Manihiki
Encyclopedia
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
known as the Island of Pearls. It is a triangular 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...
1160 kilometres (720.8 mi) north of 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...
.
History
PolynesiaPolynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
ns 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 Whakahotu Nui, or Niiwa Nui. His canoe was named by the ancient name of Tukao Village known as Te Matawhorua. On his returned from Aotea Roa he renamed the Marae in the Village of Tukao (Te Matawhorua) Te Puna Ruki o Toi Tu Rahui Te Rautea as Te Hono O Kupe Ki Aotea, shortened as Te Marae Hono.
The only food available on the island at the time was coconut. This meant that inhabitants traveled by boat between Manihiki and the nearby atoll Rakahanga
Rakahanga
Rakahanga, part of the Cook Islands in the central-southern Pacific Ocean, is one of the most unspoiled places on earth. The atoll is 1,248 kilometres from the Cook Islands capital, Rarotonga and lies 1,111 kilometres from the equator...
to obtain food.
It is believed that 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...
discovered the island in 1606 and called it Gente Hermosa (Beautiful People). However, on 13 October 1822, when it was sighted by the U.S. ship Good Hope it was named Humphrey Island by captain Patrickson.
In 1928 the whale ship Ganges spotted the island and named it Great Ganges Island, as other whale ships named it Liderous, Gland, Sarah Scott and pescado. Despite repeated renaming by explorers, the island now retains its aboriginal name.
The name has two possible meanings: It's believed that the original name of the island was Manuhiki, inspired by the aboriginal discovers Manu coming from the word Rua Manu (a kind of canoe) and Hiki meaning ashore, so the literal translation would be canoe carried ashore. The second interpretation is that the original discoverers were from Manihi, an island in Tuamotus
Tuamotus
The Tuamotus or the Tuamotu Archipelago are a chain of islands and atolls in French Polynesia. They form the largest chain of atolls in the world, spanning an area of the Pacific Ocean roughly the size of Western Europe...
, so the name of the island would mean Little Manihi.
In 1889, a portion of the population opposed missionairies and made an agreement with the French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
stationed in Tahiti to annex the island. In response a ship was sent but the missionaries on Manihiki hoisted the British Flag, causing the ship to return to Tahiti without coming ashore.
On August 9, 1889 the island was proclaimed British protectorate by Commander A. C. Clarke, captain of the HMS Espiegle
HMS Espiegle
Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Espiegle was a 16-gun brig-sloop captured from the French in 1793 by and . She was sold in 1802. was a 14-gun brig-sloop captured from the French in 1794 by . She was sold in 1795. was a 16-gun sloop, formerly the civilian vessel Wembury. She...
. On the request of the Rarotongan Ariki, Manihiki was included in New Zealand's boundaries in 1901.
The island had been claimed by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1822 but in 1980 the U.S. signed 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....
with the Cook Islands in which it recognized Cook Island sovereignty over Manihiki and three other islands.
Geography
Manihiki sits atop an underwater mountain rising 4000 m above the ocean floor. Its stunning 10 km-wide lagoonLagoon
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,...
is laced with 43 tiny motu (islets), which are strung along the reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
. The reef provides excellent swimming and snorkeling among colourful tropical fish and coral.
Diving is a major attraction at the island. Visitors are allowed to snorkel or free-dive but not scuba dive without a permit. Visitors can obtain a permit at the administration office either from the Island Secretary or the Mayor or the Deputy Mayor. There is good fishing in the open waters beyond the reef, including catches of Yellow-fin Tuna and Flying fish.
The island is renowned for its black pearl
Black Pearl
The Black Pearl, originally Wicked Wench, is a fictional ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. In the screenplay, the Black Pearl is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. The ship was originally named Wicked Wench before she was ordered burned and sunk by Lord Beckett...
s and there are pearl farms dotted around the lagoon. The largest farm maintains some 250,000 oysters for pearl production. Tours of the farms can be arranged where the pearl cultivation process is explained and demonstrations of oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
pearl seeding or pearl harvesting is performed.
Tauhunu
Tauhunu
Tauhunu is a the main village on Manihiki island in the Cook Islands and the seat of the Manihiki Island Council. It is located on Tauhunu Islet on the western rim of the atoll.Tauhunu is a village of native Manihikians ....
, on the western coast, is known for its pearl carvers and the Whare Ariki. Whare Ariki was built in the 1980s which and survived the Cyclone Martin which struck the island in November 1997. Flying time to the island is about four hours, and there is a flight every Thursday from Rarotonga.
Villages
There are two villages. the larger village is Tauhunu which is on the Islet of Tauhunu on the western rim of the atoll. The second village, Tukao and also known in the olden days as Te Matawhorua , is at the northern tip of Ngake or Te Paeroa Islet, which is on the northern tip of the atoll. The island politically controlled by the Island Councils and a Mayor elected every three years by the peopleTribes
The atoll is inhabited by two Whakaheo tribes, the Matakeinanga and Tukuwhare. Each tribe has 7 subtribes or groups:| Matakeinanga | Tukuwhare |
|---|---|
| Nu-matua |
|
| Tia-ngaro-tonga |
|
In February 2009, the mayor of Manihiki, Kora Kora, stated that the world economic crisis
Late 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
had driven up the price of essential goods to such an extent that it was provoking significant emigration to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He said that the population of Manihiki at that stage was just 280.
The languages spoken on the island are Rakahanga-Manihiki
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...
and English.