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Coordinates: 13°42′S 167°39′E / 13.7°S 167.65°E / -13.7; 167.65
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{{Short description|Island in Vanuatu}}
{{Infobox islands
{{Infobox islands
| name = Motalava
| name = Motalava
| image_name = Mota Lava.jpg
| image_name = Mota Lava.jpg
| image_caption = Mota Lava, viewed from space. On the southwest point one may see the islet of [[Ra island|Ra]].
| image_caption = Mota Lava, viewed from space. The islet of [[Ra island|Ra]] can be seen in this image at a point southwest of Mota Lava.
| map_image = Womtelo Map-Banks-Vanuatu 1000.png
| map_image = Womtelo Map-Banks-Vanuatu 1000.png
| map_caption =
| map_caption =
Line 23: Line 24:
}}
}}


'''Mota Lava''' or '''Motalava''' (coordinates {{coord|13.7|S|167.65|E}}) is the fourth largest island in the [[Banks Islands]] of [[Vanuatu]], after [[Gaua]], [[Vanua Lava]] and [[Ureparapara]], with an area of 24&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (9.3&nbsp;sq&nbsp;mi).
'''Mota Lava''' or '''Motalava''' is an island of the [[Banks Islands|Banks group]], in the north of [[Vanuatu]]. It forms a single coral system with the [[Ra Island|small island of Ra]].

⚫
It is the largest and highest ({{convert|411|m|ft|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}) of the eastern chain of islands. {{convert|270|m|ft|0|sp=us}} off its southern coast, attached by high corals that one can wade through at low tide, is the islet of Ra, with an area of {{convert|50|ha|abbr=on}}.

⚫
The climate on the island is humid tropical. The average annual rainfall exceeds 4000 mm. Mota-Lava is subject to frequent earthquakes and cyclones.


The [[2009 Vanuatu Census|2009 census figures]]<ref>
The [[2009 Vanuatu Census|2009 census figures]]<ref>
Line 33: Line 30:
| url=http://www.spc.int/prism/country/vu/stats/Publications/2009%20Census%20Summary%20release%20final.pdf
| url=http://www.spc.int/prism/country/vu/stats/Publications/2009%20Census%20Summary%20release%20final.pdf
| title=2009 National Census of Population and Housing: Summary Release
| title=2009 National Census of Population and Housing: Summary Release
| format=PDF
| publisher=Vanuatu National Statistics Office
| publisher=Vanuatu National Statistics Office
| author=
| year=2009
| year=2009
| accessdate= October 11, 2010}}</ref> give a population of 1640 inhabitants (Mota Lava + [[Ra island|Ra]]), yielding a population density of 67 per km².
| access-date= October 11, 2010}}</ref> give a population of 1640 inhabitants (Mota Lava + [[Ra island|Ra]]), which amounts to a population density of 67 people per km<sup>2</sup>.


==Geography==
⚫
==Name and language==
===Geography and geology===
With an area of 24&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (9.3&nbsp;sq&nbsp;mi), Mota Lava is the fourth largest island in the Banks Islands, after [[Gaua]], [[Vanua Lava]] and [[Ureparapara]]. It is the highest ({{convert|411|m|ft|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}) of the eastern chain of islands, as well as the largest.


⚫
[[Ra Island|Ra]], a small island of {{convert|50|ha|abbr=on}}, is located {{convert|270|m|ft|0|sp=us}} off the southern coast of Mota Lava. It is attached to it by high corals that one can wade through at low tide.
⚫
In early texts and maps of the 19th century, the island of Mota Lava was designated as ''Saddle Island'', due to the island's distinctive profile seen from a boat.


⚫
The climate on Mota Lava is humid tropical. The average annual rainfall exceeds 4000&nbsp;mm. The island is subject to frequent earthquakes and cyclones.
The habit of designating the island as ''Mota Lava'' was then borrowed by 19th-century missionaries from the neighbouring language [[Mota (island)|Mota]]. The inhabitants of Mota Lava call their own island '''Mwotlap''' ({{IPA-xx|ŋmʷɔtˈlap|pron}}).


⚫
The island is served by [[Mota Lava Airport]].
⚫
[[Mwotlap]] also designates the language spoken by the inhabitants of Mota Lava. It is the most widely spoken of the languages in the [[Banks Islands]], with about 2,100 speakers.


⚫
=== Geology ===
⚫
An earlier attempt to transcribe the native name, both for the island and the language, yielded a form ''Motlav''.
⚫
Mota Lava is composed of at least five [[basalt]]ic [[stratovolcano]]es. Two of the cones, Vetman and Tuntog, are well-preserved. Vetman is a pyroclastic cone in the centre of the island with a breached summit crater. At the southwest end of the island, Tuntog is a composite cone with a {{convert|500|m|ft|0|abbr=off|sp=us}} wide crater.


