Sep 7, 2007


SPIDERMAN, SPIDERMAN, DOING THE THINGS A SPIDER CAN
KOROR, Republic of Palau: Hollow-eyed after two days of travel, Steph and I still don't hesitate. "Swim before breakfast," we chant, then plow into the peacock-colored waters of Palau.
We met three years ago on assignment in the Middle East. To Jordanians, our pale skin, blue eyes and fair hair made us "twins". Men sprinted through the souk to absorb the spectacle (Steph, I should explain, was once a CNN anchorwoman and remains broadcast-caliber gorgeous).
As editor of travelgirl, she's sent me to Hong Kong, Venice and Milan. But we haven't hung out since the Detroit airport in 2004 (where we bunked in a grotty hotel with – steady – allegedly the longest continuous corridor in the world: slow down my beating heart...).
Giddy, we scull above the reef. "I'm supposed to be launching a Silicon-valley company," I confess.
In turn, she admits: "I'm running a national magazine, filming a new show and, um, weaning an infant."
"WEANING?"
Steph stiffens. "A lot of people don't understand..."
"No, no. If I ever have a baby, I'm going to another hemisphere to wean. Brilliant."
A few hours later, we discover the Palauan new-mother ceremony.
In ancient times, legend claims they sliced open wombs with sharp bamboo sticks. Unsurprisingly, few survived.
Spider God, in human form, impregnated a beautiful girl. Too late, he discovered that his beloved would probably die. So he cried out to his mamma, who told him to birth the baby himself, naturally, in secret. Though the villagers menaced him, he stood firm. And the babe's first cry converted them from C-sections
Go Spidey!
Palauans now throw a big party for newborns. If the families agree to a union, the bride purifies herself for days, then appears bare-breasted and smeared in yellow ginger, wearing a grass skirt. Her relatives supply the food. His: dollars, plus some of the island's traditional money (beads).
"One bead can cost up to $10,000," our museum guide explains.
"Beats a Tiffany's locket," someone mutters.
"And a bamboo stick," I add.
Quite unnecessarily.















5 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:09 AM

    Hey, I am also weaning someone here....which means carrot juice all over my 737 neighbour's lap and a buggy tangled into some German smalltown airport luggage belt.

    Could anybody send me one of those $10 000 beads, please...please..pleasepleaseplease?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dang, I got you yellow ginger instead.

    Next time lucky...

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  3. Anonymous12:51 PM

    what, another brat? no, no nonono. I need my hair back first. Or does yellow ginger help by any chance?

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  4. I thought spiders laid eggs?

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  5. From Postcards to Paradise:

    "During the cleansing process, which lasts between 4-10 days depending on her clan tradition, the new mother is rubbed daily with coconut oils and turmeric, a yellow gingerroot, massaged and bathe with steaming herbal leaves and plants throughout each day of the therapeutic bath. The process is meant to help heal the body and mind and reduce the appearance of stretch marks."

    http://www.brouhaha.net/palau/hbath.html

    No mention of hair-growth, Sascha, but you can always have half my mane. Hugs, Ax.

    ReplyDelete

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