Merelava (or ''Mere Lava'') is an island in the

Banks Islands The Banks Islands (in Bislama ''Bankis'') are a group of islands in northern Vanuatu. Together with the Torres Islands to their northwest, they make up the northernmost province of Torba. The island group lies about north of Maewo, and include ...

of the

Torba Province Torba (or ''TorBa'') is the northernmost and least populous province of Vanuatu. It consists of the Banks Islands and the Torres Islands. The province's name is derived from the initial letters of "''TORres''" and "''BAnks''". Population The ...

of northern

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

Names

The inhabitants of Merelava call their own island ''Mwerlap'', more accurately ''N̄wërlap'' . The name ''Merelava'' or ''M̄ere Lava'' reflects the way it is called in the neighbouring

Mota Mota, MOTA or variations thereof may refer to: Geography * Mota (island), Vanuatu * Mota, Ethiopia, a town * Mota, Gujarat, India, a town * Mota, Ljutomer, Slovenia, a village Music * ''M.O.T.A.'' (album), a 2005 album by Cultura Profética * "M ...

language ‒ phonetically . According to Codrington, the etymology of this name (in Proto-Torres-Banks) is likely to be *''mʷera lava'', literally “the big boy”; it contrasts with the neighbouring island M̄erig , from *''mʷera riɣi'' “the small boy”. These words refer metaphorically to the islands themselves.

Geography

Merelava is situated in the southeastern part of the archipelago near

and

Merig Merig is a small island located east of Gaua, in the Banks Islands of northern Vanuatu. The island is about wide, and has a circumference of . Name The name ''Merig'' comes from the Mota language. It comes from a Proto-Torres-Banks form *'' ...

. Merelava has also been known as ''Star Island''. It is located about east of

Gaua Gaua (formerly known as ''Santa Maria Island'') is the largest and second most populous of the Banks Islands in Torba Province in northern Vanuatu. It covers 342 km². History Gaua was first sighted by Europeans during the Spanish expeditio ...

. 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 Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning " ...

, from 25 to 29 April 1606. The island's name was then charted as ''San Marcos''. Merelava was reportedly seen smoking when it was first encountered by Quirós.

Population and language

The island has about 650 inhabitants. They all speak an

Oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

language known as '' Mwerlap''.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Linguistic map of north Vanuatu, showing location of Merelava
Islands of Vanuatu Volcanoes of Vanuatu Torba Province {{Vanuatu-geo-stub