Mangaia
Encyclopedia
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
and the second largest, after Rarotonga
Rarotonga
Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 , out of the country's total population of 19,569.The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga...
.
Geography
Geologists estimate the island is at least 18 million years old, making it the oldest in the Pacific. It rises 4750 m (15,600 ft) above the ocean floor and has a land area of 51.8 km2. It has a central volcanic plateauVolcanic plateau
A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity. There are two main types: lava plateaus and pyroclastic plateaus.-Lava plateau:...
and, like many of the southern Cook Islands, it is surrounded by a high ring of cliffs of fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
60 m (200 ft) high, known as the makatea
Makatea
Makatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae, is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus. It is located 79 km southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser group. It is surrounded by spectacular cliffs, rising to a plateau 80 meters above the sea level. This island is...
. The highest point is Rangi-motia, 169 m above sea level, near the centre of the island. Lake Tiriara
Lake Tiriara
Tiriara is a lake in the south of the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands. It is the largest freshwater lake in the Cook Islands....
is a body of fresh water in the south.
The population of Mangaia comprises about 700 people. The capital is the village of Oneroa
Oneroa, Cook Islands
Oneroa is the largest village on Mangaia, one of the Cook Islands.It is located in the west of the island, in the district of Kei'a, and contains over half of the island's population....
, on the west coast, containing about half the population. There are two more villages, Tamarua in the south and Ivirua in the northeast.
Subdivisions
Traditionally, the island has been subdivided into six districts or puna headed by district chiefs or pava, which are very nearly sectors meeting at the highest point near the center of the island, Rangi-motia..The districts are, as on some other islands of the Lower Cook Islands, further subdivided into 38 traditional sub-districts called tapere
Tapere
A tapere or sub-district is a low level of traditional land subdivision on five of the Lower Cook Islands , comparable to the ahupua'a of the main Hawaiian Islands. Among the populated raised islands, only Mitiaro is not subdivided into tapere...
.
In the Cook Islands constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
however, the six districts are listed as tapere.
The districts clockwise, starting in the north, with their sub-districts, are:
- Tava'engaTava'engaTava'enga is one of the six traditional districts of the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands. It is located in the north of the island, to the west of the District of Karanga and east of the District of Kei'a....
District- Tapere of Ta'iti
- Tapere of Te-rupe
- Tapere of Maro
- Tapere of Au-ruia
- Tapere of Te-mati-o-Pa'eru
- Tapere of Te-pueu
- KarangaKaranga (district)Karanga is the smallest of the six traditional districts of the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands. It is located in the northeast of the island, to the east of the District of Tava'enga and northwest of the District of Ivirua....
District- Tapere of Teia-roa
- Tapere of Teia-poto
- Tapere of Teia-pini
- Tapere of Kaau-i-miri
- Tapere of Kaau-i-uta
- IviruaIviruaIvirua is one of the six traditional districts of the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands. It is located in the east of the island, to the southeast of the District of Karanga and north of the District of Tamarua....
District- Tapere of Avarari
- Tapere of Te-i'i-maru
- Tapere of Te-uturei
- Tapere of Te-ara-nui-o-Toi
- Tapere of Te-korokoro
- Tapere of Te-pauru-o-Rongo
- TamaruaTamaruaTamarua is one of the six traditional districts of the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands. It is located in the southeast of the island, to the south of the District of Ivirua and east of the District of Veitatei....
District- Tapere of Maru-kore
- Tapere of Poutoa-i-uta
- Tapere of Poutoa-i-miri
- Tapere of Akaea
- Tapere of Te-vai-kao
- Tapere of Angauru
- Tapere of Vaitangi (Pukuotoi)
- Tapere of Te-vai-taeta-i-uta
- Tapere of Te-vai-taeta-i-tai
- VeitateiVeitateiVeitatei is one of the six traditional districts of the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands. It is located in the south of the island, to the east of the District of Kei'a and west of the District of Tamarua....
District- Tapere of Te-noki
- Tapere of Te-tuaroa (Te-tukono)
- Tapere of Te-tuapoto
- Tapere of Te-tarapiki
- Tapere of Kaikatu
- Tapere of Angarinoi
- Kei'aKei'aKei'a is one of the six traditional districts of the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands. It is located in the west of the island, to the southwest of the District of Tava'enga and northwest of the District of Veitatei....
District- Tapere of Akaoro
- Tapere of Tapuata
- Tapere of Tongamarama
- Tapere of Te-inati
- Tapere of Rupetau-i-miri
- Tapere of Rupetau-i-uta
Economy
Mangaia is renowned for its shell neckbands or "eis". These are made from the shells of the tiny yellow snail, the pupu, which emerges only after rain. Gathering, piercing and stringing is a very time consuming business. The women of the island often give the highly prized strands away as gifts of friendship to visitors from other islands in the Group.Mangaia is also renowned for its coconuts. The people of the island have long considered them a staple plant of survival. They remain an important crop even today. Coconuts provide food, coconut milk, and also fiber- all in one shell.
History
Before missionary settlement Mangaia was ruled by fierce warriors, in a constant struggle for land and crops. The first recorded European to arrive to Mangaia was Captain Cook in 1777. Long ago, during a trip to London, Numangatini, or "King" JohnNumangatini Tione Ariki
Numangatini Tione Ariki was a sovereign of the Cook Islands. He was ariki of the Numangatini dynasty, a chiefdom on the island of Mangaia.-Early life:...
of Mangaia, received from Queen Victoria herself a Union Jack. The flag still exists, albeit in two pieces, half is supposed to be in Oneroa, and the other half in Tonga.
External links
- Noncommercial guide and photos of the island
- Mangaia - Garden of the Cook Islands
- Pride in Uniqueness of Our Island Home
See also
- AurakaAurakaAuraka is a locality in the Keia district, on the western side of the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands. The Keia district contains at least two ancient burial caves, Kauvava and Piri Te Umeume, which were accessed by diagonal descents through boulder-strewn roof collapses from the top of the...
- TuanakiTuanakiTuanaki or Tuanahe is the name of a vanished group of islets, once part of the Cook Islands. It was located south of Rarotonga and within two days sail of Mangaia....