⚫
[[Geochemistry|Geochemical]] analysis shows that the island's lava has a similar composition to that from nearby [[Mota (island)|Mota]] and [[Ureparapara]], as well as lava from the south of the country, but differs from material erupted in central Vanuatu. The latter region has been affected by the subduction of a submerged, extinct island arc complex called the D'Entrecasteaux Zone.
The recently extinct [[Volow language]] was also spoken in Mota Lava.


⚫
==Name and language==
⚫
==History==
⚫
In early 19th-century texts and maps, Mota Lava was called ''Saddle Island'', after the distinctive saddle-shaped profile it presents when seen from a boat offshore.
⚫
Mota Lava was first sighted by Europeans during the Spanish expedition of [[Pedro Fernández de Quirós]], from 25 to 29 April 1606. The island’s name was then charted as ''Lágrimas de San Pedro'' (“St. Peter's Tears”, in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]).<ref>Kelly, Celsus, O.F.M. ''La Austrialia del Espíritu Santo. The Journal of Fray Martín de Munilla O.F.M. and other documents relating to the Voyage of Pedro Fernández de Quirós to the South Sea (1605-1606) and the Franciscan Missionary Plan (1617-1627)'' Cambridge, 1966, p.39, 62.</ref>


The inhabitants of Mota Lava call the island '''Mwotlap''', locally spelled ''M̄otlap'' ({{IPA-xx|ŋ͡mʷɔtˈlap|pron}}).<ref>[https://marama.huma-num.fr/Lex/Mwotlap/m%CC%84.htm#%E2%93%94M%CC%84otlap Entry “M̄otlap”] in the ''Online Mwotlap dictionary'' by A. François.</ref>
⚫
== Geology ==
⚫
Mota Lava is composed of at least five [[basalt]]ic [[stratovolcano]]es. Two of the cones, Vetman and Tuntog, are well-preserved. Vetman is a pyroclastic cone in the centre of the island with a breached summit crater. At the southwest end of the island, Tuntog is a composite cone with a {{convert|500|m|ft|0|abbr=off|sp=us}} wide crater.


⚫
The language spoken by the inhabitants of Motalava is also called [[Mwotlap]]. It is the most widely spoken language in the [[Banks Islands]], with about 2,100 speakers. The recently extinct [[Volow language]] also used to be spoken on Mota Lava.
⚫
[[Geochemistry|Geochemical]] analysis shows that the island's lava has a similar composition to that from nearby [[Mota (island)|Mota]] and [[Ureparapara]], as well as lava from the south of the country, but differs from material erupted in central Vanuatu. The latter region has been affected by the subduction of a submerged, extinct island arc complex called the D'Entrecasteaux Zone.


⚫
An early attempt to transcribe the native name, both for the island and the language, yielded a form ''Motlav''.
==Transportation==
⚫
The island is served by [[Mota Lava Airport]].


The name ''M̄ota Lava'' {{IPA-xx|ŋ͡mʷota laβa|}} (or in simple spelling, ''Motalava'') caught on after it started being used by 19th-century missionaries to the island. They borrowed that name from [[Mota language|the language spoken]] on neighbouring [[Mota (island)|Mota]]. Both the Mota and Mwotlap names of the island descend from a protoform *''mʷota laβa'' in [[Proto-Torres–Banks language|Proto-Torres-Banks]], literally "large [[Mota (island)|Mota]]". A process of [[Apocope|vowel deletion]], regular in Mwotlap, explains how *{{IPA-xx|mʷotaˈlaβa|}} was shortened to {{IPA-xx|ŋ͡mʷɔtˈlap|}}.
⚫
==References==
{{reflist}}


Names for the island in other [[Torres-Banks languages]] include [[Vera'a language|Vera'a]] ''M̄o'lava'' {{IPA-xx|ŋ͡mʷɔʔlafa}}.
;Sources

