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Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caroline Islands with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia. It has a total area of . The most populous island is Koror, home to the country's most populous city of the same name. The capital Ngerulmud is located on the nearby island of Babeldaob, in Melekeok State. Palau shares maritime boundaries with international waters to the north, the Federated States of Micronesia to the east, Indonesia to the south, and the Philippines to the northwest. The country was originally settled approximately 3,000 years ago by migrants from Maritime Southeast Asia. Palau was first drawn on a European map by the Czech missionary Paul Klein based on a description given by a group of Palauans shipwrecked on the Philippine coast on Samar. Pal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palauan Language
Palauan () is a Malayo-Polynesian language native to the Republic of Palau, where it is one of the two official languages An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ..., alongside English language, English. It is widely used in day-to-day life in the country. Palauan is not closely related to other Malayo-Polynesian languages and its exact classification within the branch is unclear. Classification It is a member of the Austronesian languages, Austronesian family of languages, and is one of only two indigenous languages in Micronesia that are not part of the Oceanic languages, Oceanic branch of that family, the other being Chamorro language, Chamorro (see , , , and ). Roger Blench (2015) argues that based on evidence from fish names, Palauan had early contact with Oceanic la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palau National Congress
Palau has a bicameral legislature, the Palau National Congress (''Olbiil era Kelulau''), consisting of the House of Delegates and the Senate of Palau, which both sit at the capitol complex in Ngerulmud, Melekeok State. The House of Delegates has 16 members, each serving four-year terms in single-seat constituencies. The Senate has 13 members, also serving four-year terms in multi-seat constituencies. In the last elections, held in 2020, only non-partisans were elected; no political parties exist. The congress is called Olbiil Era Kelulau (“OEK”) in Palauan or “House of Whispered Decisions". When it was founded, there were 18 senators. That number of them was changed in 1984 to 14. The number of senators changed again in 2000, when it was reduced drastically to 9. In 2008, it was raised once again, to 13.Welcome to the Palau Na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngerulmud
Ngerulmud () is the seat of government of the Republic of Palau, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean. It replaced Koror City, Palau's largest city, as the capital in 2006. The settlement is located in the state of Melekeok on Babeldaob, the country's largest island, located northeast of Koror City and northwest of Melekeok City. It is the least-populous capital city of a sovereign nation in the world. Etymology The name Ngerulmud precedes the area's designation as capital. It refers to the hill, overlooking the ocean, that dominates the site. ''Ngerulmud'' is derived from a Palauan phrase meaning "place of fermented angelfish". The last syllable, ''mud'', is the Palauan word for ''Centropyge tibicen'', also known as the keyhole angelfish. In the past, under a local tradition, women gathered on the hill to offer fermented angelfish to the gods. History The previous capital of Palau was located provisionally in Koror. The country's constitution, ratified in 1979, directed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |