Ontong Java
| Ontong Java | ||
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| Waters | Pacific Ocean | |
| Geographical location | 5 ° 19 ′ S , 159 ° 22 ′ E | |
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| Number of islands | over 120 | |
| Main island | Luangiua and Pelau | |
| Land area | 12 km² | |
| Lagoon area | 1 300 km² | |
| total area | 1 400 km² | |
| Highest elevation | 13 m | |
| Residents | 2085 (2009) | |
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The Ontong Java or Luangiua atoll is the northernmost archipelago of the Solomon Islands and a remote part of the Solomonic province of Malaita . In some reports it is referred to as the Lord Howe Atoll . This name should not lead to confusion with the Lord Howe Islands of the same name east of the Australian mainland.
geography
The atoll extends over a total area of 1,400 km². Of this, however, only 12 km² are mainland grown from coral reefs . This consists of two larger main islands called Luangiua and Pelau as well as 120 small and smallest motus . These are all very flat, the highest point on Ontong Java is 13 meters.
The next neighboring island is the atoll Nukumanu , 38 km further north , which already belongs to Papua New Guinea although this atoll is culturally closely connected to Ontong Java.
The atoll-like Roncador Reef , 75 km further south , which has no islands, is considered property by the chiefs of Ontong Java.
population
The atoll has approximately 2,085 residents. About 1,396 of them live on Luangiua, and 689 on Pelau. They are predominantly of Polynesian descent and speak a dialect of Polynesian called "Luangiua" belonging to the Samoan branch of the Polynesian languages. Ontong Java therefore belongs to the outside of the Polynesian triangle lying enclaves Polynesia .
history
The islands were settled by Polynesian seafarers about 2000 years ago. The atoll was first sighted by a European in 1643 by Abel Tasman , who gave it the name Ontong Java. But it wasn't until 1791 that a European landed on the islands for the first time. It was an Englishman named John Hunter who named them "Lord Howe Atoll". In 1893 the islands were annexed by Germany and ceded to Great Britain in 1899 .
economy
Even today, the Polynesian-speaking residents lead a simple existence: They feed on fishing, a little agriculture and the cultivation of copra . They operate a small trade in seafood and mussels, which are mostly exported to Hong Kong to supplement their income. The islands are not yet fully developed for tourism. They are known for the variety of seabirds that make their home on them.
literature
- John Lynch: Pacific Languages. An Introduction. University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu HI 1998, ISBN 0-8248-1898-9 .
- Tim Bayliss-Smith, Andreas Egelund Christensen: Birds and people on Ontong Java Atoll, Solomon Islands, 1906-2008: Continuity and change (= Atoll Research Bulletin. No. 562, ISSN 0077-5630 ). National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 2008, online (PDF; 2 MB) with detailed map.
Individual references and sources
- ↑ Sarfert, Ernst, and Hans Damm. "Luangiua and Nukumanu." Results of the South Seas Expedition 1908–1910 . Hamburg 1931
- ↑ Sarfert, Ernst, and Hans Damm. "Luangiua and Nukumanu." Results of the South Seas Expedition, 1908–1910. Hamburg 1931. Volume 1
- ↑ Remote Atolls and Offshore Islands of PNG and the Solomons ( Memento of the original from May 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
- Map with more than 112 island names
