Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Rarotonga is the largest of the Cook Islands and is located in the southern grouping of these islands. Rarotonga has jagged mountain peaks with steep valleys surrounded by a flat coastal plane and white sandy beaches. Light turquoise lagoons and a reef extending about 400 meters complete the picture.
There are some 18,000 people living in the Cook Islands with about 9,000 living on Rarotonga. There are an additional 37,000 Cook Islanders living in New Zealand and Australia. The islanders are of the Maori race, very closely linked in culture and language to the Maori of New Zealand (Aotearoa), the Maohi of French Polynesia, the Maori of Easter Island (Rapanui) and the Kanaka Maoli of Hawaii.
On Rarotonga, we stopped at the bay where the first Polynesians migrated to Rarotonga (down south) from Raiatea in the Society Islands of French Polynesia ~750 AD. This is the same bay where in ~1000 AD, seven ships embarked on the migration to Aotearoa.
The land in the Cook Islands is owned by the people and administered by the chiefs of the various tribes. Pride of ownership is evidenced everywhere. There is a similar ownership of property in French Polynesia. The Maohi fought the French and English to maintain their ownership.
This is not the case in Hawaii. Land in the Hawaiian Islands was owned by the royalty (Ali’i) and not distributed to individuals. Late in the 18th century, the eight islands of Hawaii were consolidated under King Kamehameha I in some of the bloodiest battles of history – east or west.
The descendants of Kamehameha I sold the land to maintain an absolute monarchy of ostentation. Mark Twain’s description of the Royal Court of Hawaii is sadly laughable. Sadly, because it is so. The only ones to benefit from wasteful life of the Ali’i are the sons and daughters of the plantation owners and the immigrants who worked the plantations. The Kanaka Maoli never worked and still don’t. Race-based welfare is alive and well in Hawaii.
No more in that vein.
November 10-11, 2007
We are on our way to the Kingdom of Tonga. Tonight we will cross the International Date Line. We will be at sea for the next two days. This is the time for reading, attending lectures, swimming and hitting the gym because of that other ‘ing’ – eating.
Kia Orana