Nauru (people)

Nauruans are characterized by a combination of Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian traits, both in appearance and in culture ^{[1] [2]} . This circumstance, as well as the scarcity of archaeological remains ^[3] and the lack of written evidence of the history of both Nauru and Micronesia as a whole before the arrival of Europeans, determine the complexity of the problem of the origin of this people and the variety of attempts to explain it.

Thus, it was suggested that Nauruans could be descendants of Polynesian colonists who intentionally landed or crashed in the vicinity of the island of Nauru ^[4] . On the one hand, studies show a high probability of survival in the conditions of Polynesia of a group of about 50 people ^[3] , on the other hand, Nauruans cannot be direct descendants of Polynesians due to the above characteristics. Molecular genetic studies also show that Nauruans are clearly separated from Polynesians by genetic markers ^[5] .

Back in the 1920s, it was hypothesized that the first settlers in Nauru could be the Melanesians , who mixed with the Polynesians who arrived later ^[6] . Such views are also found in modern sources ^[7] . In addition, Nauruans are often regarded as a people that arose as a result of a mixture of Melanesians, Micronesians and Polynesians ^{[1] [2]} .

Currently, to solve the problem of settling the islands of Oceania , mainly comparative linguistics is used. However, if the ways of settling Micronesia are broadly clear, Nauru’s place among them is still a topic of discussion.

So, according to one hypothesis (in the diagram - 1), the Austronesians , immigrants from the southern part of the Philippine Islands and the northern part of the Moluccas , who settled Western Micronesia, could reach Nauru ^[8] .

According to another hypothesis (on the diagram - 2), Nauru, together with Central and Eastern Micronesia, enters the settlement area from the southeast, immigrants from the Solomon Islands ^{[9] [10]} or from New Hebrides ^[11] . It is assumed that these colonists were representatives of the East Ocean community (that is, native speakers of the East Ocean language). At the same time, a somewhat isolated position of the Nauruans among other peoples of Central and Eastern Micronesia is indicated ^[11] .

According to the third hypothesis (diagram 3), Nauru, like the Solomon Islands, was settled by the pre-Oceanians, even before the latter collapsed into Melanesians, Micronesians and Polynesians, during migration from the Bismarck Islands . Moreover, the view on the settlement of Central and Eastern Micronesia coincides with the previous hypothesis ^[3] .

The issue of the origin of the Melanesian component is also not fully resolved. On the one hand, the Austronesians could experience a mixture with the Melanesians on the Bismarck archipelago, on the other hand, they could mix with the Melanesians as a result of later Papuan migration from the west ^[3] .

Estimates of the settlement period of both Nauru and Micronesia vary significantly among different authors. Some authors indicate the dates about 3 thousand years ago ^{[7] [4]} , others delay the time of settlement of Nauru by 5000 years ^[3] .

In the early period of Nauru's history, the population was represented by 12 tribes: deiboe ( naur. Deiboe ), eamvidamit ( naur. Eamwidamit ), eamvidara ( naur. Eamwidara ), eamvit ( naur. Eamwit ), eamgum ( naur. Eamgum ), eano ( naur. Eano ), emeo ( naur. Emeo ), eoraru ( naur. Eoraru ), Iruci ( naur. Iruwa ), Iruva ( naur. Iruwa ), Iwi ( naur. Iwi ) and Ranibok ( naur. Ranibok ) ^[12] .

The Iruv tribe (lit. foreigners ^[13] ) consisted of immigrants from the islands of Gilbert or Banaba ^[14] , who sailed to the island of Nauru at the beginning of the 19th century ^[1] . The irutsi and ivi tribes have no modern descendants, since their last representatives died during the Japanese occupation of Nauru during World War II .

The supreme leader, to whom all 12 tribes would submit, was absent on the island. Instead, each tribe had its own tribal leader ^[6] .

Before the appearance of Europeans on the island, the population of Nauru was at the stage of decomposition of the primitive communal system and consisted of three classes:

• Temonibe ( naur. Temonibe ) - the oldest members of the clan, were considered the owners of powerful magic ^[15] .
• Amenengame ( naur. Amenangame ) - the younger members of the clan, who made up the bulk of the tribe.
• Itsio ( naur. Itsio ) - slaves ^[16] .

