For those fascinated to know about a past war history of sea warriors from Moanus Village. Moanus Village as it is now known as old Pere, was the village of all Titan tribe scathered in SE and SW Admiralty Islands today. MOANUS is not an English name/word but rather the name of a divine person that came from nowhere to my Titan forefathers when they first landed here straight after the great storm. His name was Moanus and he named those rocky islands that became the home village of all Titans after his own name.
MOANUS is an Austronesian name like TE MOANA, MOAI, MOANA, etc. That's where Manus Province got it's name from when a whitemen ship came to Pere MOANUS Village in 1800s. It used to be known back then as Tewi or something but changed to Manus today by our colonial masters, when this whitemen ship came to PereMoanus and they wrote it down as MANUS in their ships logbook. Anyway.
THE SINKING OF A GERMAN NAVAL SHIP LED BY A MYSTERY WARRIOR
There was this German Navy Ship (coal engine operated) anchored near Potamo Island & Ndromolou in late 1800s, now where Lawes people are settled. My clansmen from Pwanchal Pere went fishing at Loring'au harbour and Lomburun side, and on their way back home to PereMoanus, they sighted this ship from where Loniu Bridge is now (Pwa Wai). Loniu was an ancient Moanus Titan village as well. The original Loniu Village was at a sandy lagoon at Ndrupiu point. The Titan remnant relatives are there at Loniu today.
The Pwanchal Pere fishing party leader upon sighting this German ship near Potamo Island asked the fishermen warriors if they wanted to attack the ship. But the fishermen warriors were a bit reluctant and said to their leader...sapos Ponawan Tali MweiYapol istap ba orait. (If Ponawan was here would be good). So the fishing chief Tali Salaiyau instructed for a canoe to paddle from Loniu passage all the way to old Pere Moanus to get Ponawan TaliMweiyapol, purposely to lead the attack on the German ship. The canoe returned to Loniu Passage or Pwa Wai with Ponawan. They planned how to attack the ship and waited for the cover of darkness for them to launch the attack. As night fall and when the ship's crews were fast asleep, the sea warriors paddled quietly to the ship in the cover of darkness. The assault commander Ponawan crawled up first onto the German Navy ship. Ponawan's task was to kill the ship's Captain first at the wheelhouse or flight bridge and throw him down to the deck to signal all fishermen warriors to go on full scale attack. Everything went swiftly well as they planned and the ship was wiped out with all her naval crews slaughtered and the ship was set on fire. As the sea warriors were paddling away from the burning ship towards Pwamachau, there was a huge explosion from the ship. I assumed that the fire caught the cannon gun ammunition/gun powder storage room and coal so it exploded and the ship sank that fast. The shipwreck is still there today near Potamo Island and has turned into a reef. I estimated the shipwreck reef to be about 80- 100 metres long and at the bottom of the sea and almost reaching the surface, meaning the ship is a big enough ship and probably a naval frigate class ship.
In 1970s divers go there to dive for brass metals and whatever to sell to a white man buyer at Lorengau.
When my old man wanted to tell me this story in about 1980/81, he was kinda afraid to tell me for fear of any possibile repercussions from German authorities, but I told him that what happened long ago by our forefathers is long gone, and we can't be held responsible for it.
I've been thinking about informing the German History people for them to know about one of their missing Navy ship, sunk at south Manus sometime in between late 1880-1900.
Straight after the attack on the German ship, Ponawan fled west to his other relatives that had gone before to Mbuke Island in 1600s/1700s. His name was already changed to Nyachili purposely to avoid being investigated by German authorities, as their navy ruled the seas in those days. Ponawan Nyachili became the deadliest warrior chief at Mbuke Island, leading many daring tribal war parties as told today by Mbuke people. He remained a mysterious man eversince and Mbuke people didn't fully know where he came from, and even recently Mbuke people kept asking, which family of Pere did Nyachili come from? Nyachili is Ponawan TaliMweiyapol formerly of Pwanchal PereMoanus. He disappeared from PereMoanus and hid himself there at Mbuke. Ponawan Nyachili was one of my grandfather's brother to Pwayap and Ponyou and their sisters Ningu and Songola. My grandfather Ponyou died a normal death of old age. Pwayap another deadly warrior mamu was shot with a musket rifle by Polot clansmen who stole the gun from Germans at Kumuli Plantation. The shooting of my mamu Pwayap as he was paddling back to PereMoanus from Chalalou was planned by Ndropwa Clan of Mbunai, because he was a very feared warrior too. But my mamu Ponawan fled west to Mbuke with others after the sinking of the German naval ship. Whilst he was still at PereMoanus, he already changed his name from Ponawan to Nyachili (ghost) to avoid investigations and arrest by Germans. Yeah so Ponawan is Nyachili and Nyachili is Ponawan TaliMweiyapol. The brief story of Nyachili is recorded in the ancient Pere oral history by American anthropologist Dr. Margaret Mead, and told by a Pere Lapan Pokanau Tanou Tali Salayau. Nyachili Ponawan TaliMweiyapol was from Pwambuli Pwanchal Pere Moanus and migrated to Mbuke in late 1800s. This story can put to rest the search by M'buke people of where this mysterious man Nyachili was really from. He was from Pere Moanus and not from Nali or Powai. For a start, NYACHILI is a Moanus Titan name like Pochili. The audio recording by Dr. Margaret Mead of a Pere Lapan is with us here.
