Culture of the Cook Islands
The culture of the
The Culture Division of the Cook Islands Government supports and preserves the country's national heritage. One of the popular traditional dances of the Cook Islands is the
Background
Polynesian settlers arrived from Tahiti in the 6th century. In 1606, the Portuguese captain, Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, was the first European recorded as landing in the islands.[1] Captain Cook, who gave the islands their current name, arrived in 1773 and 1777.[2] Missionaries from the early 1800s brought schools and Christianity, and developed a written language.[3]
Social hierarchy
Social hierarchy and
Ariki controlled Ariki, mataiapo and rangatira titles continue to be passed down through family lines, and the associated ancient ceremonies and traditions continue to be practised in the present day.
Some women's organisations, such as the Cook Islands National Council of Women and the Cook Islands Business and Professional Women's Association, have difficulty separating themselves from national politics. The largest women's organisations, Cook Islands Christian Church Ekalesia Vainetini, Dorcas, National Catholic Women's League, and Women's Harvesters, are affiliated with local churches.[6]
Mythology, superstition and religion
The missionary,
Language and literature
Cook Islands Māori, officially named Māori Kūki 'Āirani, and also known as Rarotongan, is the nation's official language. There are several mutually intelligible dialects,[10] spoken on the fifteen islands.[11] Rakahanga-Manihiki and Penrhyn are examples. The Cook Islands Maori Dictionary was eventually published in 1995 and included language studies by Dr. Jasper Base of the University of London (1957–1985), the compilation assistance of Raututi Taringa (1957–1959), and the works of an Advisory Committee which was established by Dr. Jasper Buse established in 1960.[12] Pukapukan developed in isolation on the island of Pukapuka and is considered by scholars as a distinct language.[13]
Naming is a symbolic tradition of the islands' Maori population. Names form a link not only to ancestors, descendants, and friends, but to titles and land, as well as events and relationships. Dreamed or created, name change are not limited to events, such as birth, marriage, and death, but can also occur in association with a bad omen. First names are interchangeable between men and women, while surnames can vary from person to person within a family unit.[14]
Considering the relatively small size of the islands, it has a notable literary scene. Tuepokoina Utanga Morgan is credited with writing musical compositions and poetry and producing folk opera. Composer and poet Teate Makirere, who toured as communications adviser of the
Music and dance
The music of the Cook Islands is characterised by heavy drums and ukuleles.[17] Men perform the hura, which is the equivalent of the Hawaiian hula, locking their feet on the ground and keeping their shoulders steady.[18] Drums form part of an ensemble.[19] Performing groups include the Cook Islands National Arts Theatre, Arorangi Dance Troupe, Betela Dance Troupe, Akirata Folk Dance Troupe, and Te Ivi Maori Cultural Dance Troupe.[20] Raro Records is the main specialist in music retail on the islands.
Dances are performed at multicultural festivals.[19] One of the popular traditional dances of the Cook Islands is the Maori Ura, a sacred ritual usually performed by a female who moves her body to tell a story, accompanied by intense drumming by at least 5 drummers. Moving the hips, legs and hands give off different gestures to the audience to tell a tale, typically related to the natural landscape such as the ocean and birds and flowers, but also feelings of love and sadness.[21] The ura dance has three distinct components; the ura pa'u (drum dances), korero (legends) and kaparima (action songs).[22] To perform the ura, women typically wear a pareu and a kikau (grass) skirt, with flowers and shell headbands and necklaces known as ei.[22] Men during the dance are said to "vigorously flap their knees in a semi-crouched position while holding their upper bodies steady", and they typically wear kikau skirts and headbands.[22] The drumming group, an integral part of the Ura, typically consists of a lead drummer (pate taki), support lead (pate takirua), a double player (tokere or pate akaoro) playing wooden gongs, and two other players playing skin drums (pa'u and mango).[21] Travel writer David Stanley asserts that the finest performances of the Ura are put on in Rarotonga.[18]
A sexually charged variant of the ura dance is known at the ura piani in which both men and women are involved in telling the story.[22] Other variations include the ura rore (stilt dance), ura tairiri (fan dance), ura korare (spear dance), and ura rama (torch dance). [22] Aside from the Ura dance and its components such as the korero and kaparima, there are several other genres of music and dance in the Cook Islands including dance dramas (peu tupuna), religious pageants (nuku), formal chants (pe'e), celebratory chants ('ute), and polyphonic choral music ('imene tapu).[18] Like the ura, these are also often accompanied by drums.
