.jpg) Landsat picture of the island. | |
 Owaraha (Santa Ana) is located off the eastern end of Makira Island | |
  Owaraha Location in Solomon Islands | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | South Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 10°49′42″S162°27′49″E / 10.82833°S 162.46361°E /-10.82833; 162.46361 |
| Archipelago | Solomon Islands (archipelago) |
| Area | 15.7 km2 (6.1 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 143 m (469 ft) |
| Highest point | Farina |
| Administration | |
| Province | Makira-Ulawa Province |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 1547 (2009) |
Owaraha orOwa Raha (also known asSanta Ana) is an island inMakira-Ulawa Province,Solomon Islands.
This relatively smallcoral island is 5.6 km long and 4.5 km wide. It is located at the eastern end ofMakira (San Cristobal), separated from it by a 7.5 km wide strait, and just north of smallerOwariki (Santa Catalina). The sound between Owaraha and Owariki is only 2.5 km wide. The island has two main villages Gupuna (or Ghupuna) and Nafinotoga. The inhabitants of Owaraha speak theOwa language and share the same culture with the people in Owariki and in the eastern end of Makira Island. The Pagewa and Aiga Tatari clans of Owaraha and other nearby islands claim descent from the refugees fromTeonimanu which was washed away.
First recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition ofÁlvaro de Mendaña on 4 July 1568. More precisely the sighting and also landing in Owahara was due to a local voyage done by a small boat, in the accounts thebrigantineSantiago, commanded byFrancisco Muñoz Rico and havingHernán Gallego as pilot. They charted it asSanta Ana.[1][2]
Owaraha was visited byAustrian anthropologist and photographerHugo Bernatzik in 1932. Bernatzik carefully documented daily life among the island people and published anethnography a few years later. He also took some of the best and earliest photographs of the islanders, reflecting a culture that he deemed was dying in contact with the modern world.[3]
During his sojourn in Owaraha Bernatzik metHeinrich Küper, aGerman adventurer who lived in Gupuna village. Küper was married to a respectable local woman, Kafagamurirongo, and was the onlywhite who ever reached thearafa (high person) status within aMelanesian community. Küper's grandchildren still live in Owaraha.[4]
Media related toOwaraha at Wikimedia Commons| Central | |
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| Choiseul | |
| Guadalcanal | |
| Isabel | |
| Makira-Ulawa | |
| Malaita | |
| Rennell and Bellona | |
| Temotu | |
| Western | |
Authority control databases: National |
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