According to the Deutsches Kolonial Lexikon , Nauru society consisted of six classes ^[6] : four were free farmers: Temonibä , Emo , Amänengamä and Engamä , and two were dependent categories: Idzio and Itiora (names are given in the author's spelling). However, their nature is not revealed.

A person’s belonging to a certain class depended on the class of his mother. Daughters born before the birth of the son, and the son were assigned to the mother's class. Children born after the first son belonged to the next highest class ^[6] .

The natives lived in yards consisting of 2-3 houses. Several courtyards made up the village. Several villages made up the hau (district). There were 168 villages in Nauru ^[6] .

The main occupation of the ancient Nauruans was agriculture (cultivation of coconut palms , bananas , pandanuses ), as well as fishing ^[17] (including the artificial cultivation of khanos fish in the lagoons of Buada and Anabar ) ^[18] .

A characteristic feature of Nauruan myths is the lack of understanding of the migration of ancestors to the island from other lands (in contrast to other peoples of Oceania). Nauruans believed that they came from two progenitor stones ^[1] .

Almost all Nauruans speak English and Nauru , but the younger generation prefers to use English. More than 70% of Nauruans are followers of the Nauruan Protestant church, most of the rest are Catholics .

1. ↑ ^{1 2 3 4} Nauru // Peoples of the world. Historical and ethnographic reference. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1988 .-- S. 321-322.
2. ↑ ^{1 2} Ignatiev G.M. Tropical Pacific Islands. - M. , 1978. - S. 25.
3. ↑ ^{1 2 3 4 5} Belikov V.I. Origin and migration of Polynesians (according to linguistic data) // Ways of development of Australia and Oceania: history, economics, ethnography: Sat. - M .: Nauka, 1981. - S. 243-254 .
4. ↑ ^{1 2} Ethnografie // Nauru: Eine Informationsseite der Deutsch-Nauruischen-Gesellschaft (neopr.) (Unavailable link) . Date of treatment January 10, 2008. Archived on May 9, 2008.
5. ↑ Peter Bellwood. Homo Sapiens is an Evolving Species: Origins of the Austronesians // The Austronesians Historical and Comparative Perspectives . - ANU E Press, 2006 .-- ISBN 1 920 942 85 8 .
6. ↑ ^{1 2 3 4 5} Heinrich Schnee. Deutsches Kolonial-lexikon . - Quelle & Meyer, 1920.
7. ↑ ^{1 2} [ http://www.unccd.int/cop/reports/asia/national/2002/nauru-eng.pdf First National Report To the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Republic of Nauru] // Department of Economic Development and Environment. - April 2003 .-- S. 11 . Archived July 22, 2011.
8. ↑ Douglas L. Olive. The Pacific Islands . - University of Hawaii Press, 1989 .-- S. 13. - ISBN 0824812336 .
9. ↑ Ward Hunt Goodenough. Prehistoric Settlement of the Pacific . - DIANE, 1996 .-- S. 74-76. - ISBN 087169865X .
10. ↑ Reilly Ridgell. Pacific Nations & Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia . - Bess Press, 1995 .-- S. 23. - ISBN 1573060011 .
11. ↑ ^{1 2} Stingl M. Afterword // By an unfamiliar Micronesia. - M .: Nauka, 1978.- S. 268-270.
12. ↑ History of Nauru. (English) (inaccessible link - history , copy )
13. ↑ Webster's Online Dictionary (inaccessible link)
14. ↑ Solange Petit-Skinner's. "The Nauruans." San Francisco: MacDuff Press, 1981.
15. ↑ Alamanda Roland Lauti, Jon Fraenkel. [ http://www.iknowpolitics.org/files/Report_3_-_Developing_a_More_Facilitating_Environment_107_-_142.pdf Developing a More Facilitating Environment for Women's Political Participation in Nauru] // A Report on a study commissioned by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. - S. 114 . Archived December 2, 2008.
16. ↑ Carl N. McDaniel, John M. Gowdy, Paradise for Sale , Chapter 1 Archived October 1, 2007 on the Wayback Machine
17. ↑ FAO - Forestry of Nauru. (eng.)
18. ↑ South Pacific Secretariat - Nauruan Aquaculture Development Plan. (eng.)

• Nauru // Peoples of the world. Historical and ethnographic reference. M .: "Soviet Encyclopedia", 1988. Pp. 321-322.