Art
Local residents have developed their own style in clothing and jewellery, using local products, such as shells. Giving somebody a shell necklace and placing it around the recipients neck is a goodwill and love gesture.[23] They make a type of sarong, called a pareu, which is typically brightly coloured. Like the other islands of Oceania such as Fiji and Samoa, the Cook Islanders are known for their hand-painted and silk-screened dress fabrics.[24] An important practice among women is tivaevae, a type of quilting.[25]
The islanders have many fine carvers, especially at Michael Tavioni's workshop and Island Craft, the latter of which produces items like spears and masks. Items are sold in places like Punanga Nui Market, Beachcomber Gallery and Bergman and Sons Crafts Store.[17] Kenwalls Gallery displays paintings by local artists, and landscape artist Judith Kunzle sells her drawings and paintings in her home studio and several of the crafts stores, several of which have featured in numerous publications and postcards of the islands.[17]
Cuisine
Due to the island location and the fact that the Cook Islands produce a significant array of fruits and vegetables, natural local produce, especially coconut, features in many of the dishes of the islands as does fresh seafood. While most food is imported from New Zealand, there are several Growers' Associations, such as Mangaian, Ngatangiia, Penrhyn, Puaikura, and Rakahanga, which contribute produce for local cuisine.[26] Typical local cuisine includes arrowroot, clams, octopus, and taro, and seasonings such as fresh ginger, lime, lemon, basil, garlic and coconut.[27] Rukau is a dish of taro leaves cooked with coconut sauce and onion.[28] A meal of octopus is known locally as Eke, and suckling pig is known as Puaka.[29] Ika mata is a dish of raw fish marinated with lemon or lime and served with coconut cream,[29] while Pai Ika and Keke Ika are also local fish fare.[30] Poke is a dessert which can be made in one of two ways, either with banana and coconut milk or with pawpaw.[31] Soursop, oranges and mangos are popular as juices.[32] Coconut water, local beer (Cooks Lager), and coffee are popular beverages among the Cook Islanders.[29]
Sports
Like in many of the other islands of the Pacific,
Bowling is popular, and the Cook Islands have at least six clubs including Ikurangi Women's Bowling Club, Parekura Men's Bowling Club, Parekura Women's Bowling Club, and Rarotonga Men's Bowling Club.[35] It is presided over by the Cook Islands Lawn Bowling Federation, and the Cook Islands Bowls Carnival Tour is organised annually.[36] There are also various badminton, motorcycle, golf, racing, sailing, squash, and canoeing clubs.
On a broader scale, the Cook Islands Sports & Olympic Association, Rarotonga Amateur Athletics Association, Tauvaine Sports & Cultural Association, and Tupapa-Maraerena Sports Association are notable associations. The Cook Islands Fisherman's Association, Cook Islands Game Fishing Club, and the Ngatangiia Fishermen's Club support fishing enthusiasts.
Administration and preservation
Native antiquities, defined as "native relics, articles with ancient native tools and according to native methods, and all other articles or things of historical or scientific value or interest and relating to the Cook Islands" are protected by the Cook Islands Amendment Act 1950.[38] Cultural events are coordinated by the Cook Islands National Arts Council, which was established in 1985 by an Act of Parliament. The administrative mechanism was specially oriented towards promotion of culture of the islands and a Cultural Division was functional. In the late 1980s, the Prime Minister, Geoffrey Henry a keen enthusiast in promoting island's culture, established a number of monuments and also created the Ministry of Cultural Development, he backed it up with financial resources. The activity got a boost because of creation of expressive arts, large influx of tourist into the island, and the knowledge assimilated and adopted by the islanders on the culture of the other regions.[39] The Ministry of Cultural Development Act 1990 repealed the National Arts Council Act 1981–82 and provided for the preservation and enhancement of the country's cultural heritage, encouragement of its cultural art forms, and maintenance of the unique cultural national identity of its people.[38]
The Cook Island Museum promotes the cultural heritage of the entire region including Pacific Islanders. It represents a large variety of material culture.[40] The islands' history, as well as its traditional techniques in dancing, fishing, weaving, woodcarving, medicine, and food preparation are also profiled at the Cook Islands Cultural Village.[41]
Date | Public holidays |
---|---|
1 January | New Year's Day |
2 January | Day after New Year's Day |
The Friday before Easter Sunday |
Good Friday |
The day after Easter Sunday |
Easter Monday |
25 April | ANZAC Day
|
The first Monday in June | Queen's Birthday
|
During July | Rarotonga Gospel Day |
4 August | Constitution Day (Te Maevea Nui Celebrations); National Day |
26 October | Gospel Day |
25 December | Christmas |
26 December | Boxing Day |
References
- ^ Campbell 2007, p. 71.
- ^ Thomas 2004, p. 310-11.
- ^ Lal & Fortune 2000, p. 519.
- ^ a b c Hunt 2003, p. 10.
- ^ "Cook Islands House of Ariki makes efforts to boost mana". Radio New Zealand. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^ Crocombe 1990, pp. 27–28.
- ^ Finnegan & Orbell 1995, p. 175.
- ^ Kirk 2012, p. 125.
- ^ "Cook Island Churches and Cook Island Churches in other places". Across. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^ Buse & Taringa 1995, p. 5.
- ^ Merrick 2006, p. 18.
- ^ Buse & Taringa 1995, p. 6.
- ^ Harvey & Maslen 1997, p. 248.
- ^ Jonassen 2003, p. 8.
