Ngulu
Ngulu is an atoll in the Western Caroline Islands.
Alternative spellings and historic names include: Angegul, Anolul, Goulou, Kurru, Lamoliao, Lamoliork, Lamuliur, Lamuniur, Matelotas, Ngilu, Ngoli, Ngolog, Spencer Keys, Ulu, Thieve
Ngulu is low coral atoll is located at 8° 18' N, 137° 29; N, 167 miles east-northeast of Kayangel and 59 miles south-southwest of Yap. It is about 19 miles long (N-S) and 12 miles wide. The lagoon is encircled by a very low and partly flooded reef in the shape of an acute-angled triangle; it has an area of more than 100 square miles, and its water is usually rough. The main reef is generally very narrow. The largest and only inhabited island is Ngulu, which is located at the southern tip of the atoll and has an area of less than two square kilometers. Other islets on the southern and southwestern sides of the atoll are Jalangaschel, Letyegol, Pigaras, Reggoru, and Uatshalak, All of these are covered with vegetation and coconut palms. North and Meseran islets in the northeast are very low and have fewer trees. There are anumber of passages, including one on either side of Ngulu Island.
Ngulu was possibly discovered by Ruy López de Villalobos in 1543; probably sighted by the Spaniard Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565; sighted by Sir Francis Drake in 1579; and visited by the Dutchman Geen Huygen Schapenham in 1625, the Spaniard Francisco Lazeano in 1686, and the Englishman Peter Rainier in 1796.
Ngulu is in the Outer Islands of Yap within Yap State in Federated States of Micronesia.
Subunits
Islands within the atoll include: Ngulu, Uatschaluk (Fachaluk)
This village on Ngulu Island was historically divided into two parts, Mator and Bologol, named after the principal canoe houses. As late as the start of the 1940s there were several farmsteads, one men’s community house, and several canoe-houses.
As with many placenames in Micronesia, Ngulu 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.
Population, Language and Religion
The 2010 FSM Census reported a population of 6. Yapese and Ulithian are the spoken languages and religious affiliation is predominantly Roman Catholic.
A 1935 count of the population by the Japanese identified 53 natives. After the war, in summer of 1946, the US Naval Military Government counted 61 local residents on Ngulu.
Governance
Spain laid claim to the Carolines from the time of initial discovery in the early 1500's but made no attempt to occupy or administer them. In 1885 a Governor for the Carolines was appointed by the Governor General of the Philippines and presence established in Pohnpei and Yap. In this Spanish Period (1521-1899), Ngulu fell within the Western District of the Spanish East Indies.
After the Spanish-American War, Spain sold the Palau, Caroline, and Marianas Islands to Germany in 1899. In this German Period (1899-1914), the Caroline, Palau and Mariana Islands (excluding Guam), along with the Marshalls, annexed in 1885, were titled Imperial German Pacific Protectorates. The Carolines become an administrative district of German New Guinea under direction of a vice-governor and Ngulufell within the Western Caroline District.
The Carolines were seized from the Germans by the Japanese early in World War I. Despite protests from the United States, including the Yap Crisis, the Islands were in 1920 mandated to Japan by the League of Nations. In this Japanese Period (1914-1941), Ngulu fell within the Yap District of the “Nan'yō Cho” or South Seas Government.
Following liberation of the islands in the War in the Pacific, the islands were administered by the US Navy. 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. During the USN Period (1945-1947) and the TTPI Period (1947-1979) Ngulu fell within the Yap Administrative Unit and then the Yap District.
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) was established with the end of the Trust Territory. The FSM is one of three “Freely Associated States,” or “FAS” nations that entered into a Compact of Free Association or “COFA” with the US. The treaty and agreements provide economic assistance to the countries, secured US defense rights and set defense responsibilities, and allow FAS citizens to migrate to the United States.
Traditional Culture
Pre-Contact
The lesser (or "outer)" islands and atolls of Yap were politically dependent, and from time immemorial their chiefs annually sent tribute in mats, turmeric, and spondylus shells to Yap chiefs. All the Outer Islands to the east of Yap fell under Gagil's suzerainty through the Sawei Yap/Outer Island Trade and Tribute Network (sometimes called the "Yap Empire”). Ngulu, which is 60 miles south-southwest of Yap, is the exception. It owed allegiance to the paramount chief of the Gorror (Guroor) in Gilman.
Pre-contact social order was characterized by: a social hierarchy with a strong egalitarian ethic and chief(s) with highly circumscribed powers (Goldman Level 1 of 3).
Present Day
Traditional chiefly authority is exercised by the Council of Tamol.
In Yap, traditional leaders have a role in governnance that enshrines them as a "Fourth Branch." As John Haglelgam, former President of the FSM observed in his "Traditional Leaders and Governance in Micronesia" (1998), “in Yap, the traditional leaders have formal roles in the government. The Yap state constitution created two councils of chiefs: one for the main islands of Yap and one for the outer island chiefs. These councils are empowered to review and disapprove an act of the state legislature if it violates custom and tradition… The legislature cannot override the veto of these councils but can incorporate their objection in the bill and return it for their review. So far. the councils have used their power sparingly. The councils have also expanded their power to review policy of the executive branch which has forced the governor and his cabinet to justify their policy to the councils… The two councils are in essence public watchdogs, making sure that elected officials and bureaucrats are doing their job.“
Electoral Divisions
The legislative branch of the Federated States of Micronesia is unicameral. Two types of Senators are elected: at-large senators, one for each of the four states, who serve four-year terms, and population-based senators, representing specific constituencies, who serve two-year terms. The President of Micronesia is elected by the Congress from amongst the four at-large senators, after which a special election is held to (re)fill that seat. Ngulu is represented in the FSM Congress by the Yap, At-Large Seat Senator, and the Yap, Sole Population-Based District Senator.
Since the establishment of the FSM, Yap State voters have elected and maintained in Congress one Yapese Senator and one Outer Island Senator. This de facto power-sharing arrangement is similar to the requirement in the Yap's State Constitution stating "if the Governor is a resident of Yap Islands Proper, the Lieutenant Governor shall be a resident of the Outer Islands, and if the Governor is a resident of the Outer Islands, the Lieutenant Governor shall be a resident of Yap Islands Proper."
Education
The Local Education Agency, or “school district” for Ngulu is the Yap State Department of Education.
