Fiyangori Sonsorol State ma Faruyar

Sonsorol State fauw faruyar:  Puro ma Melieli ma Fanna ma Dongosaro.  Faruyahar e hakapar nga e piye.  Dongosaro faruyara erap dewa ma uwon e mala dewo mael kameser nga Fanna ra e hapar dewa ebe detabo mael.  Faruyahar e hakapar nga dari na edamori wola rimebuhuye palepale madirapari yaela sawo.  Emire titin ba sawori fauryahar le hura mahowa faruyael ma marahara efad ma uruteri marahara emire retetir ma uwawori faruyaha ma urutar.  Le lepahau ifiri hohor ma hafahorari uruteri marahar ba le kkau ma ifil marahawe sapitohoil.

Sawori Sonsorol State emouduraho ramael ma fauluyael e tai weil le Panou.  Ramael ma fauluyael ra e fali weil lei Hatohobei ma lei Hotiwo ma lei tahauri Ruk.

Emire fiyangor ba matamowari yalemat hara la sawongini faruyahar ra lei Hotiwo, sawori faruyeri Yap.  Nga ira di tahura hale faruye meta.  Palul marahawe tarapari yalemat la dolu ba yalematahar le bitiwo ma Mohumohu.  Nga palul ladolu ba le bitiwo ma Wereyai.  Nga para palul la dolu ba le bitiwo ma Urutiu.  E pipiye matari fiyangor nga urutar nga le dari dolu ba  yalematahar la bitiwo ma uwawori marahara faruyeri Yap.  Palul fiyango le dolu ba matamowari yalemat ra la sawongi Dongosaro le bitiwo ma Mohumohu.  Iyahara le raho Puro ra lei poduri Yap.  Nga yahara le raho Melieli ra le bitiwo ma wori faruyeri Wereyai hale Urutiu.

Iyer ra yari tamoni Melieli, Laturi Melieli, Lawrence Ierago fiyango:  Moduwe dewa ifiri marahawe matamowari yalemat le bitiwo uwawori faruyahar nga mena matamowari uwa ra e hadatiwo Dauhepit ma sawori imar ma marahara uuwar le birango Dongosaro nga la weli ba e sawo leda talahi ngeri Puro.  Etai miriyarai werimiliri mena e yalerango Puro nga para deyau uwa ra e hadatiwo Maretaidou ma uuwar lada bara yalerango.  Eda wola (contest) nipatari Dauhepit ma Maretaidou hale itou e uhorango Puro ba iye na ebe faruyar a Puro.  Maretaidou eda wini ifiri lepahaur ifiri baiyou.  Maretaidou e weli ba Dauhepit e riba hiriyeri war (hiriye ri wori taebas) uwori piye eda keringatahe eda riba rango hiriye ri war iiye ifari yari Dauhepit hiriye ba ebe weya me iiye e uhorango uwawori faruye eda uhori riba hiriye ri war.  Werimiliri mere Dauhepit eda talahi edara birango eda sawongi Melieli.  Mena Meyangari Dauhepit ma marahara palul uuwar leda para talahi leda ra weli Hatohobei leda Sawongi.  Mere sapir Melieli ma Hatohobei eda pado mahori nipatael ifiri moduwe eda bito.

Ifiri mo moduwe nga le pipiye sawori faruyahar.  Ifiri hapurotaheri 19^th Century nga yael Siaman hahoyahoya edolu ba ewol dorungaladi yalemat uwawori Puro ma Dongosaro.  Wolael yalemat har uwawori hapari faruyahar ehana ba yalemat le lepahau ifiri hohori marahara emire retetir ma uwawori faruye uwawori faruyahar eda suya ba ebe pipiye yalemat le sawongini faruyahar.  Banasahu rapari teti tahuniye faruyahar e tawol hauhuri teriye.  E pipiye iih nimataw ma uwawori mmat, ma edapara pipiye woru.  Mangau ra rapar dewa mai ma usuhae ma fadol ma yam ma moruye ma mohumohu.  Nga ewol rutou ma uwanu.  Nga bana iyahara faruye le hapar e tai rapa faiya mangau.  Mangau le fitehiya ba ebe miriyarai.  Maare le karango iih leda soolo nga le fangifengi.  Faifire le fitehi maal nga la umu hale la kuku mangau rani hessi ba e tawai matangat tamaur.  Hapauhuri mere nga rapari masumosul yalemat retiperi mena delari eraho sahu ifiri kup eri mangau ma hawereweri mangau. 

Ifiri titini kaferment nga ifiri madirap 1885-1899 nga faruyeri Spanis ehada titini hafatani faruyaha faruyeri Panou ma Sonsorol State retiperi faruyeri yalemat.  Ifiri taem har nga le pepiye sawori Sonsorol State ra la puluye Captain O’keefe ba lei fitehiri usuri war boutu nga palul le bita Yap nga para palul le bitiwo Manaquary ma Senebes ma Mapia ba lei fitehiri kaburae.  Nga retiperi 1950’s ifiri mena nga Kaferment eri Indonesia e haditafariye faruyar ma ifiri Holland nga Kaferment eri US Trust Territory eda tapangil palul wonoul yalemat har leda wehitafari Panou.  