- ^ Lal & Fortune 2000, p. 520.
- ^ Lindstrom & White 1994, p. 29.
- ^ a b c Hunt 2003, p. 81.
- ^ a b c Stanley 1999, p. 312.
- ^ a b Merrick 2006, p. 19.
- ^ Crocombe 1990, pp. 21–22.
- ^ a b "Dancing & drumming". Enjoycookislands.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Sissons 1999, p. 44.
- ^ Alexeyeff 2009, p. 167.
- ^ Stanley 2004, p. 57.
- ^ Rongokea 2001.
- ^ Crocombe 1990, pp. 77.
- ^ Pignéguy & Raela 2011.
- ^ "Rukau – A simple delight". Cook Islands News. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ a b c Hunt 2003, p. 46.
- ^ Matenga-Smith 1990, p. 77.
- ^ Fold & Pritchard 2005, p. 86.
- ^ Matenga-Smith 1990, p. 82.
- ^ Stanley 2004, p. 153.
- ^ Crocombe 1990, pp. 75–76.
- ^ Hunt 2003, p. 69.
- ISBN 978-982-304-005-9.
- ^ Chapman, Lindsay. "Field Report No.13 on Tuna Fishery Development Strategy for the Cook Islands" (PDF). Secretariat of the Pacific Community. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ a b Boer 1996, p. 43.
- ^ Lindstrom & White 1994, p. 25.
- ^ Kreps 2013, pp. 40–43.
- ^ Hunt 2003, p. 84.
- Bibliography
- Alexeyeff, Kalissa (2009). Dancing from the Heart: Movement, Gender, and Cook Islands Globalization. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3244-5.
- Boer, Ben (1 January 1996). Environmental Law in the South Pacific: Consolidated Report of the Reviews of Environmental Law in the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kingdom of Tonga, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Solomon Islands. IUCN. ISBN 978-2-8317-0163-9.
- Buse, Jasper; Taringa, Raututi (1995). Cook Islands Maori Dictionary. Ministry of Education, Government of the Cook Islands. ISBN 978-0-7286-0230-4.
- Campbell, Harry (2007). Whatever Happened to Tanganyika?: The Place Names that History Left Behind. Portico. ISBN 978-1-906032-05-0.
- Crocombe, R. G. (1 January 1990). Voluntary Service and Development in the Cook Islands. Institute of Pacific Studies and cook Islands Externsion Centre, University of the South Pacific. ISBN 978-982-02-0023-4.
- Finnegan, Ruth H.; Orbell, Margaret Rose (1 January 1995). South Pacific Oral Traditions. Indiana University Press. p. 175. ISBN 0-253-32868-3.
- Fold, Niels; Pritchard, Bill (25 April 2005). Cross-Continental Agro-Food Chains: Structures, Actors and Dynamics in the Global Food System. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-203-44817-5.
- Harvey, Douglas Ross; Maslen, K. I. D. (1 January 1997). Book & Print in New Zealand: A Guide to Print Culture in Aotearoa. Victoria University Press. ISBN 978-0-86473-331-3.
- Hunt, Errol (2003). Rarotonga & the Cook Islands. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74059-083-9.
- Jonassen, Jon (2003). A Book of Cook Islands Maori Names, Ingoa. Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific. ISBN 978-982-02-0334-1.
- Kirk, Robert W. (24 October 2012). Paradise Past: The Transformation of the South Pacific, 1520–1920. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-9298-5.
- Kreps, Christina (15 April 2013). Liberating Culture: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Museums, Curation and Heritage Preservation. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-13313-9.
- Lal, Brij V.; Fortune, Kate (January 2000). The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-2265-1.
- Lindstrom, Lamont; White, Geoffrey Miles (1994). Culture, Kastom, Tradition: Developing Cultural Policy in Melanesia. Institute of Pacific Studies, The University of the South Pacific. ISBN 978-982-02-0102-6.
- Matenga-Smith, Taiora (1990). Cook Islands Cook Book. Institute of Pacific Studies of the University of the South Pacific and Cook Islands Ministries of Agriculture and Health. ISBN 978-1-74164-131-8.
- Pignéguy, Dee; Raela, Sonja (October 2011). Sonja's Kitchen: Sustainable Cuisine from the Cook Islands. Papawai Press. ISBN 978-0-9582966-5-6.
- Rongokea, Lynnsay (January 2001). The Art of Tivaevae: Traditional Cook Islands Quilting. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-2502-7.
- Sissons, Jeffrey (1 January 1999). Nation and Destination: Creating Cook Islands Identity. ISBN 978-982-02-0142-2.
- Stanley, David (1999). South Pacific Handbook. David Stanley. ISBN 978-1-56691-172-6.
- Stanley, David (2004). South Pacific. David Stanley. ISBN 978-1-56691-411-6.
- Thomas, Nicholas (1 September 2004). Cook: The Extraordinary Voyages of Captain James Cook. Walker. ISBN 978-0-8027-7711-9.