Nukuoro is an
atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...
in the
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia (, abbreviated FSM), or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a region of Oceania. The federation encompasses the majority of the Caroline Islands (excluding Palau) and consists of four Admin ...
. It is a municipality of the
state of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. It is the secondmost southern atoll of the country, after
Kapingamarangi. They both are
Polynesian outliers. , Nukuoro had a population of 372, though several hundred Nukuorans live on
Pohnpei. Fishing,
animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...
, and agriculture (
taro and
copra) are the main occupations. A recent project to farm
black pearl oyster
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...
s has been successful at generating additional income for the island's people.
Nukuoro is remote. It has no airstrip, and a passenger boat calls irregularly only once every few months. The island has no tourism except for the occasional visit by passing sailing yachts. There is a 4-room schoolhouse but children over the age of 14 must travel to
Pohnpei to attend high school.
Geography
The total area, including the lagoon, is , with a land area of , which is divided among more than 40 islets that lie on the northern, eastern, and southern sides of the lagoon. By far the largest islet is
Nukuoro islet, which is the center of population and the capital of the municipality. The lagoon is in diameter.

Traversable by foot during low tide, the islets of Nukuoro (called ''modu'') are separated by narrow waterways during high tide. These ''modu'' form a chain that is perceived by residents as starting from the southwestern terminus (''ngage'' "the front") to the northwestern terminus (''ngaiho'' "the back"), in a counterclockwise direction. Direction when traveling along the atoll is relative and is determined by the terminus one is moving towards (i.e., one is 'going ''ngage''
' when moving away from ''ngaiho'', and vice versa). This is true no matter which side of the atoll one is proceeding on. The largest islet, Nukuoro, which gives its name to the atoll, also affects direction on the atoll: when traveling towards Nukuoro, one is said to be 'going ''hale''
' ("home"), rather than 'going ''ngage/ngaiho''.'
The lagoon itself also serves as a reference point to determine relative direction. Movement towards the lagoon, the center of the atoll, is called ''i dai'' ("on the water"), while movement outwards in the direction of the open ocean is called ''i dua'' ("on the back").
Population
The inhabitants speak
Nukuoro, which is a
Polynesian language related to
Kapingamarangi,
Rennellese and
Pileni languages. Nukuoro and
Kapingamarangi constitute parts of the "
Polynesian outlier" cultures, lying well outside the
Polynesian Triangle
The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean with three island groups at its corners: Hawaii (''Hawaiʻi''), Easter Island (''Rapa Nui'') and New Zealand (''Aotearoa''). This is often used as a simple way to define Polynesia.
Outsi ...
.
A sizable proportion of the Nukuoro population have relocated from the atoll in recent years, with
diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
communities throughout
Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, and elsewhere in the world, but especially on the island of
Pohnpei, to which there is continuous migration today. While about half of residents on the Nukuoro atoll are monolingual in
Nukuoro, members of the speech community residing on Pohnpei are more commonly multilingual, with most speaking
Pohnpeian,
English, or both, in addition to Nukuoro.
According to oral tradition, the atoll was first settled by migrants originating from
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
, led by a man named Vave, who remains an important figure in Nukuoro culture.
History
In general,
Polynesian Outlier communities are thought to have been established after the settlement of
Polynesia
Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
proper, as a result of backwash migrations and drift voyages. Linguistic and folkloric evidence is consistent with this view: the Nukuoro language is closely related to Samoan, and the oral tradition describes the settlement of Nukuoro Atoll by a group of Samoans led by Vave, the son of a king from the
Manu'a islands in
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
.
However, archaeological evidence suggests that Nukuoro Atoll has been continuously occupied since at least the ninth century A.D., with no clear evidence of cultural replacement and no unambiguously Polynesian artifacts.
What is known of the history of Nukuoro Atoll prior to European contact comes from the oral tradition, and narratives have occasionally been recorded and published by Western visitors.
After the initial Samoan settlement of the island, the history of the atoll is punctuated by visitors from other Micronesian islands, including
Yap,
Chuuk, the
Mortlock Islands, the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The territory consists of 29 c ...
, the
Gilbert Islands,
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
, and
Palau
Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...
.
The first sighting recorded by Europeans was by Spanish naval officer
Juan Bautista Monteverde on 18 February 1806 commanding the
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
''San Rafael'' of the
Royal Company of the Philippines. They have therefore appeared in the maps as the ''Monteverde Islands'' for a long time.
''Tino aitu'' sculptures
Nukuoro is famous for its carved deity sculptures, which are known as ''tino aitu'' sculptures. The statues represent gods and deified ancestors who are associated with the five Nukuoro family groups: and . Traditionally, the figurines were placed in the ''malae'' (temple), as well as in the home, to protect their inhabitants from bad fortune and ill-wishing spirits. They were often given food as sacrificial offerings on major festive occasions, and were ritually clothed or adorned with flowers.
The sculptures, which range in size from 30 to 215 cm, are carved from breadfruit wood using local adzes equipped with either ''Tridacna'' shell blades or western metal blades. The surfaces were smoothed with pumice.
They are known for their ovoid heads, faint or blank facial features, sloping shoulders, and geometric chests, buttocks, and legs. The chests of the figurines are typically indicated with a simple line, though some female figurines have rudimentary breasts. Some figurines are carved with tattoos.
Today, 37 Nukuoro sculptures are housed in museums and private collections around the globe, with many of the statues located in German and Hawai'ian museums.
At least nine of these sculptures were collected by
Johann Stanislaus Kubary, a Polish naturalist and ethnographer who visited the atoll in 1873 and 1877 as a collector for the
Museum Godeffroy in Hamburg.
An additional three sculptures were collected by Carl Jeschke, a German ship captain who visited first in 1904 and then more regularly between 1910 and 1913.
See also
*
Madolenihmw
*
Kitti (municipality)
*
U, Pohnpei
*
Nett
*
Kapingamarangi
*
Pingelap
*
Sapwuahfik
*
Sokehs
*
Mokil
*
Kolonia
*
Oroluk
*
Palikir
References
External links
*
maps*
Nukuoro, photographs (1969).
Los atolones occidentales de Pohnpei (Estados Federados de Micronesia). 4ª parte.(Spanish) Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi and Minto atolls.
An outline of the structure of the language of Nakuoro(Part 2, 1965), Vern Carroll,
Journal of the Polynesian Society,
Auckland University.
{{Authority control
Atolls of the Federated States of Micronesia
Municipalities of Pohnpei
Polynesian outliers