Palauan House: Curriculum Revision as a Vessel for Sustaining Palauan Lifeways A DArch Project submitted to the Graduate Division the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Architecture December 2016 By Elizabeth de Jong DArch Committee: Spencer Leineweber & Joyce Noe, Chairpersons Tutii Chilton Margo Vitarelli William Chapman Keywords: Palau, Bai, Blai Acknowledgements I wish to thank Ka’alekualoloa, Ho’okela, Makani and all my wa’a ohana for the opportunity of developing skills I could never have learned through academic studies. You have fostered within me a greater appreciation of the vagaries of human nature, the natural environment and especially the ocean; with you I have learnt to adjust to unexpected conditions. I have also learnt persistence and patience, with myself and others, in accomplishing undertakings which do not proceed as anticipated. Many of the aptitudes I learnt from paddling have helped me in my mission to complete this document. Thank you Spencer, Joyce, Bill, Tutii and Margo, my committee, for your continuing support while I sought the direction for this document; there were many detours en route. Although my journey was arduous, I believe it has helped prepare me for my next destination, wherever that may be. I wish to thank my friends, family, both in-laws and out-laws, and other people in New Zealand from my past who have helped me grow into the person I have become. The support and/or adversities you contributed in my life have wrought in me the fortitude to pursue my dreams. Thank you Gregory Muckenhaupt for extending the opportunity to finally fulfill my high school dream; of volunteer service abroad. Your support during my escapades in a country/culture foreign to me, and your encouragement to pursue further my passions in another country/culture are much appreciated. It was no coincidence that I went to Pohnpei and Palau; it was a vital element in this journey. A special thank you to all my students at PATS (Ponape Agriculture and Trades School) and Palau Community College, you have no idea how much I learnt from you (even though I was supposed to be your instructor.) Many thanks to all my friends, colleagues and classmates at University of Hawaii at Manoa and Hale Kuahine, your words of encouragement to “hang in there” helped spur me on. After having watched so many of you graduate, I now too have finally come out of the D.Arch-ness. ii Abstract Culture is a living entity that continuously adapts to change. It may be observed through what is considered the “ordinary”. House, education and work are inextricably intertwined in ordinary daily life. House, the building, provides shelter, one of human beings most basic physiological needs. House is a safe environment where culture may be nurtured. It is precisely because house is ordinary that it is such an important social element within culture. Sustaining a culture requires absorption of nutrients which enable it to continue evolving, whereas preserving a culture freezes it at a particular point in time. In this document, the work practices, learning methods and cultural norms of traditional Palau, frozen in time through written and pictorial form, are identified and explored. The journey of changes in work and education though colonization by different colonial administrations is tracked. Many dualities exist within Palauan culture. These dualities within the culture are duplexities rather than dichotomies. They operate and co-operate both simultaneously or independently to balance and counter- balance each other. Traditional education in Palau amalgamated theoretical knowledge with practical skills. Unfortunately, with contemporary education, people have been encultured to believe that college prepares them for work. Many majors divorce theory from pragmatic utilitarian knowledge and skills, and then have substantial, both lengthy and rigorous, intern requirements after graduation/commencement prior to certification. The challenge for education in Palau is to create duplexity from this duality. The mission for education in Palau is to understand how cultural practices influence students, and how traditional Palauan education strategies may be effectively integrated into the current educational programs and curricula to help nurture and sustain Palauan culture. This document studies the proposed Architectural Drafting Program at Palau Community College to consider how it may be improved to enable student to sustain their social and cultural community commitments. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................................... ii Abstract........................................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................. ix Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Significance of the Study: ............................................................................................................................ 2 Research Questions .................................................................................................................................... 3 Interpretive – Historical Research: .......................................................................................................... 3 Qualitative Research ............................................................................................................................... 3 Survey ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 Locale of Palau ............................................................................................................................................ 4 The Islands of Palau .................................................................................................................................... 5 Volcanic Islands ...................................................................................................................................... 8 High limestone Islands ............................................................................................................................ 8 Low Platform Islands ............................................................................................................................... 8 Coral Atoll ............................................................................................................................................... 8 People of Palau ........................................................................................................................................... 9 Climate of Palau .......................................................................................................................................... 9 Flora and Fauna of Palau .......................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter One: Cultural Perspectives and Value Conflicts ............................................................................... 11 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 11 Knowledge ................................................................................................................................................. 11 Situational knowledge ........................................................................................................................... 12 iv Partial knowledge .................................................................................................................................. 12 Scientific knowledge ............................................................................................................................. 12 Communication and Transfer of Knowledge ......................................................................................... 13 Time .......................................................................................................................................................... 14 Measure of time .................................................................................................................................... 14 Traditional Celestial Navigation/Wayfinding .............................................................................................. 16 Euro American Navigation ......................................................................................................................... 17 Longitude .............................................................................................................................................. 18 Latitude ................................................................................................................................................. 19 Chapter Two: Pre-contact Palau ...................................................................................................................