Pileni

Pileni is a culturally important island in the Reef Islands, in the northern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu. Despite its location in Melanesia, the population of the islands is Polynesian.

Pileni
NASA picture of the Reef Islands. Pileni is the island on the right off the northern coast
Pileni
Geography
LocationPacific Ocean
ArchipelagoSolomon Islands
Area0.23 km2 (0.089 sq mi)
Administration
Solomon Islands
Demographics
Population200 (2009)
Map of the Reef Islands

Pileni has a population of below 300 inhabitants and is around 200 m (660 ft) wide and 500 m (1,600 ft) long. It is vulnerable to tsunamis and the sea level rising.[1]

History

The first church in Pileni was set up in the 1930s. The island was hit by cyclones in the 1950s, 1985 and 1993, and a tsunami struck the island in 1990. An extension school was set up on the island in 2002, the classroom of which is the island's only permanent building. From 2000, there has been a reported shortage of fish and shellfish, and some fruit trees have died.[1]

Economy

Per household, the average monthly income is between SI$51 and SI$200. Some households sell pigs to increase their income.[1]

Language

Pileni once gave its name to the Samoic-Outlier language spoken there. What used to be called Pileni is now more commonly referred to under its native name Vaeakau-Taumako.[2]

References
  1. "The adaptive capacity of Pileni Island community, Viakau Ward, Temotu Province, Solomon Islands" (PDF). Australian Government under the PACCSAP program. 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  2. "Vaeakau-Taumako". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.


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