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Moro Movement

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50-627: The aim of the Moro Movement of Isatabu , in Solomon Islands , has been described as "Sai lima horohoro tuali" – "Putting lands together in living as before". A movement for social economic and political improvement using co-operatives economic enterprises in combination with a regard for custom and tradition to synthesise a new social order. As the Marau-Hauba Council on Guadalcanal, became destabilised in 1956, while

100-525: A 'back to custom' movement was gaining strength, centred in the south east coastal areas and on the villages in the Suta area – on the northern side of the interior mountains. At Makaruka and Veuru Moli, Pelise Moro started to mobilise people around stories of original creation and a return to the use of name Isatabu instead of Guadalcanal. However, as the movement rose, the Marau-Hauba council was replaced by

150-618: A Malaitan enclave and the Malaita Eagle Force took over government. The Royal Australian Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy deployed vessels to the area to protect the expatriate community resident mostly in Honiara. In 2003, the Pacific Forum negotiated the intervention of RAMSI or Operation Helpem Fren involving Australia, New Zealand, and other Pacific island nations. About 25 km (15 mi) from Honiara to

200-507: A Passion (a pidgin word meaning way of doing things) apart from their jobs as duties they are also responsible for ensuring the village rules and norms are adhered to. A Passion has under him a contingent of ladies called ‘Daki Nonoro’ whose work is to look after visitors. Another similarity between the 2 movements is the organisation of followers or members into large communal villages. Before this people lived in small villages comprising family members and close relatives. In these villages there

250-515: A beach at Point Cruz; he was killed during the evacuation. During the Battle for Henderson Field , the Medal of Honor was also awarded to John Basilone , who was later killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. After the war, American and Japanese groups repeatedly visited Guadalcanal to search for the remains of missing soldiers. The bodies of some 7,000 Japanese troops remain missing on

300-528: A defensive ring around their conquests and threaten the lines of communication from the United States to Australia and New Zealand. The Japanese reached Guadalcanal in May 1942. When an American reconnaissance mission spotted construction of a Japanese airfield at Lunga Point on the north coast of Guadalcanal, the situation became critical. This new Japanese airfield represented a threat to Australia, so as

350-428: A matter of urgency, despite not being adequately prepared, the United States conducted its first amphibious landing of the war on Guadalcanal. The initial landings of the 1st Marine Division on 7 August 1942 secured the airfield with little difficulty, but holding the airfield for the next six months against combined Japanese ground assault, air attack and naval bombardment was one of the most hotly contested campaigns in

400-427: A particularly nasty bite. The Guadalcanal Watersheds form a site that has been identified by BirdLife International as an important bird area , because it supports populations of threatened or endemic bird species. At 376,146 ha (1,452 sq mi), it covers some 70% of the island, extending along the southern coast inland to the central highlands, and contains riverine and lowland tropical rainforest , as well as

450-503: A protectorate over the northern Solomons in 1884, while in 1893, the British Solomon Islands Protectorate was proclaimed, which included the island of Guadalcanal. Germany eventually handed over most of their protectorate to Britain, though, in 1899. By the early 20th century, large agricultural plantations (specialising in copra ), run mainly by Australians, were established in the region. Guadalcanal

500-570: A son and a daughter. In 1956 Moro and some men from Komuvaolu, Makaraku, Bokasughu and Nagho went to Korasaghulu reef to stop men from Wanderer bay and the Weather Coast from fishing for trochus shells, as the Moli peoples had claimed ownership of this reef. Upon his return Moro became very ill while at Lauvi Point, where he fell while chasing the Chacha (The Eagle). Moro fell into a deep coma and

550-526: Is a Luma – a guest house to accommodate visitors. There is also a Tabu House set aside for meetings and ceremonies such as healing rituals. The biggest tabu House is the Custom House at Makaruka which is the HQ of the movement. This house stored valuables such as shell money baskets, traditional artefacts and other objects of significance in the history of Isatabu. Sums of money were collected from followers at

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600-488: Is an association (Kampani, pidgin English for company) to make money All the things that are yours should be used, [n]ot allowed to stand unused or to be exploited by others. Your people own it and control it.” After his recovery, Moro began telling of his vision and large numbers came to hear it. The stories and visions were written down by members of the movement. David Valusa is one of the main recorders and translators of

650-653: Is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands , located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean , northeast of Australia . It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second-largest by population (after Malaita ). The island is mainly covered in dense tropical rainforest and has a mountainous hinterland . Guadalcanal was first charted by Westerners during the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña in 1568. The name comes from

