Anuta
Nickname: Cherry Island | |
---|---|
Geography | |
Location | Pacific Ocean |
Coordinates | 11°36′39″S 169°51′01″E / 11.61083°S 169.85028°E |
Archipelago | Solomon Islands |
Area | 0.37 km2 (0.14 sq mi) |
Length | 0.876 km (0.5443 mi) |
Width | 0.576 km (0.3579 mi) |
Highest elevation | 65 m (213 ft) |
Administration | |
Province | Temotu |
Largest settlement | Mua (pop. 200) |
Demographics | |
Population | 300 |
Pop. density | 811/km2 (2100/sq mi) |
Ethnic groups | Polynesians |
Anuta is a small
Geography
The island lies about 500 km (310 mi) to the east-southeast of
The island lies halfway between the Solomon Islands archipelago and
History
Anuta was first mentioned in 1791, and the political and geographical circumstances led to isolation of Anuta's population.[3]
According to oral traditions, Anuta was settled by voyagers from
One of the Tongan settlers, Pu Kaurave, became the first chief, and was succeeded by his son Ruokimata. When Ruokimata died without an heir, Taroaki, one of the 'Uvean arrivals, became the next chief.[9] Further arrivals from Samoa and Tonga occurred two generations after the initial settlers.[9] The current social structure was established in the sixth generation when chief Tearakura, his two brothers, and one brother-in-law slew the remainder of the island's male population. These men, along with Tearakura's two sisters, were founders of the island's four kainanga, large descent groups that are sometimes described in English as 'clans'. Another group arrived from Rotuma some time later.[9]
In December 2002, the island was impacted by Cyclone Zoe.[10]
Society and culture
Anuta has a human population of about 300. This is one of the highest population densities in the world, perhaps equalling that of Bangladesh.[11]
The island has two systems for naming villages (noporanga, or "dwelling places"). In one system there are three villages called Mua, Muri, and St. John. Mua, meaning "front", is to the east. Muri, meaning "back" is west of Mua. After establishment of the Anglican church in 1916, a third village grew up to the west of Muri and took the name of the church, St. John. In the second system, Mua and Muri are combined under the name, Rotoapi, and contrasted with the new village which, in the second system, is called Vatiana. Anutans use the uninhabited island of Fatutaka, about 60 km (37 mi) to the southeast, as a place to hunt birds.
Language
Anutans speak the Anuta language (locally te taranga paka-Anuta), which is related to other Polynesian languages.
Relationship with environment
An important value in Anutan society is aropa, which emphasizes collaboration, sharing and compassion for others. The concept of aropa encourages islanders to share their finite resources equitably.
The Anuta people take care to fulfil their needs with respect to the environment, to preserve it. At certain times they do not catch certain fish or hunt animals.[14]
Social life
Like most of the other
Research and media exposure
Anthropologist Raymond Firth visited Anuta for a day in 1952. Ethnobotanist Douglas Yen, along with archaeologists Patrick Kirch and Paul Rosendahl,[15][16] spent about two months there in 1971, and anthropologist Richard Feinberg lived on Anuta for almost a year in 1972–1973. He has remained in communication with the Anutan community from that time onward and has made several additional visits.
Five documentaries about Anuta have been created.
See also
- Austronesian peoples
- Pacific Islands
- Polynesia
- Polynesian outlier
- Solomon Islands
References
- ^ Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel (Norton) 1997, p. 59.
- ^ "Anuta Island". Solomon Islands Historical Encyclopaedia 1893-1978. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
- ^ a b BBC (March 2008). "The island of Anuta".
- ^ Kennedy, Donald G. (1929). "Field Notes on the Culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 38: 2–5.
- ^ Bellwood, Peter (1987). The Polynesians – Prehistory of an Island People. Thames and Hudson. pp. 39–44.
- ISBN 0500274509.
- ^ Bayard, D.T. (1976). The Cultural Relationships of the Polynesian Outiers. Otago University, Studies in Prehistoric Anthropology, Vol. 9.
- .
- ^ a b c d It took an delection to bring Anuta into the outside world Pacific Islands Monthly, July 1973, p41
- ^ Malcolm Brown and Sarah Crichton (2 January 2003). "Devastated islands languish as cyclone relief stuck in port". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Anuta – An Island Governed By Love". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
- ^ See Feinberg 2012.
- ^ a b "BBC – Tribe – Anuta". Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ ISBN 9780745642321.
- ISBN 9780910240307
- ^ Kirch, Patrick Vinton; D. Steadman and D. S. Pahlavan (1990), Extinction, biogeography, and human exploitation of birds on Anuta and Tikopia, Solomon Islands, Honolulu, Hawaii: Occasional Papers of the Bishop Museum 30:118–153
- ^ "Anuta in the media – ANUTA COMMUNITY".
- ^ "Barca Pulita - Anuta". Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ "Harmony thrives in Pacific isolation". From Our Own Correspondent. BBC. 26 July 2008. Archived from the original on 28 July 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
Further reading
- Feinberg, Richard. 1977. The Anutan Language Reconsidered: Lexicon and Grammar of a Polynesian Outlier. Two Volumes. HRAFlex Books. New Haven: Human Relations Area Files Press.
- Feinberg, Richard. "Back to Anuta."
- Feinberg, Richard. 1980. History and Structure: A Case of Polynesian Dualism. Journal of Anthropological Research 36(3):361–378.
- Feinberg, Richard. 1988. Polynesian Seafaring and Navigation: Ocean Travel in Anutan Culture and Society. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press.
- Feinberg, Richard. 1986. "The 'Anuta Problem': Local Sovereignty and National Integration in the Solomon Islands" Man21(3):438–452.
- Feinberg, Richard. 1998. Oral Traditions of Anuta: A Polynesian Outlier in the Solomon Islands Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics, Volume 15. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Feinberg, Richard. 2012. Anuta: Polynesian Lifeways for the 21st Century. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press.
- Feinberg, Richard. 1996. "Outer Islanders and Urban Resettlement in the Salomon Islands: The Case of Anutans on Guadalcanal." Journal de la Société des Océanistes. Issue 103, p. 207-217.
- Firth, Raymond. 1954. Anuta and Tikopia: symbiotic elements in social organization Journal of the Polynesian Society 63:87 131.
- Yen, D. E. and Janet Gordon, eds. 1973. Anuta: A Polynesian Outlier in the Solomon Islands. Pacific Anthropological Records, Number 21. Honolulu: Bernice P. Bishop Museum Press.