palauan world. To the delight of foreign visitors who happened to be on the island at the time, many groups, particularly those that were made up of women performers, presented nightly programs of authentic Palauan dances, which were enjoyed by everyone.
For many weeks and months before each annual fair, artisans throughout the country carved storyboards, made spears and other fishing implements, wove baskets and other Palauan female creations to be displayed for sale during the fair. Farmers all over Palau and women with taro patches were also busy raising prized produces that they hoped would fetch special recognitions and high prices as well in the produce market outlets at the fair ground. Athletic events and games of all kinds, including various island-oriented competitions, were always scheduled to take places during the annual fairs. And, of course, there were much feasting during the fair period.
A special feature, which was added to the fair programs during the seventies, were the performances of US Military bands by the US Navy on Guam and by the US Air Force fromClark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Their performances were very popular with young Palauans and the fair organizing committees never failed to invite them during the seventies to participate in the fair activities. At night when the performers in these military bands had completed their work, they and their Palauan friends attended many feasts where they were entertained by local bands and vocalists. These military bands did much to cultivate the goodwill between the US Military and young Palauans, a friendship that has lasted to this day.
The Ministry of Community and Cultural Affairs should take the lead in reactivating the annual fairs in Palau. These fairs could improve the country’s economy (tourism, Palauan arts, and agriculture) and could be instrumental in bringing much needed tranquility into our communities.
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