⚫
* {{cite gvp|vnum=0507-001|name=Motlav}}
⚫
==History==
Like the [[Vanuatu#Prehistory|rest of Vanuatu]], Motalava was first settled around the [[12th century BC|{{BCE|12th century}}]] by [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] navigators belonging to the [[Lapita culture]]. Archaeologists have found ancient [[obsidian]] in Mota Lava, [[Vanua Lava]] and [[Gaua]], and [[Lapita culture|Lapita]] pottery have been found in the island.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1353/asi.2008.0003| issn = 1535-8283| volume = 47| issue = 1| pages = 95–120| last1 = Bedford| first1 = Stuart| last2 = Spriggs| first2 = Matthew|author2-link = Matthew Spriggs| title = Northern Vanuatu as a Pacific Crossroads: The Archaeology of Discovery, Interaction, and the Emergence of the "Ethnographic Present"| journal = Asian Perspectives| access-date = 2019-02-01| date = 2008| url = http://muse.jhu.edu/content/crossref/journals/asian_perspectives/v047/47.1bedford.pdf| hdl = 10125/17282| s2cid = 53485887| hdl-access = free}}.</ref><ref>See p.86 of {{Cite web| publisher = Australian National University| last = Reepmeyer| first = Christian| title = The obsidian sources and distribution systems emanating from Gaua and Vanua Lava in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu| location = Canberra, ACT| date = 2009 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262107079}}.</ref>

⚫
The island was first sighted by Europeans during the Spanish expedition of [[Pedro Fernández de Quirós]], from 25 to 29 April 1606. The island’s name was then charted as ''Lágrimas de San Pedro'' (“St. Peter's Tears”, in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]).<ref>Kelly, Celsus, O.F.M. ''La Austrialia del Espíritu Santo. The Journal of Fray Martín de Munilla O.F.M. and other documents relating to the Voyage of Pedro Fernández de Quirós to the South Sea (1605-1606) and the Franciscan Missionary Plan (1617-1627)'' Cambridge, 1966, p.39, 62.</ref>

==Notes and references==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

⚫
===References===
⚫
* {{cite gvp|vn=257001|name=Motlav}}
* {{cite journal
* {{cite journal
| author = David W. Peate |author2=[[Julian Pearce (geochemist)|Julian A. Pearce]] |author3=Chris J. Hawkesworth |author4=Howard Colley |author5=Caroline M. H. Edwards |author6=Kei Hirose
| author = David W. Peate |author2=Julian A. Pearce |author2-link=Julian Pearce (geochemist) |author3=Chris J. Hawkesworth |author4=Howard Colley |author5=Caroline M. H. Edwards |author6=Kei Hirose
| year = 1997
| year = 1997
| title = Geochemical Variations in Vanuatu Arc Lavas: the Role of Subducted Material and a Variable Mantle Wedge Composition
| title = Geochemical Variations in Vanuatu Arc Lavas: the Role of Subducted Material and a Variable Mantle Wedge Composition
Line 75: Line 81:
| issue = 10
| issue = 10
| pages = 1331–1358
| pages = 1331–1358
| url = http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/petroj/online/Volume_38/Issue_10/html/ega059_gml.html
| accessdate = 2007-05-10
| doi = 10.1093/petrology/38.10.1331
| doi = 10.1093/petrology/38.10.1331
| doi-access = free}}
| doi-access = free}}
*{{cite book|last=Vienne|first=Bernard|year=1984|title=Gens de Motlav - Idéologie et pratique sociale en Mélanésie|place=Paris|series=Société des Océanistes|publisher=ORSTOM |url=https://books.openedition.org/sdo/961|ref=BV_motlav}}


==External links==
===External links===
* [http://alex.francois.online.fr/ An introduction to the culture of Mota Lava and its surroundings] – featuring photos, maps, access to linguistic documents and traditional stories <small>(site of the linguist [[Alexandre François]])</small>
* [http://www.positiveearth.org/bungalows/TORBA/mota_lava.htm Tourism site with map]
** {{in lang|fr}} [http://alex.francois.online.fr/AF-motalava-e.htm A Journey to Motalava] (''Promenade ethnolinguistique à Motalava'')
* [http://alex.francois.free.fr/ Site of the linguist Alexandre François], including an introduction to the culture of Mota Lava and its language ([[Mwotlap]]), as well as photos, maps, songs, a myth, and a traditional story


{{Provinces and islands of Vanuatu}}
{{Provinces and islands of Vanuatu}}

{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Islands of Vanuatu]]
[[Category:Islands of Vanuatu]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of Vanuatu]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of Vanuatu]]
[[Category:Torba Province]]
[[Category:Torba Province]]
[[Category:Banks Islands]]

Revision as of 18:46, 23 August 2024

Motalava
Native name:
Mwotlap
Mota Lava, viewed from space. The islet of Ra can be seen in this image at a point southwest of Mota Lava.
Geography
LocationPacific Ocean
Coordinates13°42′S 167°39′E / 13.7°S 167.65°E / -13.7; 167.65
ArchipelagoVanuatu, Banks Islands
Area24 km2 (9.3 sq mi)
Administration
Vanuatu
ProvinceTorba Province
Largest settlementLahlap
Demographics
Population1640 (2009)
Pop. density67/km2 (174/sq mi)

Mota Lava or Motalava is an island of the Banks group, in the north of Vanuatu. It forms a single coral system with the small island of Ra.

