Oukerdeu Patrick Tellei and men from Ngaraosichii Men’s Club of Ngerubesang and NgaraMecherocher Men’s Club of Melekeok and NgaraCholechodech Men’s Club of Oikull and NgaraBras Men’s Club of Airai are in Germany reroofing the Bai (meeting house) in the exhibition hall Bauwerke aus Ozeanien (Buildings from Oceania).
In 1907, Augustin Kramer, a physician and ethnologist, traveled to Koror and commissioned a bai built for what was then a Berliner Völkerkundemuseum (now the Ethnologisches Museum). The master-builder Golegeril and some forty members of the Ngaradegangl men’s club built a reduced-scale meeting house and called it Kekerel Gosobulngau (small hearth house).
The bai was first displayed in Berlin in 1908 and then nearly 70 years later, it was displayed again in 1970.
Fortunately, the museum where the bai and the Palauan artifacts were, did not get bombed during the fierce battles of WWII.
It was initially in the old museum in Berlin Dahlem before it was moved to the Humboldt Forum. It was photographed, disassembled, and reassembled. It was assembled except for the roofing. In 2018, the roofing materials were assembled in Melekeok and then shipped to Berlin, and then treated for insects/mold to be able to be used inside the museum, explained Dr. Constanze Dupont, Social Anthropology, Oceania.
The Humboldt Forum Berlin funded the men from Palau to go to Germany to re-roof the bai.
Those who travelled from Palau were Dr. Oukerdeu Patrick Tellei, Buik Iechad Jefferson Thomas, Rechebtang Trebkul Tellei, Elmer Rdiall, Santini Bud Thomas, Christopher Debengek, Harden Hasinto, Omar Faustino, Stanfort Blaluk, Blaine Melaire, Watson Lungiis Emul, Dr. Ngirachitei Victor Yano, Dr. Constanze Dupont and Metau Yano.