Sonsorol State
Sonsorol State is a state, located in the Southwest Islands in the Republic of Palau.
Alternative spellings and historic names include the pars pro toto use of Dongosaru (Dongosaro)
Subunits
Islands within the state include: Sonsorol, Fana, Pulu Anna, Merir
Merir
Merir (Keliel, Keriel, Marir, Meriru, Pulo Marier, or Warren Hastings) is a flat, wooded coral island is located at 4° 20. N, 132° 19' N, about 29 miles SE of Pul, 65 miles south of Sonsorol, and 105 miles northeast of Hatohobei. Surrounded by a fringing reef, it is one and one third miles long (N-S) and a quarter of a mile wide. Near the middle of the western side of the island there is ablow hill about 50 feet high.
Merir was discovered by Captain John Payne in 1769; visited by Warren Hastings in 1781 as well as by Captains John Davy Foulkes and Joseph Dorin in 1789; and also sighted by the Spanish surveyor Alessandro Malaspin in 1792.
Population, Language and Religion
The 2015 Palaun Census reported 40 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, Sonsorol State 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."
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
Pulo Anna Elementary School and Sonsorol Elementary School are located in the State, serving students through eighth grade.
