ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Belau's complex system of food and money exchanges, called siukang, in which relatedness is constantly negotiated and transformed. It introduces how people in Belau conceptualize siukang, traces the general pattern of exchange in siukang, and focuses on more detailed discussions of siukang events. While identifying broad changes that have taken place within siukang, the chapter explores how people talk about various levels of relations between men and women and emphasize how women and men in a clan have mutual obligations. A woman's large contribution of money for the house of her male relative would greatly indebt her to her husband's family, and they in turn would depend upon her to prepare food and provide services for their siukang throughout the marriage. In all siukang, money represents the means for "helping" relatives and affirming close relations, and it is through contributions of money that women gain a place for themselves at the center of clan affairs.
