Inlaid sword
From Belau,
Micronesia
Possibly 18th century
AD
This sword is one of the prestigious artefacts
given to Captain Henry Wilson when he stayed in the Palau Islands,
now known as Belau, after the shipwreck of his East India Company
packet Antelope. Wilson
and his crew lived on the island of Ulong for three months in 1783
while they built a new ship. The story of their travels was
published by George Keate, and became a popular
book.
Wilson and his crew
became friendly with the Palauans, especially the high chief of
Koror, the ibedul, known
by the crew as Abba Thule. They exchanged gifts - the ceremonial
exchange of gifts continues to be an important part of Palauan
culture. Wilson's gifts to the Palauans included metal and
European weapons. The Paluans did use shell-inlaid wooden swords as
weapons, but the rich decoration of this example suggests that it
probably had a ceremonial function. Wilson also received a large
bird-shaped bowl decorated in a similar manner, and a tight fitting
armlet made from the vertebra of a dugong, as worn only by the
highest ranking chiefs. Abba Thule's second son, Prince Lee
Boo, was chosen to sail to England with the crew. They left the
islands on 12 November 1783. Lee Boo survived only six months in
England. He died of smallpox and was buried in the churchyard of St
Mary's, Rotherhithe, where his grave can still be
seen.
Belau is now noted
for ceremonial men's meeting houses, known as
bai. The gables and
lintels are carved and painted with symbolic images. The gable
boards, known as story boards, are carved with scenes that depict
important historic events and aspects of Palauan
culture.
F. Hezel, The first taint of civilizatio, Pacific Islands Monograph Series, no. 1 (Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 1983)
N. Thomas and K. Nero (eds.), G. Keate, An account of the Pelew Island, The Literature of Travel, Exploration and Empire (Continuum International Publishing, 2001)
Palau Community Action Agency, A history of Palau, 3 vols. (Koror, PCAA, 1977)
G. Keate, An account of the Pelew Isla-1 (London, Wilson and Nichol, 1788)