Sapwuahfik


Sapwuahfik, formerly Ngatik, or the Raven Islands is a atoll of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is a village and municipality of roughly 430 people on a land area of in the state of Pohnpei.

Geography

It is located southwest of the main island of Pohnpei in the Eastern Caroline Islands and consists of 10 individual islands on the reef. The largest and only inhabited island is Ngatik, at the western end.
The atoll is long and up to wide. The lagoon measures in area, and the total area is. The aggregate land area of the 10 islands is, of which the main island Ngatik is, or more than half. While Ngatik is the only inhabited island, the six larger of the remaining islands are used by the population for harvesting coconuts and growing taro, and animal husbandry. There are 12 buildings for temporary shelter on those islands.
The islands, clockwise, starting at Ngatik in the west:
IslandArea
km²		Location
Ngatik0.906western end
Peina0.206north
Bigen Karakar0.025northeast
Jirup0.023east
Bigen Kelang0.047east
Pikepe 0.009east
Dekehnman0.009eastern end
Wat0.281eastern end
Pikenmetkow0.006southeast
Uataluk 0.039south
Sapwuahfik 1.551fringing reef

Airfield

Sapwuahfik has an airstrip that lies just off the island of Ngatik, the Sapwuahfik Civil Airfield. Coastal erosion has cut the airstrip off from the island by about 20 meters, making it necessary to ferry arriving and departing passengers between it and Ngatik by boat. There are on-call personnel who go to the airfield whenever a flight is expected.

Population

The population of Sapwuahfik is approximately 433. The culture is closely related to that of Pohnpei, its closest neighbor; however it retains its own distinctive character.
The local creole, Ngatik Men's Creole, developed as a result of the 1837 Ngatik massacre, during which the island's male population was wiped out by the crew of Australian captain C.H. Hart and Pohnpeian warriors. Some of the Europeans and Pohnpeians settled and repopulated the island, taking the local women as wives. The island formed a new culture and language, a mixture of English and Ngatikese. In addition to the creole, which is only spoken by men, all of the residents speak Ngatikese, a Pohnpeic language closely related to the Pohnpeian language.

History

The atoll was first discovered by Westerners on 6 April 1773 by the Spanish naval officer Felipe Tompson when sailing from Manila to San Blas in New Spain on board of the vessel Nuestra Señora de la Consolación also called in short Buen Fin. Tompson charted the island as Los Valientes. At some point between 1793 and 1796, William Raven, captain of Britannia gave a firm sighting to the island.

Education

operates public schools: