A bai is the traditional Palauan men's meeting house, with a soaring thatched roof and richly painted gables that tell stories from clan history and Palauan legend. The bai at Melekeok is one of the best-maintained on the island, kept up by the state government and used for ceremonial occasions.
Look closely at the painted beams — the storyboards show legends of the betrayal of Uab, the giant whose body became Babeldaob; of the breadfruit tree from which fish poured into the sea; and of feuds between paramount chiefs.