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The South Pacific
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Cook Islands History and Culture
The Cook Islands may not be the first destination that comes to mind when you think about visiting the South Pacific. Too bad! Many say the Cook Islands are akin to other more popular South Pacific island destinations before tourism came along and changed the tranquil atmosphere of those islands to something more akin to a Spring Break venue.
An Island Overview
The nation of the Cook Islands is located in the middle of the South Pacific, about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. Made up of 15 individual islands, the Cook Islands are spread over 850,000 square miles (2.2 million square kilometers).
The islands are separated into two groups – North and South – with the majority of the population living in the nine southern or “high” islands. The remaining six islands of the north are atolls - ring-shaped coral reefs that form around a volcanic island. Rarotonga is the capital island and boasts the highest population. It also has the best tourist infrastructure.
Cook Islands History
Historians believe that Polynesians first came to Rarotonga in about 800 AD. These arrivals were thought to be from Tupua'i in French Polynesia. Settlers who came to the northern islands were probably from Samoa and Tonga, escaping over-population on their own islands, in search of more living space.
Europeans didn’t travel to the Cook Islands until the early 17th century, with the Spaniards given the credit for the first sightings. The British would eventually arrive in 1764, and Captain James Cook, the explorer for whom the islands were eventually named, landed on various southern group islands between 1773 and 1779. Cook bestowed the name Hervey Islands upon the southern group, but Russian cartographers changed the name to Cook Islands in the early 1800s.
Rarotonga was sighted in 1813 and, before long, missionaries began arriving here, hoping to spread Christianity and reform the “immoral” ways of the natives, doing away with cannibalism and polygamy. With the missionaries and their families came diseases, reducing the population of the islands by about two-thirds.
In the mid-1800s, the rulers of the Cook Islands, particularly Queen Makea, asked for protection from the British against the French (who had taken Tahiti) and their wish was eventually granted in 1900, when the nation was annexed to New Zealand.
After decades under New Zealand’s authority, the Cook Islands finally became self-governing in 1965. Cook Islanders can still enjoy dual citizenship in New Zealand. According to its constitution, the country is governed by a Parliament of 24 elected representatives including one who represents Cook Islanders living in New Zealand and Australia. Compared to several other South Pacific island nations, it enjoys a peaceful existence with little or no strife.
The Culture
It is largely agreed that, given migration patterns in the South Pacific, Cook Islanders are purely Polynesian. Physically, most resemble the Maoris of New Zealand and the Tahitians, though one will find a definite Samoan influence on the northern islands of Nassau and Pukapuka.
Cook Islanders, for the most part, are a very conservative lot and religion plays an important part in the lives of the individuals and families here. They take good care of each other and are eager to extend hospitality to visitors as well.
As was tradition in the early days, when Cook Islands’ rulers were largely women, the female is still highly revered in this island nation. Women are given responsibility over the land on which their family lives, they control the money, and together, the women decide how best to run the church and the village.
Dance and music are the center of culture on the Cook Islands and have been for many, many years. Festivals that incorporate dancing and beautiful harmonic singing (so popular in the islands’ churches) are quite frequent. Drumming is also a major part of any special event or ceremony.
The unique visual arts of the Cook Islands are evident in their intricate woodworking, basket and hat weaving, and in the art of tivaevae, akin to patchwork quilting.