Rakahanga
Encyclopedia
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
in the central-southern Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, is one of the most unspoiled places on earth. The atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
is 1,248 kilometres from the Cook Islands capital, 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...
and lies 1,111 kilometres from the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
. Its nearest neighbour is Manihiki
Manihiki
Manihiki is an island in the Cook Islands known as the Island of Pearls. It is a triangular atoll north of Rarotonga.- History :Polynesians are believed to have lived on Manihiki since at least 900 or 1000 AD. Kupe was the first to explore Aotea Roa. Kupe came from Manihiki, also known as...
which is just 44 kilometres away.
Geography
There are two main islandIsland
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s and seven motus or islet
Islet
An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....
s in the Rakahanga lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
. On the east these are Akaro, Motu Ngangie, Huananui, Motu Mahuta and Motu Okakara; while on the southwest side the islet of Te Kainga guards the widest passage in to the lagoon. The only village, Rakahanga, seat of Rakahanga Island Council, is on the northwest side of the southern islet. A newer, official source lists five villages, which may be just be the lineages living in in the same village:
- Purapoto
- Niteiri
- Numahanga
- Teruakiore
- Matara (main settlement)
The island is just over 4 square kilometres in size and is so low lying that it is in serious danger from rising sea levels
Current sea level rise
Current sea level rise potentially impacts human populations and the wider natural environment . Global average sea level rose at an average rate of around 1.8 mm per year over 1961 to 2003 and at an average rate of about 3.1 mm per year from 1993 to 2003...
.
History
It is believed that Ferdinand MagellanFerdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
discovered the island in 1521, but this cannot be substantiated by historians who have researched the island's history. One of the last great Spanish voyages of exploration, under the command of Pedro Fernandes de Queirós
Pedro Fernandes de Queirós
Pedro Fernandes de Queirós , was a Portuguese navigator best known for his involvement with Spanish voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean, in particular the 1595-1596 voyage of Alvaro de Mendaña de Neira, and for leading a 1605-1606 expedition which crossed the Pacific in search of Terra...
, came upon the island on 2 March 1606. He noted in a record of the voyage: "The land is divided among many owners, and is planted with certain roots, which must form their bread. All the rest is a large and thick palm grove which is the chief sustenance of the natives. Some 500 inhabitants were seen assembled on the beach". A Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
friar on the voyage was so struck with admiration that he called it the island of beautiful people (gente hermosa). De Quiros described the inhabitants as "the most beautiful white and elegant people that were met during the voyage".
Russian oceanic explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen
Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen
Fabian Gottlieb Thaddeus von Bellingshausen was an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, cartographer and explorer, who ultimately rose to the rank of Admiral...
visited Rakahanga on August 8, 1820 on ships Vostok and Mirni. He took its coordinates and charted its position with accuracy; he named this atoll "Grand Duke Alexander Island", after Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaievich
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
who would later become tsar Alexander II. According to Bellingshausen: "The inhabitants (of Rakahanga) came out in canoes and challenged us to fight by throwing stones and spears at the ship."
Commander A. C. Clarke of declared Rakahanga a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
on 9 August 1889. It was included in New Zealand's boundaries in 1901.
The island was claimed under the Guano Islands Act
Guano Islands Act
The Guano Islands Act is federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, on August 18, 1856. It enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of other...
for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a claim which was ceded in a treaty
Cook Islands – United States Maritime Boundary Treaty
The Cook Islands – United States Maritime Boundary Treaty is a 1980 treaty that establishes the maritime boundary between the Cook Islands and American Samoa. It resolved a number of territorial disputes between the Cook Islands and the United States....
between the U.S. and the Cook Islands in 1980.
Biology
Coconut crabCoconut crab
The coconut crab, Birgus latro, is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest land-living arthropod in the world, and is probably at the upper size limit of terrestrial animals with exoskeletons in today's atmosphere at a weight of up to...
s are abundant in the lagoon, and fishing is good on the outer reef. Large sea turtle
Sea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
s abound there too. Each January, a tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
fishing contest takes place and boats return with 200 or more fish a day.
Vegetation is extensive. Large breadfruit trees
Breadfruit
Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, growing throughout Southeast Asia and most Pacific Ocean islands...
line village paths and coconut palms
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
and pandanus trees
Pandanus
Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. They are numerous palmlike dioecious trees and shrubs native of the Old World tropics and subtropics. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.-Overview:...
thrive. Women weave fine rito hats, mats and baskets from the pandanus leaf fibres.
People & Culture
Formerly, Rakahanga had not a well defined population, due that during depletions of the coconut and puraka supplies, the inhabitants moved between this and ManihikiManihiki
Manihiki is an island in the Cook Islands known as the Island of Pearls. It is a triangular atoll north of Rarotonga.- History :Polynesians are believed to have lived on Manihiki since at least 900 or 1000 AD. Kupe was the first to explore Aotea Roa. Kupe came from Manihiki, also known as...
atoll.
In 1852, The settlements were defined on each atoll.
Population
Historically, after 1916 decrease of the population was caused by migrations to RarotongaRarotonga
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...
Atoll, were employment attracted the former populators.
Access to the island is very difficult, other than by boat from Manihiki and the very occasional inter-island boat.
The native tongue is the Rakahanga-Manihiki language
Rakahanga-Manihiki language
Rakahanga-Manihiki is a Cook Islands Maori dialectal variant belonging to the Polynesian languages family, spoken by about 2500 people on Rakahanga and Manihiki Islands and another 2500 in other countries, mostly New Zealand and Australia...
.
Tribes
The atoll is populated two Whakaheo tribes, the Matakeinanga and Tukuwhare. Each one has 7 subtribes, divided in 7 groups:| Matakeinanga | Tukuwhare |
|---|---|
| Nu-matua |
|
| Tia-ngaro-tonga |
|