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National museum in Koror, Palau From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Belau National Museum (BNM), previously Palau Museum, is a museum in Koror, Palau. It is the oldest continuously run museum in Micronesia.
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Former name | Palau Museum |
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Established | 1955 |
Location | Koror, Palau |
Coordinates | 7°20′11″N 134°28′34″E |
Type | National museum |
Director | Olympia E. Morei-Remengesau |
Website | belaunationalmuseum.pw |
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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