Through Mauricio, who translates, I inquire: Would the Nahnmwarki be interested in setting aside old grievances and cooperating with the state and other stakeholders in order to take advantage of this opportunity?
Certainly, the national government [of the Federated States of Micronesia] would have no objection. We head for the ruins in the boat to take a look at what kind of rehabilitation would be appropriate. Most of it was built from the 13th to the 17th centuries by the Saudeleurs, descendants of two brothers of unknown provenance who founded a religious community in the sixth century focused on the adoration of the sea.
On their third attempt to build their political, religious and residential center, they settled on this patch of coral flats. They and their successors brought from the other side of the island columns of black lava rock up to 20 feet long that are naturally pentagonal or hexagonal and straight. They used them in a log cabin formation to build outer walls as well as foundations filled in with lumps of coral to create elevated platforms where traditional thatched structures were used as lodgings.
Even with all the sunshine in the world washing over the thick green jungle and aquamarine water beyond, the unadorned black architecture is intimidating.
The tyrannical last Saudeleur ruler was overthrown by an outsider named Isohkelekel who instituted the system of multiple chiefs that remains today. The Nahnmwarki of Madolenihmw is directly descended from him. Because of this bloodline, most Pohnpeians feel he is the legitimate supervisor of the ruins.
Most Pohnpeians are content to believe they used magic to fly them. The easiest way to see Nan Madol is to take a cab from Kolonia, the little capital of Pohnpei, park on an unmarked spot and walk for nearly a mile through a primitive jungle path.
When you arrive, only a channel separates you from the main building, the Nandawas. The odds are good that you will have the place to yourself. Having your own boat at high tide allows you to go much farther. We glide though the channel, the outboard purring. The islands are covered with almost impenetrable jungle.
A large component of the rehabilitation effort, if it happens, will be to clear brush to make the buildings accessible. The other component would be dredging the main channels so the ruins are accessible to boats at all times.
The islets are surrounded by narrow stretches of water, resembling canals, so it's not surprising that Nan Madol is sometimes referred to as "the Venice of Micronesia.
One part of the city, built from basalt columns, was for priests and rulers; the other half was the administration center. It comprised temples, burial vaults, meeting houses, public baths and pools for turtles, fish and eels. No one in Pohnpei knows exactly how Nan Madol was built or why the early inhabitants undertook such a mammoth task, but islanders swear ancient kings known as Nahnmwarkis used magic. Scientists say the basalt boulders, some as heavy as 50 tons, were transported by rafts to Nan Madol from the other side of the island and levered into place with palm tree trunks.
The boulders were dragged inch by inch up log ramps before being piled one atop the other, they said. No mortar was used to hold them together. Construction by thousands of workers probably took hundreds of years.
Scientists estimate the ruins are about years old and believe they are the only such structure in the dozens of islands scattered across the Pacific basin.
The site of Nan Madol is also bordered by tidal canals. Before , Nan Madol was the capital of the Saudeleur Dynasty. There are about 25, people that inhabited the island of Pohnpei during this time. However, legends claim that the builders of the Leluh archaeological site in Kosrae moved to Pohnpei. Hence, they used the same skills they used to form those archaeological sites in Kosrae to build the Nan Madol complex.
But recent studies show and with the help of radiocarbon dating that Nan Madol was built before Leluh. Hence, it is more likely that Leluh was influenced by Nan Madol rather than the other way around. The center of the Nan Madol Complex served as the place of residence for the nobility. Meanwhile, mortuary activities were also conducted here with the help of priests.
The ruling chief of the Saudeleur dynasty used Nan Madol as a means to organize and control anyone who could become his rival. He made them move to the city rather than live in their individual home districts wherein monitoring their activity would be more difficult.
The political function of Nan Madol is, therefore, part of its cultural value. Give yourself at least an hour, if not more, to explore the site. There is no visitor center and little to nothing in the way of interpretative material.
If possible, hire a guide who can share some of the oral histories of the site. The hard part about visiting Nan Madol is getting to the island of Pohnpei.
0コメント