Koror

Koror is a island, located southwest of Babeldaob in the Republic of Palau.

Alternative spellings and historic names include: Corer, Corror, Goror, Goreor, Kororu, Korror, Ernguul, Oreor; Ngarkldeu

Koror is a small island, deeply indented in the south, and shaped like a horseshoe. It is about three miles long and covers an area of less than three square miles. The island has many hills, of volcanic formation; one of them in the south aattains an elevation of 459 feet, Koror lies just southwest of Babeldaob, from which it is seperated by a deep and narrow channel, giving access to Korror Harbor in the northwest.

As with many placenames in Micronesia, "Koror" is a geographic 'pars pro toto', in which the name of a constitutive village, island or atoll is often used describe the larger island, atoll or island grouping in which it is the predominate member. Korror is also the name of the eponymous Korror State; the city of Korror; as well as a name for the grouping of the Island Korror and its nearby islands and islets.

Subunits

Villages on the islands include: Dngeronger, Idid, Ikelau, Iyebukel (Iebukel, Aebukuru Yebukul), Korror, Madalai (Madaria, Medalaii), Meketii, Meyuns, Ngerbeched (Ngarbaged), Ngerchemai, Ngerkebesang, Ngerkesoal (Tngeronger), Ngermid. The Islands of Koror, Ngerkebesang, and Malakal comprise Koror State.

Population, Language and Religion

The 2015 Palaun Census reported 11,444 residents. Palauan is the spoken language. The population is primarily Roman Catholic, with a minority of Protestants.

Administrative History

The Spanish Period (1521-1899) began with initial discovery in the early 1500's though Spain made little attempt to occupy or administer the islands until 1885, when the islands were incorporated into the Spanish East Indies.

After the Spanish-American War, Spain sold the the Palau, Caroline and Marshall Islands to Germany in 1899. In this German Period (1899-1914), the islands were titled Imperial German Pacific Protectorates. Palau was a portion of the "Western Carolines District," along with Yap and the Marianas, administered through German New Guinea.

Palau was seized from the Germans by the Japanese early in World War I. The Islands were in 1920 mandated to Japan by the League of Nations. In this Japanese Period (1914-1941), the islands were governed by the “Nan'yō Cho” or South Seas Government. Koror, in Palau, served as the seat of administration. Japanese presence and proximity were greater in Palau than in the neighboring Caroline and Marshall Islands, accelerating economic development and acculturation. This included imposition of well-defined individual property rights.

Following liberation of the islands in the War in the Pacific, the islands were administered by the US Navy during the USN Period (1945-1947). The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was formalized by United Nations Security Council Resolution 21 in 1947. The Navy passed governing duties to the Department of the Interior in 1951, initiating the TTPI Period (1947-1979). Within the Palau District, Koror was grouped within the “Palau Area” subdivision.

Traditional Culture

Pre-Contact

Pre-contact Palau was organized in a loose confederation of all islands comprised of ten “districts” or “divisions.” Political organization in was characterized by hereditary chieftainship and ranked groups. Koror was a part of the Ngarkldéu political group.

Chieftainship was primus inter pares or "first among equals" type similar to Yap, but distinct from centralized chieftainships over smaller polities in the eastern Carolines or merely clans in the central Carolines.

Social organization and ranking in Palau were influenced by wealth (primarily land) and inherited clan affiliation, but also influenced by personal ability and prestige. Households up through clans were primarily defined by matrilineage, but children could choose to join their father's matrilineage, gaining inheritance rights within it instead through their own mother's line. Broadly, competition played a larger role in social order and culture in Palau than anywhere in the Caroline or Marshall Islands.

Colonial Eras

Traditional cultural and political systems evolved over the course of foreign administration. The German administration sought to systemize native life, introducing regulations dealing with native institutions. Local chiefs broadly retained control but their authority was curtailed and they were subjected to German supervision.

The Japanese administrators sought to simplify the traditional clan system through consolidations. Initially Japan retained German policies, but with relaxed enforcement, later introducing further reaching policies aimed at modernization. The Japanese also tried the German scheme of indirect rule, using native chiefs and council as their intermediary, but abandoned the effort. Laws were promulgated by the Bureau and chiefs merely carried them out.

