Of Magic and Meaningfulness : Chelitákl Rechuódel and the Feltbodily Dimensions of Spiritual Practice

Abstract

This chapter explores musical ólai (magic) practices. The practice of magic in traditional Palau required for spells not only to be recited but to resound as chelitákl rechuódel, traditional chant repertoire. The reason for that is that the magic could be implemented only through the repertoire’s capacity to link, via the felt body, the present moment experientially with Palauan ‘deep time’. This shows to what extent the meaningfulness of chelitákl rechuódel resides in music’s capacity to connect the categories of time, space and sociality into a whole; that whole will then emerge as a deep sense of Palauanness. Chelitákl rechuódel make Palauanness felt in an encompassing sense. This is how “music worlds”.

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