More Polynesian Islands

Marquesas

Ka'oha is the greeting of affection shared by the Polynesian people of the Marquesas — a beautiful group of high-rise tropical islands near the equator that may not be as well known as other parts of Polynesia...at least at first.

The Marquesas, which today are part of French Polynesia, were once heavily populated with a highly advanced Polynesian culture. The people had their own language and unique customs. Marquesan tattooing and carving, for example, are distinctive in design. The ancestors of some Hawaiians are known to have migrated from there. Western artists such as Paul Gauguin and Herman Melville were inspired by the beauty of the people and place; and the Marquesan tohua, or ceremonial platform that has been carefully recreated at the Polynesian Cultural Center, is exquisite.

The Tohua:

Unlike other parts of the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Marquesas islands area does not represent a typical village, but rather a high chief's residential compound that centuries ago would have been the focal point of a village, or a chiefly plaza of sorts where important events took place.

The Marquesan tohua, which is unique throughout Polynesia, consists of the Hakaiki or chief's residence, the Ha'e Ko'o'ua or "old men's house," a drumming platform, the Ha'e Patu Tiki or "tattooing house," the Ha'e Tukau or "religious sanctuary," a Ha'e Toa or "warrior's house," the Ha'e Manihi'i or "guest house," the Ha'e Vehine for women and children, a medicine hut and a Ha'e Kuki cooking area.The Polynesian Cultural Center added a new Rapa Nui exhibit as part of its 40th anniversary celebration in 2003.

Rapa Nui is the Polynesian name for Easter Island, which forms the eastern apex of the Polynesian Triangle. Totally out of proportion to its small size, Rapa Nui is famous throughout the world for its historic stone statues, which the Polynesian people there call moai [pronounced like 'mo-eye'].

In preparing for the new exhibit, the Polynesian Cultural Center, with the consent of the government (Easter Island is a territory of Chile) and elders of Rapa Nui, invited four respected stone carvers to Laie, Hawaii, where they created seven authentic moai: two of them approximately 6 meters long are reclining — one of them partially finished; and the other five about 3.5 meters high have been erected on an ahu or burial platform patterned after the famous one in Rapa Nui: Ahu Nau Nau at Anakena.

When the four Rapa Nui carvers finished their work in the spring of 2003, they named the platform where the five moai now stand Ahu Tu'u Koihu in honor of the first Rapa Nui chief who oral history says started the tradition of building the statues that have become icons of Polynesia to the rest of the world.

While the moai are obviously the main focus, the new exhibit also includes a Hare Vaka — literally a "canoe house," so named because its shape is that of an overturned canoe. The people of Rapa Nui say the aerodynamic shape of the hare vaka helps counter island winds. The Mana Vai or "gardening pit" is an innovation unique to Polynesian places that do not have much soil, such as coral atolls and Rapa Nui: The people dig composting pits, sometimes sheltered by natural features, where they plant staple foods such as taro, bananas, sugar cane and sweet potato. A partially finished Hare Ma'ea or "stone house" also shows the type of historic structures on Rapa Nui that played a part in their annual Tangata Manu or "bird man" competitions.

Find out more about Rapa Nui

 There are approximately three dozen different groups of Polynesian people. The Polynesian Cultural Center showcases the people and island nations of Hawaii, Samoa, Aotearoa (Maori New Zealand), Fiji, the Marquesas, Tahiti and Tonga. In addition, we also have a new Rapa Nui (Easter Island) exhibit featuring seven hand-carved moai or stone statues.

Of the other Polynesian islands and people, the Cultural Center's web site provides information on:

• Cook Islands

• Tuvalu

• Tokelau

• Niue

• Wallis and Futuna

• Pitcairn

• Truant Archipelago

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands, with its population of about 19,000, is the largest group of Polynesian people who have yet to be represented at the Polynesian Cultural Center, although a number of Cook Islanders attend Brigham Young University Hawaii and work at the PCC. The traditions of the Cook Island Maori, as they call themselves, trace their ancestry on the southern islands back to Tahiti and the Marquesas over 1,000 years ago, with Samoan and Tongan migrations settling in the northern islands. Cook Island tradition also says some of the New Zealand Maori migrations originated in their islands.

The Spaniard Mendaña spotted the northern Cook Island of Pukapuka in 1595, during his same journey from South America to the Philippines that he also discovered the Marquesas and Tuvalu. The Cook Islands are obviously named after British explorer Capt. James Cook, who sighted them in 1770, although the islands didn't become a British protectorate until 1888. By 1900, Great Britain transferred administrative control over the islands to New Zealand. In 1965 the people chose a self-government status in free association with New Zealand. Consequently, a relatively large number of Rarotongans or Cook Islanders live in New Zealand.

