[1] During 1943 the island was briefly occupied by 500 Japanese troops from the 51st Reconnaissance Regiment which was commanded by Col. Jiro Sato.
By early December 1943, after several allied bombing runs, the Japanese withdrew from the island.
[1] The Siassi support themselves through traditional trade based on a barter system; they are important middlemen who deliver pigs, pots and ornate wooden bowls by sea in their canoes.
[2] The people of the Siassi islands continue to believe in witchcraft and consider it to be the root cause of unfortunate events such as illness or crop failure.
[6] Local folklore claims that a large bioluminescent winged creature, referred to as a Ropen, can be observed flying around the skies of this and other surrounding islands.