Merelava

Merelava (or Mere Lava) is an island in the Banks Islands of the Torba Province of northern Vanuatu.

Merelava
Location of Merelava in the Banks Islands
Geography
LocationPacific Ocean
Coordinates14.45°S 168.05°E / -14.45; 168.05
ArchipelagoVanuatu, Banks Islands
Area18 km2 (6.9 sq mi)
Highest pointMount Teu
Administration
Vanuatu
ProvinceTorba Province
Demographics
Population650 (2009)

Geography

Merelava is situated in the southeastern part of the archipelago near Mota and Merig. Merelava has also been known as Star Island. It is located about 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of Gaua.

Merelava is a nearly round volcanic island with a diameter of almost 4.5 km and an area of 18 km². It is formed by a basaltic stratovolcano, which reaches in Mount Teu, also called Star Peak, a height of 883 m above the sea level.

The main village is Tesmet on the west coast of the island. Other villages, starting clockwise at Tesmet, are Levetmise (northwest), Lekweal (north), Lewetneak (northeast), and Aot (southeast, second largest).

History

Merelava was first sighted by Europeans during the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fernández de Quirós, from 25 to 29 April 1606. The island's name was then charted as San Marcos.[1]

Population and language

The island has about 650 inhabitants.[2] They all speak an Oceanic language known as Mwerlap.[3]

Names

The inhabitants of Merelava call their own island Mwerlap, phonetically [ŋʷɞrlap], in the language of the same name.

The name M̄erelava (sometimes wrongly transcribed Mere Lava) reflects the way it is called in the neighbouring Mota language, phonetically [ŋ͡mʷereˈlaβa]. According to Codrington,[4] the etymology of this name is likely to be *mʷera lava, literally “the big boy”; it contrasts with the neighbouring island M̄erig [ŋ͡mʷeˈriɣ], from *mʷera riɣi “the small boy”.

References
  1. Kelly, Celsus, O.F.M. La Austrialia del Espíritu Santo. The Journal of Fray Martín de Munilla O.F.M. and other documents relating to the Voyage of Pedro Fernández de Quirós to the South Sea (1605-1606) and the Franciscan Missionary Plan (1617-1627) Cambridge, 1966, p.39, 62.
  2. "2009 National Census of Population and Housing: Summary Release" (PDF). Vanuatu National Statistics Office. 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2010. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. François (2005:444)
  4. Cf. Codrington & Palmer (1896), p.89.

Bibliography



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