The majority of the population lives among the eight elevated southern islands, with its capital on Rarotonga. There are also seven low-lying, sparsely populated northern islands.

Cook Islands Map

For more information on the Cook Islands:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cw.html

http://www.ck/

Niue

Niue is a single island approximately 240 miles east of Tonga. Its roughly circular shape encompasses approximately 100 square miles and has a population of about 2,100. Although geographically part of the Cook Islands, Niue is an administratively separate, self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. It's estimated more Niueans live in New Zealand than on the island.

Anthropologists believe Samoans settled the island about AD 900, and their own traditions say another group came from Tonga in the 16th century. Consequently, their distinctive Polynesian language is closely related to both Samoan and Tongan. British explorer Capt. James Cook sighted Niue in 1774 and named it Savage Island because the people did not allow him to land.

Niue is one of the world's largest coral islands.

Niue Map

For more information on Niue:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ne.html

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/pacific/niue/index.htm

Tuvalu

According to their own traditions, the people of Tuvalu — which means "cluster of eight" low-lying coral atolls which total less than 10 square miles of land mass — came from Samoa, Tonga, the northern Cook Islands, Rotuma and the Gilbert Islands (now called Kiribati), starting in the 14th century. The islands first came to the attention of the western world in 1595, when the Spaniard Mendaña stumbled across them en route from South America to the Philippines.

In more recent times Tuvalu came under British control and was known as the Ellice Islands, which were administered jointly with the nearby Gilbert Islands. In 1974, the approximately 11,000 Polynesian people of the Ellice Islands elected to separate from the Micronesian people of the Gilberts. They returned to the traditional name of their island group, but remained a British colony for about four more years, declaring independence in 1978. The capital is on the small island of Funafuti.

Tuvalu, one of the smallest and more remote countries in the world, is concerned global warming might eventually lead to their atolls being inundated by a rising ocean.

Tuvalu Map

For more information on Tuvalu:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tv.html

http://www.tuvaluislands.com/

http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tv.html

Wallis and Futuna

Scientific evidence indicates Wallis, which is traditionally called Uvea, and Futuna — which are located between Samoa and Fiji — were historically settled over 2,000 years ago. About 500 years ago, marauding Tongans captured the islands and intermarried with the Polynesian people there.

British navigator Samuel Wallis discovered Uvea in 1767, but the islands have been under French administration since 1842. Today, about 9,500 Polynesians live on Wallis and about 5,000 on Futuna. A relatively large number of Wallisians also live in New Caledonia and Vanuatu, which was previously a French territory.

For more information on the French Territory of Wallis and Futuna islands:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/wf.html

http://wallis-islands.com/index.gb.htm

The Tuamotus

Approximately 76 low coral islands and atolls make up the Tuamotu islands, which are located to the east of Tahiti and comprise one of five French Polynesia districts that many people collectively think of as Tahiti. They were once called the "dangerous archipelago" because of their challenging currents, shallow reefs, narrow sailing passages and susceptibility to bad weather.

While the approximately 15,000 Polynesian people of the Tuamotus, who call themselves Paumotu, are very similar to Tahitians, in fact they speak their own distinctive language...as well as Tahitian and French. Some anthropologists believe these islands were first inhabited over 1,200 years ago by Polynesians migrating from the Marquesas.

Today, the beautiful lagoons of the Tuamotus are somewhat famous as a yachting and diving destination as well as the site of many black pearl oyster farms. The southern Tuamotu islands are also somewhat infamous as the site of French underground nuclear testing from 1963-96, and related concerns about their environmental impact.

Tuamotu map

Tuamotu Travel Source

Tokelau

Linguistic analysis indicates that Tokelau was settled from Samoa. British commodore John Byron was the first European visitor, and gave the smallest island, Atafu, the name Duke of York Island. Captain Edwards of HMS Pandora sighted the largest island, Nukunono, while searching for HMS Bounty mutineers in 1791. He subsequently named it Duke of Clarence Island.

Tokelau Map

http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tl.html

Pitcairn:

British naval officer Philip Carteret discovered Pitcairn Island in 1767, naming it after the sailor who first sighted the island. In 1790, Fletcher Christian led the mutineers of the British ship HMS Bounty to the island. They and their Tahitian companions settled there. A small number of their descendants still inhabit the island.

Pitcairn Map

http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/pc.html