Information AboutNgaraard |
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Ngaraard is the 8th State of the Pacific Island country of Palau . Ngaraard is located on the northern tip of Babeldaob directly adjacent to Ngerchelong state. There are five Hamlets in Ngaraard, including Choll , Elab , Ngebuked , Ulimang and Ngkeklau . There is a saying in Ngaraard, "A rengud a donkngei," meaning everyone works together as one in spirit and in the heart. The original name of Ngaraard was Kerradel. HISTORY Ngaraard history comes from long ways from Spanish time to German time to Japanese time to World War II and its present lifestyle. During the Spanish time there was a priest named Father Luis who lived in Elab to teach the people about Christianity. The people from Ngaraard did not accept Christianity, so he went to Melekeok to Chief Reklai, but no one there accepted it either, so he decided to live at Ngchesar. On his way to Ngchesar, he was lost and got sick. Chief Reklai heard about Father Luis so he sent people to look for him. They found Father Luis very sick, and the people of Melekeok took care of him, but he died. He was buried crosswise, unlike everyone else at the Uudes burial ground. In the German time, the Germans made a law that all Palauans must work to plant all kinds of plants. Anyone who refused would be sent to Ngebuked for prison. This is one of the reasons why there are lots of coconuts in Palau. Germans outlawed marriage and any religion except Catholism. But they made people work very hard. Some people of Ngaraard moved to Angaur to work in the phosphate mine. Doctors from Angaur traveled to Ngebuked to see people because there was a sickness called leprosy. Those who were found to have leprosy were sent to Melekeok for healing. There was so much leprosy during that time that many Palauans died. During the Japanese time, there was a Japanese school in Ulimang, Ngaraard. Japanese teachers and a few Palauans taught at the school. The school was only 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade. Students from the school came from Ngardmau, Ngerchelong, Kayangel and Ngaraard. There was a teacher Hijikata who taught arts and crafts. Every morning students had assembly and they would bow to the Japanese to show respect and their loyal to the Japanese Emperor. If students did not know their lessons, they would be punished by standing outside all day staring at the sun. Ngaraard also had two stores. The first store sold sweets and clothing materials. The Nanboyeki store bought coconuts from all the islands. People who did not have money could exchange coconuts for cloth. There was another Japanese who was married to Palauan woman and they had a tapioca farm. Many people from Ngaraard went to work at Angaur for phosphate mining; others went to Ngardmau to work on bauxite and some went to work for Nanboyeki. Then there were also Spanish priests who stayed in Koror and traveled to all the islands sharing Christianity. When World War started in Palau, people of Ngerchelong and Peleliu came to Ngaraard to stay. When they came to Ngaraard, Taro Matsuda, Maderangebuked's younger brother, helped the people who came Ngaraard and found people to host them. When the war started, all the people ran to live in the jungle of Ngebuked and make their houses. People who wanted to go to the taro patch or go fishing had to get permission from Japanese soldiers. When they finished working the taro patch or fishing they had to go back to the Japanese soldiers and tell them they were finished. When Americans began to attack, people from Ngaraard were very afraid because no one had ever seen an airplane, especially when something like fire came from it. They called it "big bird with fire" ''(Meklou el kiued el ngarngii ngau el tuobed a ngerel)''. During that time, food ran short because the Japanese kept taking food from the Palauans, and the Americans' big birds kept flying. So many Ngaraard people were very hungry. They went out at night to find food because the big birds would not come, but they had to be careful because if Japanese soldiers saw them they would kill them. The Japanese were ordered to collect Palauans and kill them. Japanese soldiers met with the Palau chiefs to discuss where to house the Peleliu people, because they were going to make Peleliu their military base. Not one of the chiefs wanted to house the Peleliu people. Therefore, Maderangebuked volunteered to take all the Peleliu people, because Ngaraard has big taro patches and farms to produce food for a lot of people. This is why the Ngaraard people and Peleliu people have a special friendship. There is Odesangel stone, this is an old name of Peleliu standing by Bai ra Ngaruau. The people of Peleliu who were in Ngebuked during the war carved the Odesangel Bad. They carved the stone as a memorial o the time they came out from hiding. Carved on the stone are written, "Odesangel Bad, 1945 28/9". The writing shows that the people of Peleliu and those from Ngebuked and others that had been hiding in the jungle came out from their hiding place on September 28, 1945. It is said that Ngebuked people were originally from Angaur. They lived on a mountain in Angaur called Roisbuked. When Roisbuked was full of people and there was not enough land for crops or food to support all the people, people from Angaur went out