700-475: The Cactus Air Force . They defended the airfield and threatened any Japanese ships that ventured too close to the island during daylight hours. At night, however, Japanese naval forces were frequently able to shell the airfield and deliver troops with supplies, retiring before daylight. The Japanese used fast ships, namely destroyers, to conduct this reinforcement and supply effort, which became known as

750-638: The Tokyo Express . So many ships from both sides were sunk in the many naval engagements in and around the Solomon Island chain that the nearby waters came to be referred to as Ironbottom Sound . The naval Battle of Cape Esperance was fought on 11 October 1942 in the waters off the northwest coast of Guadalcanal. During the engagement, the United States Navy intercepted and defeated a Japanese formation of ships on their way down "

800-597: The 18th and 19th centuries. With these outsiders also arrived foreign institutions such as forced labour. Beginning during the 1860s, about 60,000 natives from many parts of the Solomon Islands were indentured and sent to Australia or Fiji by British authorities to work on plantations. This system continued into the 1890s. In the 1880s, the Germans and the British vied for control of the Solomons. Germany established

850-585: The 1977 general elections, David Valusa of the MM was elected into the National Parliament. It was a bigger achievement of the movement and great boost when Valusa lead the country into independence. On 7 July 1978. In Honiara, the Movement were invited to put on a cultural show at the independence ceremonies. After independence, Valusa was an important figure in the movement but when Ezekiel Alebua from

900-440: The 1980s 90s stated that the stones are being kept until Moro releases the stones’ stories and histories. This future time will depend upon Moro and the members of the movement. The movement, like Maasina Ruru also had factions of cargo cult behaviour. In 1965, Diki Valerago and Pada Valebaibai in the Suta area went to Koleula and told people to await cargo from America. Sio Bubuli, Moro and others were against this activity. After

950-657: The Battle of Midway in turning the tide against them. After six months of hard combat in and around Guadalcanal, the Japanese forces on the island were critically undersupplied and no longer combat effective, while Allied troops were steadily increasing in quantity and quality. Remaining Japanese forces on the island were evacuated at Cape Esperance on the northwest coast in February 1943. American authorities declared Guadalcanal secure on 9 February 1943. The Guadalcanal campaign

1000-659: The Guadalcanal Council. Was born in Makaruka village, Isatabu ( Guadalcanal ), but much of his childhood was spent in his mothers village in Suhu, east of Makaruka. According to Dominic Alebua, Moro's ancestors come from Nabua village, in the inland Areata area, in Talise. He is the descendant of a woman taken to Makaruka as a Checka (slave). After his mothers brother died, Moro inherited their land. Moros father Tavoruka

1050-532: The Pacific theater of war that two battleships engaged each other in combat, with the next such engagement occurring in 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf . Some Japanese viewpoints consider these naval engagements, which showcased the improving capability of Allied warships to challenge the Imperial Japanese Navy's significant advantage in night-fighting techniques, to be just as significant as

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1100-513: The Slot " to reinforce and resupply troops on the island, suffering losses of their own in the process. The multi-day Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November marked a critical turning point in the campaign. Allied naval forces engaged a large, experienced Japanese surface force at night and forced it to withdraw, sinking the IJN battleship Kirishima in the process. This was one of only two times in

1150-442: The anti-moro area of Avuavu was victorious in the 1980 election. From 1980 – 84, Alebua gained favour in the movement by helping Moro m villages, for example water supply to Makaruka and Komuvaolu, and a Copra Buying Point at Haimarao including Longgu and Nago villages. Provincial Fisheries were improved at Marau. In 86 when EA was elected PM. Gaena alu Movement In September 1985, Chief Moro and his supporters celebrated 3 decades of

1200-693: The clan who owns a peo in the area. They were collected in the HoA. These activities were opposed by the Roman Catholic Church in the area who said that the stones were associated with spirits of ancestors and were being worshipped. While Sio Bubuli claimed that the stones were kept as souvenirs or mementoes just like the Church keeps objects such as the Eucharist. Ben Magore who looked after the House in

1250-466: The collection of traditional artefacts and ‘sacred stones’ to be kept at the House of Antiquities. Traditional artefacts include carvings, traditional tools such as stone axes and weapons. The collection of ‘sacred stones’ was very frenetic during the 1970s. The stones were brought from the Offering Altars of ‘Peo of the different clans of the movement. The Peo signify the ownership of the land by

1300-402: The entire Pacific theater of war. Immediately after landing on the island, U.S. Navy Seabees began finishing the airfield begun by the Japanese. It was then named Henderson Field after a Marine aviator killed in combat during the Battle of Midway . Aircraft operating from Henderson Field during the campaign were a mix of U.S. Marine, Army, Navy, and other Allied aircraft that became known as

