Mapia Atoll

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Mapia Atoll
Native name:

Piken or Pegun (Mapia: sand island)
Mapia (Sangir: pretty, good, beautiful)
Myos Maninei (Biak: seagull island)
Atolon Guedes (Mapia).png
Indonesia Papua location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Mapia Atoll
Location in Papua
Indonesia Western New Guinea location map.png
Red pog.svg
Mapia Atoll
Location in Western New Guinea
Indonesia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Mapia Atoll
Location in Indonesia
Geography
Location Pacific Ocean
Coordinates 0°54′32″N134°18′17″E / 0.90889°N 134.30472°E / 0.90889; 134.30472
Total islands5
Administration
ProvinceFlag of Papua 2.svg  Papua

Mapia Atoll (Indonesian: Kepulauan Mapia), historically known as the Freewill Islands or San David, is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It is located in Papua province of Indonesia, approximately 190 kilometers north of the city of Manokwari and 630 kilometers from the islands of Palau. It consists of two main islands, Bras (Berasi) and Pegun (Mapia), the smaller Fanildo, and two minor islands, Bras Kecil (Little Bras) and Fanildo Kecil (Little Fanildo). The islands constitute a part of West Supiori District within Supiori Regency, Papua. The population at the 2020 Census was 199. [1]

The Sangaji Marwedi (King of Mapia) and his family photographed during Arthur Wichmann's 1903 New Guinea expedition COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Oorspronkelijke bewoners van het eiland Mapia TMnr 10005851.jpg
The Sangaji Marwedi (King of Mapia) and his family photographed during Arthur Wichmann's 1903 New Guinea expedition

The atoll was once part of the Spanish Empire under the name of Güedes. According to Spanish researcher Emilio Pastor in a paper submitted to his government in 1948, a number of small islands in Micronesia (Kapingamarangi or Coroa, Mapia or Güedes, Ocea (now Kiritimati) or Matador, and Rongerik or Pescadores) continue legally under Spanish sovereignty. This is because the text of the German–Spanish Treaty of 1899 which transferred sovereignty of certain Spanish possessions in the Pacific to Germany, namely the Northern Mariana Islands (except Guam) and the Caroline Islands (including Palau), failed to include these smaller islands. Although the Spanish government studied the case in 1949 and accepted this interpretation, it has never formally reclaimed the islands. [2]

The atoll was part of Tidore Sultanate as part of the Papoua Gam Sio ("The Nine Negeri of Papua"), [3] and the local Mapia chieftain was given the title Sangaji Meraudi. Biak sailors have been sailing to the island for centuries, primarily from Supiori, after returning from this journey they will tattoo themselves in the shape seagull (Manmarmar). [4]

The extinct Mapia language was spoken on the islands until the end of the 20th century. As of 2000, according to Ethnologue, there was one elderly speaker of the language remaining on the islands. [5]

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References

  1. Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
  2. Yahoo News (Spanish) - "Las cuatro islas españolas perdidas en el Océano Pacífico"
  3. Wanggai, Tony V. M. (2008). Rekonstruksi Sejarah Islam di Tanah Papua (PDF) (Thesis) (in Indonesian). UIN Syarif Hidayatullah. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  4. "Kepulauan Mapia: Sejarah Penduduk Asli dan Bahasanya yang Lenyap". suarapapua.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  5. "Ethnologue 14 report for language code:mpy". archive.ethnologue.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.