Retiperi madirap 1899-1914 nga faruyeri Siaman eda bara hada titini hafatani faruyeri Panou retiperi faruyeri yalemat.  Dewo tarapari yengi ma tarapa nnawo e hasapa Puro ma Melieli.  Le pipiye yalemat le made ifiri sappari faruye nga palul le made ifiri dung ma hamatahi werimiliri sappari faruye.  Kaferment Siaman eda bitiwo hadilatahe sawori faruyahar Haoror.  Ifiri mena eda bitoho nga wonoul ma wonou noul marahar ra la mori pipiyaraho nga rapael le pado yael sawongi wotawotari Eang ra emire retiperi Haoror.

Retiperi madirap 1914-1945 nga faruyeri Sapan eda bara hada titini hafatani faruyeri Panou retiperi faruyeri yalemat.  Iyer na matamowari yael sawori dewo faruye bitiwo leda sawongini faruyahar.  Nga iyer na matamowari yael sawori faruye hurayel para palul yalemat ma para dewo matari ram ma para dewo matari hafatare ma uduweni fitehiri faruye.  Para dewo ra le da kkau fitehiri siobai ri fangifengiri iih ma fitehiri periperi ma kkuperi ringgo.  Retiperi madirap har nga eda wol mo haluwouweri mauri ri faruyeri yalemat.  Banasahu hapari faruyahar ehamatahi dewa mireil yalemat retiperi mauri.  Etawol na lebe hamaroil irang nga kuperi mangau nga eda para hamatahi dewa.

Werimiliri mo haluwouweri mauri ri faruyeri yalemat nga Panou ma faruyahar leda mire ifari yari United Nations Trusteeship hafatare.  Sawori faruyahar le weli dewa mahori yari Navy ri Meriken ma yari Meriken Territory Kaferment hafatare.  Eda wola boutu ra ebitiwo nga ebitahe ma uwawori faruyaha ra e katiwo sawori spitar ma tafeya ma sawori haisiya ma mangau ma ufayel yalemat.  Skur dewo fauluri kaul riweisi nga dewo mengimengi taifou ra Kaferment ae e hadatiwo uwawori faruyahar.  Nga bana me eda maho fatani boutu yar bitiwo bitahe eda suyafiye betaheil yalemat Panou (Haoror) ba le bita spitar nga palul le bita skur.  Retiperi madirap har 1970’s edaraho 1980’s nga le pipiye dewa yalemat le bitahe Haoror nga palul le suya la daraho wori palul faruye mairuhuri Panou ba la kupe fitehi ma skul.

Ifiri 1994 nga Panou eda dokurits ifiri Compact ari Free Association nipatar ma Meriken nga faruyahar ma fauw leda sufangani leda raho ba Sonsorol State ba dewo marahara deih ma worou state eri Panou.  Sonsorol State ewol yar state constitution ra sawori Sonsorol State le fitehiya.  Constitution ae e faulu kaferment eri Sonsorol State eda hawengari kaferment eri Meriken ra e democracy nga e hasufanganiye ma moumou ri faruyahar ma titini tamoni faruya ma fauluri faduri uduweni faruyahar.  Lanei nga sawori Sonsorol State e pado yael fauluni yarolari faruyael ma moumouri faruyael ma uwori faruyahar.  Palul ra lemire Haoror ma ni tawa nga e padosahu yael fauluni marahara moumou faruyael.

Brief Ethno-history of Sonsorol State and its islands.
(by Laura Ierago)

Sonsorol State is comprised of four islands: Pulo Anna (Puro), Meriil (Melieli), Fanna, and Sonsorol (Dongosaro).  These are small sandy coral islands.  Sonsorol, the largest is one mile in length and Fanna, the smallest, is half a mile.  Though the islands are small they have been inhabited for at least 500 years.  People on these islands were known to have lived harmoniously with their islands’ environment and thrived with their scarce natural resources through generation of cultural knowledge and traditional knowledge and skills on sustainable livelihood practices.

The people of Sonsorol State speak a different language and practice a different culture compared to the people of the main Palau archipelago.  The culture and language of these people are similar to that of the neighboring State of Hatohobei as well as Outer Island Yap and Chuuk. 

Legend has it that the first settlers to the islands came from the Northeast, the islands of Yap.  It is not clear exactly which islands these people came from.  Some of the elders say they came from Mogmog, others say the Woleai group of islands while others even say they came from the islands in the Ulithi Atoll. There are several versions to the legend on the origin of the settlers of these islands.  However, all these versions agree that the first settlers to these islands originated from different islands of Yap.  According to a few of these legends the first settlers on Sonsorol Island were from Mogmog.  The settlers on Pulo Anna originated from Yap Proper and settlers on Meriil were either from the Woleai Islands or the Ulithi Atoll.

