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Tapere
A Tapere or Sub-District is a low level of traditional land subdivision on five of the Southern Cook Islands (Rarotonga, Mangaia, Aitutaki, Atiu, and Mauke), comparable to the ahupua'a of the main Hawaiian Islands or to the kousapw of Pohnpei. Among the populated raised islands, only Mitiaro is not subdivided into tapere. The remaining Southern Cook Islands, Manuae, Palmerston and Takutea are atolls and/or uninhabited, and therefore not subject to this type of traditional subdivision. The atolls of the Northern Cook Islands are subdivided into ''motu'' (populated atoll islets), instead. A tapere is a subdivision of a district (the major island subdivision) or ''puna'', which is headed by a district chiefs or ''Pava'' (in the case of the Island of Mangaia). A tapere is normally headed by a '' mataiapo'' (a chief of a major lineage) or ''ariki'' (a High Chief, the titular head of a tribe). It is occupied by the ''matakeinanga'', the local group composed of the residential core ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avarua
Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national capital of the Cook Islands. The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport (IATA Airport Code: RAR) and Avatiu Harbour. The population of Avarua District is 4,906 (census of 2016). Sub-districts The district of Avarua is subdivided into 19 tapere (traditional sub-districts) out of 54 for Rarotonga, grouped into 6 Census Districts, listed from west to east. Census figures are not available on the tapere level, but only for the so-called Census Districts, also listed from west to east:P.H. Curson: "Population Change in the Cook Islands - The 1966 Population Census". In: ''New Zealand Geographer'', Vol. 28, 1972, pp. 51-65, map p.52 # Nikao-Panama (1,373 inhabitants), covering the taperes of: ## Pokoinu, ## Nikao (seat of Cook Islands parliament), and ## Puapuautu; # Avatiu-Ruatonga (951 inhabitants), covering the taperes of: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mauke
Mauke (Ma'uke also Akatokamanava) is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga. Geography Mauke is a raised coral atoll, with a central volcanic plateau surrounded by a jagged fossilised coral ''makatea'' which extends up to one mile inland. A narrow layer of swamps lies between the ''makatea'' and the plateau. The entire island is surrounded by a fringing reef, pierced by six passages, and sits atop an extinct volcano rising from the ocean floor. The volcanic soil in the island's center is relatively fertile, so it is called "The Garden of the Islands". The ''makatea'' is honeycombed with caves, including the Vaitango Cave, Moti Cave and Motuanga Cave. History According to oral tradition, Mauke was discovered by Uke, and the island was named "Ma'uke" - "the land of Uke" - after him. Uke's descents then went on to settle Atiu. Another legend states a son of Ruatapu was murder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aitutaki
Aitutaki, also traditionally known as Araura and Utataki, is the second most-populated island in the Cook Islands, after Rarotonga. It is an "almost atoll", with fifteen islets in a lagoon adjacent to the main island. Total land area is , and the lagoon has an area of between . A major tourist destination, Aitutaki is the second most visited island of the Cook Islands. Aitutaki had a population of 1,712 in 2016. The main village is Arutanga (Arutunga) on the west side. Geography Aitutaki is sometimes described as an "almost atoll", for it consists of a lagoon within an encircling atoll, with a significant area of high land on one side. It has a maximum elevation of approximately with the hill known as Maunga Pu close to its northernmost point. The land area of the atoll is , of which the main island occupies . The Ootu Peninsula, protruding east from the main island in a southerly direction along the eastern rim of the reef, takes up out of the main island. For the lagoon, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rangatira (Cook Islands)
A '' rangatira '' was the title given to a minor chief in the Cook Islands - often someone who was closely related to an ''ariki'' or ''mataiapo'', now usually by the younger brothers or sisters; the head of a branch of a ''rangatira'' or ''mataiapo'' family. A ''rangatira'' title was usually inherited within a family. It was associated with a ''tapere'' - the land on which the people of a village belonged. The ''rangatira'' could expect contributions of goods and services from the people of his village. The majority of his village population of which he was the head, would have come from his descent group. A ''rangatira'' could only be created by the ''ariki'' who delegated authority to the ''rangatira'' in order to create a structure of support from within the ''tapere'' for the ''ariki''. This ''tapere'' support mechanism was stronger than that of the ''mataiapo'' because its population was larger.''The Cook Islands, 1820-1950'' by Richard Phillip Gilson, R. G. Crocombe (1980) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atiu
Atiu, also known as Enuamanu (meaning ''land of the birds''), is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga. The island's population has dropped by two-thirds in the last 50 years. Geography Atiu is a raised volcanic island surrounded by a reef from which rise cliffs of fossilized coral (''makatea''). The makatea cliff forms a ring round the island, creating a virtual plateau. Erosion of the inside of the ring has formed a dip of about into fertile land, which gradually rises again to a central flat-topped hill. The low swampy land consists of taro plantations, marshes and a lake, Tiroto. This fertile area also grows bananas, citrus fruits, pawpaws, breadfruit and coconuts. The island is surrounded by a fringing reef. The ''makatea'' is honeycombed with caves, some of which have been used for burials. History Polynesians are believed to have lived on Atiu since at l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitiaro
