Dilukai (or dilukái or dilugai) are wooden figures of young women carved over the doorways of chiefs' houses (''bai'') in the
Palauan archipelago. They are typically shown with legs splayed, revealing a large, black, triangular pubic area with the hands resting on the thighs. These female figures protect the villagers' health and crops and ward off evil spirits. They were traditionally carved by ritual specialists according to strict rules, which, if broken, would result in the deaths of the carver and the chief. Female figures presenting their vulva can be found in many cultures: they symbolize fertility, (spiritual) rebirth, and they protect from evil (see above).
Mythology
Another explanation of Dilukai is that a woman named Dilukái was the sister of a troublesome man named Atmatuyuk. He eventually departed and these images of his sister were erected to prevent his return, as it was forbidden for a brother to see his sister’s genitalia.
Dilukai from the Caroline Islands, Belau (Palau) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Christian missionaries were not fond of Dilukai, and changed the context, claiming that their purpose was to shame an immoral woman.
See also
*Anasyrma
Anasyrma ( grc, ἀνάσυρμα) composed of ἀνά ''ana'' "up, against, back", and σύρμα ''syrma'' "skirt"; plural: anasyrmata (), also called anasyrmos (), is the gesture of lifting the skirt or kilt. It is used in connection with certa ...
* Baubo
* Lajja Gauri
*Nin-imma
Ninimma was a Mesopotamian goddess best known as a courtier of Enlil. She is well attested as a deity associated with scribal arts, described in modern publications as a divine scholar, scribe or librarian by modern researchers. She could also se ...
* Sheela na gig
*Yoni
''Yoni'' (; sometimes also ), sometimes called ''pindika'', is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu goddess Shakti. It is usually shown with ''linga'' – its masculine counterpart. Together, they symbolize the merging of microc ...
Footnotes
References
* D’Alleva, Anne, ''Arts of the Pacific Islands'', New York, Harry N. Abrams, 1998.
* Jones, Lindsay (ed), ''Encyclopedia of Religion'', Detroit, Macmillan, 2005, article on ''Yoni''.
External links
Dilukai from the Caroline Islands, Belau (Palau) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Palauan culture
Fertility goddesses
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