Legend of the first settlers according to Laturi Melieli, Lawrence Ierago, Chief of Meriil Island:  In the prehistoric days when the first settlers arrived on these islands, the first canoe, which carried Dauhepit, his family and crew, landed on Sonsorol. Finding the island inhabited he sailed on to Pulo Anna.  Shortly after he landed on Pulo Anna, another boat carrying Maretaidou and his crew arrived.  A contest was carried out between the two men to determine who first discovered the island and would therefore be the rightful owner.  Maretaidou won through his cleverness in tricking Dauhepit to think that he came first.  He did this by digging up Dauhepit’s canoe mat which Dauhepit had buried in the sand as evidence of his discovery, and then burying his canoe mat few feet below it to make it look like he came and buried his first.  Dauhepit accepting loss, he sailed on to settle on Meriil.  His sister sailed farther South and settled on Hatohobei.  The friendly and hospitable relationship between Hatohobei and Meriil  continued throughout the history of both islands.

In the prehistoric days there were hundreds of people residing on the islands.  At the turn of the 19^th Century the German census counted more than 300 people on Pulo Anna and Sonsorol.  With this number of people on these small islands, people simply lived off the land and sea for many generations of cultural knowledge of their environment and wise usage of the available natural resources.  The staple food of the islands is mostly fish, fruits and root crops.  With the large body of ocean surrounding the islands, there were abundance of fish, reef fish, shells, turtles and most often migratory fishes.  Fruits are seasonal.  They are mostly coconut, breadfruit, and banana. Root crops are yams (several types), moruye (Alocasia macrorrhizos-elephant ear taro), and mohumohu (Tacca leontopetaloides-Pacific arrowroot). With food sources in short supply, food products were prepared to last.  Nothing was wasted.  Men go out fishing for the collective need of the community.  They apportion their catch to all households in their respective villages. If there were surplus for a day’s family meal, people prepared fish to last by smoking, salting and drying. Usually, women gathered together to cook and prepare fruits and other root crops to last as well.  During the breadfruit season, men climbed to harvest breadfruit while women prepared for family meals and preserved food surpluses.  Root crops were prepared in coconut syrup to make them last longer.  Earth oven (um) was also used for added flavor as well as for lasting preservation of food.  Apparently, the daily life on these islands evolved mostly around food gathering, preparation, and preservation.

Politically governed by Palau, the Sonsorol State islands share Palau’s history of foreign colonization and administration.  During the Spanish Administration (1885-1899) of Palau several Sonsorolese were taken by Captain O’Keefe as his boat crew.  Others were taken to Yap and a few to Manaquary in Papua New Guinea as well as Celebes and Mapia in the Indonesian Islands to work in copra industries.  In the late 1950s, during the takeover of the Celebes and Mapia islands by the Indonesian government from the Dutch, the United States Trust Territory government brought some of these people’s descendants back to Palau. 

During the German Administration (1899-1914) of the Palau islands, the most significant event that occurred in the Sonsorol State islands was a big typhoon that devastated Pulo Anna and Meriil.  These islands were totally washed out by strong winds and big waves.  Many people died during the typhoon and the famine that followed.  The German Administrators in Koror sent a boat, which evacuated people from both islands and brought them to Koror.  Their descendants continue to reside in Eang, Koror and have grown significantly in number. 

During the Japanese Administration (1914-1945) the people in the Sonsorol State islands were exposed to Japanese culture and militarism.  It was the first instance for foreigners to actually reside on a few of the islands.  At first the islanders were introduced to a different culture, foreign language and leadership styles.  In addition, they were introduced to commercial production of smoked fish, sea cucumber (beche de mer) as well as phosphate mining.  When the World War II broke out, practically all the islanders experienced adversities.  Because the islands are small, there were not many places to run and hide.   For the same reason, food forage was even harder.

After the war under the UN Trusteeship (1945-1994), the islanders enjoyed better services from the US Navy and US Territory Government.  Field trip boats were sent regularly to visit the islands bringing with them medical and dental services and much needed food and clothing provisions.  New concepts of formal education were also introduced to the islanders.  With the more regular field trips, people began to travel more frequently to Koror for medical purposes and then for educational reasons.  In the 1970’s and 1980’s there was a significant population migration trend to Koror and outside of Palau for “better opportunities”.

As Palau became an independent nation in 1994 under the Compact of Free Association with the United States of America, these four (4) islands were mutually joined to become Sonsorol State as one of the sixteen States of the Republic. Mandated as a State under the Palau Constitution, Sonsorol State formulated and adopted its State Constitution.  The State Constitution established a democratic form of government, which incorporated the traditional leadership, local customs, and culture of the islands that are appropriate in its island governance. Today, the people of Sonsorol State continue to practice their unique cultures and traditions on their islands, in Koror, and outside of Palau.