Gable Figure (Dilukái)

Belauan people, Belau (Palau), Caroline Islands

19th–early 20th century

Wood, paint

 

Male life in Belau focused on ornate men's houses (bai), used for meetings, feasts, and informal social gatherings. Bai had large triangular facades adorned with brightly painted architectural carvings. On some bai, a separately carved figure of a woman (dilukái) was attached to the gable above the entrance.

 

In one Belauan story, a woman named Dilukái is the sister of Atmatuyuk, a troublesome man who fled to a bai and was later expelled. To prevent his return, the residents placed a naked image of Dilukái over the entrance, it being forbidden for a brother to see his sister unclothed. Dilukái figures also appear to have been associated with the sun and the cultivation of taro. Other interpretations, likely reflecting missionary influences, have dilukái depicting a promiscuous woman whose image was placed on the bai as a mark of shame to warn the village women to be more chaste.

 

Metropolitan Museum of Art

NYC

 

 

 

 

 

 

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