Abstract
Nauru was originally settled by Melanesians and Polynesians. Tradition holds that among the earliest settlers were castaways from another island, probably Kiribati. The name ‘Nauru’ is a European corruption of ‘A-nao-ero’, which means ‘I am going to the beach to lay my bones’. The island has had little contact with its neighbours, enabling its distinctive language to survive. By the 18th century the society was organized into 12 matrilineal tribes, each headed by a different chief.
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Further Reading
McDaniel, Carl N., Paradise for Sale: Back to Sustainability. 2000
National Statistical Office: Nauru Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Finance, Government Offices, Yaren District.
Website: http://www.spc.int/prism/country/nr/stats
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© 2013 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Turner, B. (2013). Nauru. In: Turner, B. (eds) The Statesman’s Yearbook. The Statesman’s Yearbook. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-59643-0_282
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-59643-0_282
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-230-37769-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-59643-0
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