Nukapu
Encyclopedia
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. It is in the Reef Islands group in Temotu Province; the easternmost province of the Solomons.
The island contains a memorial to Bishop John Patteson
John Coleridge Patteson
John Coleridge Patteson was an Anglican bishop and martyr.Patteson was educated at The King's School, Ottery St Mary, Eton and then Balliol College, Oxford. He was ordained in 1853 in the Church of England...
who was murdered on Nukapu in 1871.
The language spoken on Nukapu is Pileni
Pileni language
Vaeakau-Taumako is a Polynesian language spoken in some of the Reef Islands as well as in the Taumako Islands in the Temotu province of the Solomon Islands....
, which is a member of the Polynesian
Polynesian languages
The Polynesian languages are a language family spoken in the region known as Polynesia. They are classified as part of the Austronesian family, belonging to the Oceanic branch of that family. They fall into two branches: Tongic and Nuclear Polynesian. Polynesians share many cultural traits...
language family. Pileni is also spoken on the islands of Pileni
Pileni
Pileni is a culturally important island in the Reef Islands, in the northern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu. Despite its location in Melanesia, the population of the islands is Polynesian.-Language:...
, Nupani, Nifiloli
Nifiloli
Nifiloli is an island in the Reef Islands, in the of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu. Despite its location in Melanesia, the population of the islands is Polynesian. The language spoken on Nifiloli is Pileni language-External links:* *...
, Aua and Matema Island
Matema Island
Matema Island or Matema is of one of the Reef Islands, of the independent nation of the Solomon Islands; it is located in Temotu Province.The language spoken on Matema Island is Pileni, which is a member of the Polynesian language family...
of the Reef Islands
Reef Islands
The Reef Islands are a loose collection of 16 islands in the northwestern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu. These islands have historically also been known by the names of Swallow Islands and Matema Islands....
, as well as in the Taumako
Taumako
Taumako is the largest of the Duff Islands. This 5.7 km long island has steep sides and rises to a height of 400 m above sea level. It is composed of basaltic lavas and pyroclastics like the other islands in the Duffs ....
Islands (also known as the Duff Islands
Duff Islands
The Duff Islands are a small island group lying to the northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands in the Solomon Islands province of Temotu. They are also sometimes known as the Wilson Islands....
), some 200 miles to the east. Speakers are thought to be descendants of people from Tuvalu
Tuvalu
Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...
.