The 2009 census figures[1] give a population of 1640 inhabitants (Mota Lava + Ra), which amounts to a population density of 67 people per km2.

Geography

Geography and geology

With an area of 24 km2 (9.3 sq mi), Mota Lava is the fourth largest island in the Banks Islands, after Gaua, Vanua Lava and Ureparapara. It is the highest (411 m or 1,348 ft) of the eastern chain of islands, as well as the largest.

Ra, a small island of 50 ha (120 acres), is located 270 meters (886 ft) off the southern coast of Mota Lava. It is attached to it by high corals that one can wade through at low tide.

The climate on Mota Lava is humid tropical. The average annual rainfall exceeds 4000 mm. The island is subject to frequent earthquakes and cyclones.

The island is served by Mota Lava Airport.

Geology

Mota Lava is composed of at least five basaltic stratovolcanoes. Two of the cones, Vetman and Tuntog, are well-preserved. Vetman is a pyroclastic cone in the centre of the island with a breached summit crater. At the southwest end of the island, Tuntog is a composite cone with a 500 meters (1,640 feet) wide crater.

Geochemical analysis shows that the island's lava has a similar composition to that from nearby Mota and Ureparapara, as well as lava from the south of the country, but differs from material erupted in central Vanuatu. The latter region has been affected by the subduction of a submerged, extinct island arc complex called the D'Entrecasteaux Zone.

Name and language

In early 19th-century texts and maps, Mota Lava was called Saddle Island, after the distinctive saddle-shaped profile it presents when seen from a boat offshore.

The inhabitants of Mota Lava call the island Mwotlap, locally spelled M̄otlap (pronounced [ŋ͡mʷɔtˈlap]).[2]

The language spoken by the inhabitants of Motalava is also called Mwotlap. It is the most widely spoken language in the Banks Islands, with about 2,100 speakers. The recently extinct Volow language also used to be spoken on Mota Lava.

An early attempt to transcribe the native name, both for the island and the language, yielded a form Motlav.

The name M̄ota Lava [ŋ͡mʷota laβa] (or in simple spelling, Motalava) caught on after it started being used by 19th-century missionaries to the island. They borrowed that name from the language spoken on neighbouring Mota. Both the Mota and Mwotlap names of the island descend from a protoform *mʷota laβa in Proto-Torres-Banks, literally "large Mota". A process of vowel deletion, regular in Mwotlap, explains how *[mʷotaˈlaβa] was shortened to [ŋ͡mʷɔtˈlap].

Names for the island in other Torres-Banks languages include Vera'a M̄o'lava IPA: [ŋ͡mʷɔʔlafa].

History

Like the rest of Vanuatu, Motalava was first settled around the 12th century BCE by Austronesian navigators belonging to the Lapita culture. Archaeologists have found ancient obsidian in Mota Lava, Vanua Lava and Gaua, and Lapita pottery have been found in the island.[3][4]

The island was first sighted by Europeans during the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fernández de Quirós, from 25 to 29 April 1606. The island’s name was then charted as Lágrimas de San Pedro (“St. Peter's Tears”, in Spanish).[5]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ "2009 National Census of Population and Housing: Summary Release" (PDF). Vanuatu National Statistics Office. 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ Entry “M̄otlap” in the Online Mwotlap dictionary by A. François.
  3. ^ Bedford, Stuart; Spriggs, Matthew (2008). "Northern Vanuatu as a Pacific Crossroads: The Archaeology of Discovery, Interaction, and the Emergence of the "Ethnographic Present"" (PDF). Asian Perspectives. 47 (1): 95–120. doi:10.1353/asi.2008.0003. hdl:10125/17282. ISSN 1535-8283. S2CID 53485887. Retrieved 2019-02-01..
  4. ^ See p.86 of Reepmeyer, Christian (2009). "The obsidian sources and distribution systems emanating from Gaua and Vanua Lava in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu". Canberra, ACT: Australian National University..
  5. ^ Kelly, Celsus, O.F.M. La Austrialia del Espíritu Santo. The Journal of Fray Martín de Munilla O.F.M. and other documents relating to the Voyage of Pedro Fernández de Quirós to the South Sea (1605-1606) and the Franciscan Missionary Plan (1617-1627) Cambridge, 1966, p.39, 62.

References

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