Sonsorol

Sonsorol is an island in the Sonsorol State, in the Southwest Islands, in the Republic of Palau.

Alternative spellings and historic names include: St. Andrew, San Andreas, Sonesor, Songosor, Sonseron, Sonsol, Sonsoru, and Tschontil; as well as the pars pro toto use of Dongosaru (Dongosaro)

Sonsorol is a single coral island is located at 5° 19'N, 132° 13' E, 150 miles southwest of Angaur, 65 miles north of Merir, and 42 miles north-northeast of Pul. With Sonsorol is included the smaller island of Fana (Banna, Fauna, North Sonsorol), which lies just to the north across a channel 1,200 yards wide. Each island has a fringing reef, is a little over a mile in length (N-S) and about half a mile in width, Fana is round in shape and about half a mile in diameter. Both islands are densely wooded and have slight depressions in the center.

Sonsorol was discovered by Francisco Padilla in 1710, visited by David Dean O'Keefe in 1885, and investigated by John Stanislaw Kubary in 1885.

Subunits

Villages on the islands include: Dongosaru

Islanders live in four adjacent villages, located on the western side of the island. All the settlements are near the shore and are so close together that they seem like one continuous village. Boundaries between family fields are generally marked by trees or stones.

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, Sonsorol was grouped within the “Sonsorol Area” subdivision.

Traditional Culture

Pre-Contact

Though part of Republic of Palau, and virtually uninhabited today, the islands of Hatohobei State and Sonsorol State were linguistically and culturally proximate to the Western Carolines, today's Outer Islands of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia.

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

During the Japanese Period, Sonsorol had a radio broadcast tower. A station with the call letters HMA was co-located. This station had a 75 kw set, used the A-1 type of transmission, and broadcasted on a frequency of 5,420 kc. A 1935 count of the population by the Japanese identified 153 residents and seven Japanese nationals. Nanyo Takushoku Kaishe owned Sonsorol's small phosphate deposits at the time.

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

Sonsorol Elementary School is located on the Island, serving students through eighth grade.