Mitiaro, the fourth island in the Cook Islands group, is of volcanic origin. Standing in water deep it is across at its widest point. Geography Mitiaro, also known as Nukuroa, is part of the Nga-Pu-Toru island group formerly, a volcano that became a coral atoll. The coral died forming fossilised coral (known locally as ''makatea''). The island is surrounded by a belt of this makatea, between high and characteristic of islands in the southern group. The centre of the island is almost flat, quite swampy and contains two freshwater lakes, Rotonui (big lake) and Toto Iti (small lake). The lakes are teeming with eels (''Anguilla obscura''),which the locals call itiki and who reach the lakes from the Ocean through underwater connections, and the imported tilapia from Africa where it is known as bream. Beaches are limited but there are subterranean limestone caves and the beach at low tide abounds in marine life. Important Bird Area The island has been designated an Important Bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manuae (Cook Islands)
Manuae is an uninhabited atoll in the southern group of the Cook Islands, 100 kilometres south-east of Aitutaki. It is administratively part of Aitutaki, but it does not belong to any district or tapere of Aitutaki. It is, however, part of Arutanga-Reureu-Nikaupara Constituency. Geographic description Manuae is a true atoll sitting on the peak of a submerged volcano which descends over 4000 meters to the ocean bed. It comprises two horseshoe-shaped islets, ''Manuae'' to the west and ''Te Au O Tu'' to the east, with a total area of 6 km2 on either side of a lagoon about 7 km x 4 km. Manuae has an area of 2.1 km2, while Te Au O Tu's is 3.9 km2. The lagoon is 13 km2 in size, shallow and subject to large shifting sand banks. A coral reef surrounds the atoll, and there is no passage through the reef. The island is a marine park and is an important breeding ground for seabirds and marine turtles in the Central Pacific. The offshore waters of Manuae ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Cook Islands
The Cook Islands can be divided into two groups: the Southern Cook Islands and the Northern Cook Islands. The country is located in Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ... to New Zealand. From March to December, the Cook Islands are in the path of tropical cyclones, the most notable of which were the cyclones Cyclone Martin (1997), Martin and Cyclone Percy, Percy. Two Ecoregion#Terrestrial, terrestrial ecoregions lie within the islands' territory: the Central Polynesian tropical moist forests and the Cook Islands tropical moist forests. Islands and reefs Southern Cook Islands *Aitutaki *Atiu *Mangaia *Manuae (Cook Islands), Manuae *Mauke *Mitiaro *Palmerston Island *Rarotonga (capital) *Takute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district (CBD). Downtowns typically contain a small percentage of a city’s employment. In some metropolitan areas it is marked by a cluster of tall buildings, cultural institutions and the convergence of rail transit and bus lines. In British English, the term " city centre" is most often used instead. History Origins The Oxford English Dictionary's first citation for "down town" or "downtown" dates to 1770, in reference to the center of Boston. Some have posited that the term "downtown" was coined in New York City, where it was in use by the 1830s to refer to the original town at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan.Fogelson, p. 10. As the town of New York grew into a city, the only direction it could grow on the island was toward the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaimutu
Vaimutu is one of four traditional districts on the island of Mauke in the Cook islands. It is in the east of the island, between the districts of Ngatiarua Ngatiarua is one of four traditional districts on the island of Mauke in the Cook islands. It is in the north of the island, between the districts of Makatea and Vaimutu, and is subdivided into five or six tapere. Mauke Airport Mauke Airport i ... and Areora. References Districts of the Cook Islands Mauke {{CookIslands-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangaia English Version
Mangaia (traditionally known as A'ua'u Enua, which means ''terraced'') is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. It is a roughly circular island, with an area of , from Rarotonga. Originally heavily populated, Mangaia's population has dropped by 75% in the last 50 years. Geography Originally known as ''A'ua'u'' or ''A'ua'u Enua'' ("terraced"), the island was named Mangaia (or ''Mangaianui-Neneva'', "Mangaia monstrously-great") by Tamaeu, who came to the island from Aitutaki in 1775. Geologists estimate the island is at least 18 million years old. It rises 4750 m (15,600 ft) above the ocean floor and has a land area of 51.8 km2. Surrounded by a fringing coral reef, like many of the southern Cook Islands, it is surrounded by a high ring of cliffs of fossil coral 60 m (200 ft) high, known as the makatea. The inner rim of the ''makatea'' forms a steep cliff, surrounding swamps and a central volcanic plateau. The interi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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