The sacred remains: myth, history, and polity in Belau

Parmentier, Richard J.

Book

The sacred remains: myth, history, and polity in Belau

University of Chicago Press • Chicago • Published In 1987 • Pages:

By: Parmentier, Richard J..

Abstract
This source presents a structural analysis of Belau political history and the semiotics of political life. In the first four chapters of this work the author analyzes origin myths, political legends and indigenous classification systems in terms of physical space and movement, identifying in the process important icons, indices and symbols of Belauan political life. The final three chapters of the source deal primarily with the political district of Ngeremlengui. In his analysis Parmentier attempts to unravel the complex 'grammar of spaces', a concept that endeavors to articulate the abstract cultural models on which Ngeremlengui political organization is based. In conclusion, the author argues that there are two versions of political history in Belau, the first controlling the static narrative of mythical precedent for power and rank, and the second dealing with the manipulation of the political model implicit in the concepts of side, cornerpost and path as a reconstruction of the past for the justification of the assumption of power.

Cultural identity and pride

Acculturation and culture contact

Status, role, and prestige

Deliberative councils