looking for another island to live in. After leaving Roisbuked, they moved to Peleliu, called Ngerchol. When Ngerchol could not hold many people, the people decide they would move to Babeldaob looking for a place to stay. They traveled to the Babeldaob, where they landed in a place between Melekeok and Ngaraard. When they landed there, they walked toward Ngiwal, but people from Ngiwal were very angry at them so they moved to Ngaraard in Ngeteluang. One morning a child walked up the mountain and found Ngebuked, and he told the chief, who went to see. It was so good that they all moved to Ngebuked. Ngebuked was divided into two sections, bita el taoch ma bita el taoch. The chief of one section was Kerai and in the other section was an old woman named Romei. When Romei could not hold all the responsibilities as a chief, she asked Oiseuang, another older woman to rule. Two brothers from Ngeruangel sailed by and saw smoke rising at Ngebuked, so they stopped to get their supplies. The older brother liked what he saw at Ngebuked and decided to stay; the younger brother traveled to other areas of Babeldaob. The younger brother ended up in Melekeok and became Chief of Melekeok. The older brother stayed in Ngebuked; he was a very nice man who minded his own business, and he did whatever they asked him. Oiseuang became older and could not perform her work as chief, so she looked for a person in a village who could perform all the work as the chief. She saw that the man had the skills to be the chief. She visited him and asked if he can become a chief, and he asked he could be named Mad. Chief Mad was able to unite the two sections into one whole village of Ngebuked and so he became Mad ra Ngebuked. Kerai remained the head of the village, meaning that when there was a contribution of food, he still received the portion for the first title, but the one who has the authority and power over Ngebukedd is Maderangebuked. Therefore, the order of the chiefly title is that the first title is Maderangebuked, the second title is Kerai and the third is Techur. Techur had clan members from Ngeaur, Airai and Ngerchelong. Therefore, if a member from Angaur assumed the title then he would be called Techurchelong, if a clan member from Ngerchelong assumed the title he would be called Techurchelong, and if he was from Airai he would be called Techurrulak. RESOURCES Ngaraard has many natural resources, mainly Forests and Water . The landscape is mostly mountainous forest, sandy beaches on Desbedall and mangroves on the Keiukel side. There are many living things in Ngaraard's land, including fruit bats, pigeons, starlings, pigs, mangrove crabs, land crabs, cone shells (rechiil), shrimp in the creek, banded snakes (mengernger), aquatic snakes (kemaiirs), dogs, and cats. There are many different kinds of insects, including mosquitoes, wasps, bees, kerdard and many more. One of the famous crops of Ngaraard is taro and its recipe, which uses taro leaves, coconut milk and land crab, is called ''demok''. These are some other crops of Ngaraard: swamp cabbage (kangkum), tapioca (diokang), sweet potato (chemutii), giant swamp taro (brak), banana, calamondin (kingkang), breadfruits, ysaol, amra tree (titimel), Eugenia plant (chedebsachel), wax apple (rebotel), betelnut tree and pepper leaf (kebui). Ngaraard has a rich soil and plenty of crops but only a few vegetables. VILLAGES There are many important places in Ngaraard State. All hamlets are very important because they have all been valuable places in history. There are the traditional villages of Elab, Chetoilechang, Diong er Ngerchokel, Bai ra Ngaruau, Beluu er Ngebuke, Diong era Imeduurang, Ulimang hamlet is said to be the child of god Chuab. Other important places include: Head Start, the elementary school and Bethania High School, a hospital, Bai ra Rubak, the Ngaraard State Office at Koror, Bem Yore and the stores. The lifestyle of Ngaraard has changed a lot due to the introduction of Modern Technology , including Computers , Telephone s, Electricity and Televisions . Due to the construction of roads, the majority of people in the state now use Car s for transportation rather than Boat s. However boats are still used for Fishing . POPULATION The population of Ngaraard has changed considerably over the years. In 1990 , its population was 440 and in 1996 , it decreased to 360. In 2000 , it had increased to 638. The Office of Statistics under the Ministry Of Finance has not yet determined the total population for 2004 . GEOGRAPHY Ngaraard has a Tropical Climate . The temperature ranges from a high of 83˙F to a low of 81˙F. Rainfall takes place from May to January and the heaviest rain is in June and July. The climate is dry from February until April. FLAG Ngaraard recently changed its flag. It is made of a golden-yellow star on a field of deep sky blue. Behind the star, it has a red stripe from the bottom left corner to the upper right corner of the flag. The star stands for the unity of Ngaraard State, and the five fingers of the star stand for the five counties or hamlets of Ngaraard. The stripe of the flag shows that the state has both the east and west coast of northern Babeldaob and is striving for success. The blue background symbolizes the blue of the sky and ocean surrounding the Ngaraard State. SEE ALSO |
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