Palau Edition
Regional/Cultural Day
Uab Week
In Palauan schools, the second week of June is dedicated to the Uab legend. Uab was a giant who terrorized the people, demanding more and more food until the villagers could no longer feed him. They lured him to sit over a fire pit and burned him alive. His body became the islands of Palau. AHA: This is not just a myth : it is a political philosophy. The Uab story is a warning about leaders who take too much, and a promise that the people will cut them down. Palau's nuclear-free constitution, its shark sanctuary, its resistance to overfishing : all of it echoes the same principle: no giant rules forever.