1350-448: The greatest contiguous area of cloud forest in the Solomons. Although it also contains gardens and old village sites, most of it has never been permanently inhabited. Significant birds for which the site was identified include chestnut-bellied imperial pigeons , Woodford's rails , Guadalcanal moustached kingfishers , Meek's lorikeets , Guadalcanal honeyeaters , Guadalcanal thicketbirds , and Guadalcanal thrushes . Potential threats to

1400-671: The ground support and area of the Moro movement. Organisation Since some of the prominent leaders of the Moro Movement were also leaders in Maasina Ruru and there are organisational similarities. Joseph Qoraiga and Ludovic Lui of Nagho who had ‘duties’ in Maasina Ruru, later became ‘village leaders’ (Taovia ni Vera) in MM. In the village areas there are men designated as ‘duties’. They act as messengers, collectors and general aids and contacts to Moro. They are sometimes referred to as

1450-476: The highest in Solomon Islands, with an elevation of 7,661 ft (2,335 m) above sea level. The Mbokokimbo River is the island's longest river, with a total length of 98.7 km (61.3 mi). List of peaks in Guadalcanal by elevation List of longest rivers by length The island has been settled since at least 4500–2500 BC based on archaeological finds at Poha Cave and Vatuluma Posovi. During

1500-429: The island's shores. In recent times, these crocodiles have been found only on the Weather Coast in the south of the island, but during World War II, they were found along the north coast in the vicinity of the airstrip where the fighting was taking place, as evidenced by names such as Alligator Creek . Venomous snakes are rare on the island and are not considered to be a serious threat, but a kind of centipede there has

1550-699: The island, and islanders still bring the Japanese groups bones that they say are those of unearthed Japanese soldiers. Immediately after the Second World War, the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate was moved to Honiara on Guadalcanal from its previous location at Tulagi in the Florida Islands . In 1952, the high commissioner for the Western Pacific moved from Fiji to Honiara, and

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1600-447: The local Guale people on Guadalcanal and more recent migrants from the neighbouring island of Malaita erupted into violence. The Guadalcanal Revolutionary Army, later called Isatabu Freedom Movement , began terrorising Malaitans in the rural areas of the island in an effort to force them out of their homes. About 20,000 Malaitans fled to the capital, and others returned to their home island; Guale residents of Honiara fled. The city became

1650-605: The movement at Turarana, by taking a new name. The celebrations were attended by many guests including government officials, the British High Commissioner Mr. Stansfield and his wife. The new name is defined differently by different people. Some refer to the Octopus with 8 hands, others the 8 rays of the sun. Most people still use Moro Movement. Guadalcanal Guadalcanal ( / ˌ ɡ w ɑː d əl k ə ˈ n æ l / ; indigenous name: Isatabu )

1700-478: The movement. He recorded Moro's stories and they are kept at Makaruka, at the headquarters of the Moro Custom Company. The most important document is the creation story of Guadalcanal, "The story of what our ancestor in the beginning of the island Isatabu." About how Ironggali created the island of Isatabu (Guadalcanal). Ironggali is a spirit or god which lives in the air. When it came to the water it

1750-419: The new capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate and later the capital of the independent nation of Solomon Islands. Guadalcanal is the largest island in Solomon Islands , with a total land area of 5,302 km (2,047 sq mi), and has a population of 155,605 people, making it the second-most populous island in the country after Malaita. Mount Popomanaseu is the island's highest point and

1800-448: The orders of Moro, through the ‘census’. One shilling was called for to aid the cause. In addition to the census contribution, a ‘collection’ was also instituted. This is one pound from each adult male and 10 shillings from each adult female. Another contribution was in shell currency which is kept at the House of Antiquities at Makaruka. The movement's financial worth in 1990 was estimated at between 20 and 30 thousand SI dollars, including

1850-486: The paramount Chief in the line of Tuimauri, giving him absolute right to the land of Guadalcanal (Isatabu) as granted by the creator and original ancestral chief Ironggali. The importance of economic transactions and boundaries (district borders) are given value and the document repudiates waste and the concept of Public Land. This was against the Protectorate Government which declared land not occupied by

1900-504: The people as waste and public land. Moro as paramount chief had responsibility over the District Chiefs. In 1965, Davnport records 8 districts and their councils: Veuru Moli, Babuli of Makaruka, Longgu district, Ngelea of Purepure and Okimo of Uma, Talise districts, Manu of Ngalitahaverona, Koleuladistrict, Revele and Seve of Valechomara, Suta district, Sakelua and Rupo and Lau district, Manevacha of Vironggono. These districts were