Present Day

Traditional leaders in Palau played a significant role in the end of TTPI and the establishment of Palau as an independent nation. Today, clan relations and traditional leaders continue to influence voting behavior and also political allegiances, particular in the absence of formal political parties or ideological groupings. Though its role is not formalized as a "fourth branch" as it is in Yap State in the neighboring FSM, Palau's Council of Chiefs does provide both an implicit check on, and constitutes a significant influence on, the government.

As Former FSM President Haglegam has explained, "On Palau, a council of traditional chiefs was created to serve as adviser to the president. So, unlike their counterpart in the FSM, the Palauan traditional chiefs have a formal role at the national level, albeit in advisory capacity. However, the council has complained that the president ignores their advice on policy matters. We should keep in mind that the power to advise does not carry with it the power to modify or formulate policy. So, the Palauan traditional chiefs’ power to influence public policy is minimized by granting them only advisory power."

Japanese Era Development

During the Japanese Period, Koror was the seat of the South Seas Government, as well as home to the Palau Branch Government within it.

Home to a large Japanese population, Koror had a mayor and elective municipal council with 16 members on the contemporary metropolitan Japanese pattern. A district court and an appellate court were established at Koror. Summary judicial powers are exercised by the Branch Governors, and to a very limited extent, by native officials. Official records were also kept at the headquarters of the South Seas Government at Koror.

By at least the mid 1930s, taxis and other modern vehicles were in use, the streets were surfaced with oil or concrete, and there were good road connections with other islands by means of causeways, bridges, and ferries. Rain catchments, however, were the principal source of water, and there was no modern system of sewage disposal. Starting 1923 electricity was supplied to the public on Koror.

Shops lined the streets in the business district. In the western section were located the government and administrative buildings with their open-style architecture and their galvanized iron roofs. These included the official residence of the Governor, the courthouse, the Meteorological Observatory, the Marine Products Experiment Station, a pearl culture station, the post office, a radio station, and an assembly hall. In the eastern section were located the hotels, the Tropical Industries Research Institute, radio towers, the Catholic church and mission, and other buildings. There were also a number of schools, a hospital and a leper sanatorium, a number of military establishments and barracks, and the offices of the various Japanese developmental companies. Koror was well equipped with piers, wharves, and other shipping facilities. On the shore of Arakabesan Island facing Koror there were fishing settlements and a small bonito-drying plant.

Both Buddhists and Shintos of the Tenrikyo sect engaged in a certain amount of missionary activity among the native population during the Japanese Period, particularly in Palau. In 1937 one Buddhist and two Shinto temples were reported in the Palau district, and in 1941 a South Seas National Shrine was established at Koror with Takeo Miyachi as priest. South Seas committee of the Japanese Red Cross was established in 1930. The headquarters of this committee were set up at Koror, and a subcommittee was organized on Yap.

Koror Public School In 1937, the Korror Public School had six Japanese and one native teacher, with 154 boys and 119 girls enrolled. An Apprentice Woodworkers Training School for native boys was established in connection with the Koror public school in May, 1926.

Political Representation

The Republic of Palau's legistive branch consists of a bicameral Congress. The sixteen members of the lower chamber, or House of Delegates, are elected to four-year terms through first-past-the-post elections and represent single-member constituencies in the form of the 16 states. The thirteen members of the upper chamber, or Senate of Palau, are elected for four-year terms through a non-proportional block voting system in which each voter may choose thirteen candidates from the nationwide slate of candidates. The President of Palau is directly elected through a two-round process.

Education

George B. Harris Elementary, Koror Elementary and Meyuns Elementary Schools are located on the Island, serving students through eighth grade. Palau High School, the nation's only public high school, is located in Koror. Maris Stella School, a Catholic elementary school, the Seventh Day Adventist Elementary and High Schools (called "Palau Mission Academy", as well as Emmaus-Bethania High School, are also located in Koror.