Ref ID:	31761
Ref Type:	Journal Article
Authors:	Beardsley, Felicia R. Basilius, Umai
Title:	Sengall Ridge, Belau: burials, spirit walks, and painted pottery
Date:	2002
Source:	Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association
Notes:	Proceedings of the 16th Congress of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, Melaka, Malaysia, 1 to 7 July 1998.
Abstract:	High atop a narrow ridge of limestone rest four bodies in a small chamber of a more extensive vertical solution cave in Sengall Ridge, Belau. The four are laying in repose, together with the only burial furniture found in the cave - painted ceramic bowls. According to oral history, this was not the final resting place of the departed souls but merely a way-station in their journey to Ngedeloch Spring on Angaur Island in the south, where they would bathe and cleanse themselves in preparation for the final leap into the spirit world. Today the ridge continues to be described as a ghost walk, where spirits from the northern islands of Belau stop on their journey to Ngedeloch Spring. Is this a belief that has endured from the time of the Sengall Ridge cave burial, dated about 2,630 BP? Is it a result of former burial practices that describe other prehistoric interments in caves located throughout this ridge system? Is association of his oral tradition with the Sengall Ridge cave burial merely coincidence? The cave, its burials and ceramic tradition will be described with specific reference to oral traditions and changing burial practices.
Date Created:	10/19/2003
Volume:	22
Page Start:	147
Page End:	151