1950-737: The period 1200-800 BC, Austronesian Lapita peoples settled the islands. A Spanish expedition from Peru in 1568 under the command of Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira were the first Europeans to see the island. Mendaña's subordinate, Pedro de Ortega Valencia, named the island after his home town Guadalcanal in Andalusia, Spain. In the years that followed the discovery, the island was variously referred to as Guadarcana, Guarcana, Guadalcana, and Guadalcanar, which reflected different pronunciations of its name in Andalusian Spanish. European settlers, whalers, and missionaries began to arrive in

2000-414: The post was combined with that of the governor of the Solomon Islands. The airfield which was the cause of the fighting in 1942, and which became well known as Henderson Field, is now the international airport for the Solomon Islands. It sits about five miles to the east of Honiara. The secondary airfield, known as "Fighter Two", is now the local golf course. In early 1999, long-simmering tensions between

2050-462: The story of the origin of Guadalcanal. Moro has said that during his illness he had a visit: “I saw a bird but it was a man. At first it was a bird, it came out of some swirling dust like that behind a truck on the roads of Honiara. The bird changed into a man who spoke and instructed. You must do the things I tell you. Everything in this land and sea belongs to you. You must ignore all those who scoff or tell you not to do it. The things you should start

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2100-459: The value of the shell money. There has never been any attempt to use of bank this money though. It is owned by Moro who does not use it either. Alluvial gold is also given free by followers to Moro. With some of the money collected, some relatively large scale commercial endeavours were begun, including stores at Makaruka, a piggery, a plantation, a school and even a taxi in Honiara. Most of these ventures have collapsed. The panning of alluvial gold

2150-525: The village of Guadalcanal , in the province of Seville , in Andalusia , Spain, birthplace of Pedro de Ortega Valencia, a member of Mendaña's expedition. During 1942 and 1943, it was the scene of the Guadalcanal campaign and saw bitter fighting between Japanese and U.S. troops. The Americans were ultimately victorious. At the end of World War II , Honiara , on the north coast of Guadalcanal, became

2200-550: The west, Vilu War Museum houses an outdoor collection of remains of various parts of military equipment and of several aircraft. Several memorials for the American, Australian, Fijian, New Zealand, and Japanese soldiers who died were erected, as well. The island hosts a native marsupial known as the phalanger or grey cuscus, Phalanger orientalis . The only other mammals are bats and rodents. Many species of colourful parrots are found there, and estuarine crocodiles inhabit

2250-405: Was a 'Bigman' in Makaruka who held hereditary ritual powers to calm seas, make torrential rain abate and promote the fertility of the yams and taro. Moro learned these skills and inherited them when his father died in 1961. He was baptised a Roman Catholic by Fr. Jean Boudard but did not attend missionary school and is illiterate. In 1962 he married a girl from an inland village. They had 2 children –

2300-475: Was a major turning point in the war, as it stopped further Japanese expansion. Two U.S. Navy ships have been named for the campaign: To date, the only U.S. Coast Guardsman recipient of the Medal of Honor is Signalman 1st Class Douglas Albert Munro , awarded posthumously for his extraordinary heroism on 27 September 1942 at Point Cruz . Munro provided covering fire and helped evacuate 500 besieged Marines from

2350-646: Was also an encouraged activity for members of the movement. This brought them into direct conflict with the large mining companies. However, most of the land owners where the mining companies operate in Central Guadalcanal, are also Moro Movement members and so are benefiting from the mining. The movements supporters gathered in large numbers at Makaruka for meetings of the entire group or for feasts. During these feasts, most but not all would wear traditional dress: fibre skirt called 'bosa' for women and tree bark or ‘Kabilato’ for men. Other activities include

2400-535: Was called Isobotua – i.e. 'sitting on water' or 'floating leg'. Isobotua created the island and the life upon it: first 2 dos Laula (m) and Lauili (f) and then 2 humans: Kaputua and his sister Lavegauna. This text goes on to give the establishment of the four main descent groups or tribes of Qaravu, Manukiki, Koinahao and Lasi. Another document is the “Custom Company Makaruka and History of the Island Isatabu and its Paramount Chiefs.” This document claims Moro as

2450-417: Was even presumed dead. However he recovered consciousness after a few days although he did not fully recover for many months. Moro has also said that during this time he was somewhat mentally ill. After he had recovered, however, Moro had acquired the ability to know who had stolen anything, who performed sorcery, and who was guilty of possessing 'Vele' or 'Piro'. It was at this time also that he began to recount

2500-736: Was not seriously affected by World War I. In 1932, the British confirmed the name Guadalcanal in line with the town in Andalusia, Spain. In the months following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Japanese drove the Americans out of the Philippines , the British out of British Malaya , and the Dutch out of the East Indies . The Japanese then began to expand into the western Pacific, occupying many islands in an attempt to build

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