Anuta is a small

volcanic island Geologically, a volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term high island can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

in the province of Temotu in the southeastern part of

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

. It is one of the smallest permanently inhabited

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

n islands. It is one of the Polynesian Outlier communities in

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...

Geography

The island lies about to the east-southeast of Nendö. It is a small volcanic island with a fringing

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

. The highest point on the island is above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. The island has a diameter of only about and an area of . The island lies halfway between the Solomon Islands archipelago and

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...

. Anuta's nearest populated neighbour is Tikopia Island, about to the southwest. The next closest islands are Vanikolo,

Utupua Utupua is an island in the Santa Cruz Islands, located 66 km to the Southeast of the main Santa Cruz group, between Vanikoro and Santa Cruz proper (Nendö). This island belongs administratively to the Temotu Province of Solomon Islands. G ...

, and the Reef Islands—with mixed Melanesian and Polynesian populations—and the Duff Islands, all over away. Further southwest lie the Banks and New Hebrides Groups.

History

Anuta was first mentioned in 1791, and the political and geographical circumstances led to isolation of Anuta's population. According to oral traditions, Anuta was settled by voyagers from

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

and 'Uvea about fifteen generations ago. The time frame of the migration is not precisely identified but is understood to be some time between the 10th century and the mid-13th century, although the arrival of the voyagers in Anuta could have occurred later. The pattern of settlement that is believed to have occurred is that the Polynesians spread out from

and other islands in the central and southeastern Pacific islands. During pre-European-contact times, there was frequent canoe voyaging between the islands, because

Polynesian navigation Polynesian navigation or Polynesian wayfinding was used for thousands of years to enable long voyages across thousands of kilometres of the Pelagic zone, open Pacific Ocean. Polynesians made contact with nearly every island within the vast Poly ...

skills are recognised to have allowed deliberate journeys on double-hull sailing canoes or outrigger canoes. The voyagers moved into the Tuvaluan atolls, with

providing a stepping-stone to migration into the Polynesian Outlier communities in

and Micronesia. One of the Tongan settlers, Pu Kaurave, became the first chief, and was succeeded by his son Ruokimata. When Ruokimata died without an heir, Taroaki, one of the 'Uvean arrivals, became the next chief.It took an delection to bring Anuta into the outside world
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', July 1973, p41 Further arrivals from Samoa and Tonga occurred two generations after the initial settlers. The current social structure was established in the sixth generation when chief Tearakura, his two brothers, and one brother-in-law slew the remainder of the island's male population. These men, along with Tearakura's two sisters, were founders of the island's four ''kainanga'', large descent groups that are sometimes described in English as 'clans'. Another group arrived from Rotuma some time later. Anglican missionaries arrived in 1916, quickly converting the entire island. During the 1990s, Anuta's advisers rejected western medicines on the island, arguing that it would indicate a lack of faith in the church. Administratively, Anuta is part of the Anglican Church of Melanesia Diocese of Temotu. In December 2002, the island was impacted by Cyclone Zoe.

Society and culture

Anuta has a human population of about 300. This is one of the highest population densities in the world, perhaps equalling that of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. The island has two systems for naming villages (''noporanga'', or "dwelling places"). In one system there are three villages called Mua, Muri, and St. John. ''Mua'', meaning "front", is to the east. ''Muri'', meaning "back" is west of Mua. After establishment of the Anglican church in 1916, a third village grew up to the west of Muri and took the name of the church, St. John. In the second system, Mua and Muri are combined under the name, Rotoapi, and contrasted with the new village which, in the second system, is called Vatiana. Anutans use the uninhabited island of Fatutaka, about to the southeast, as a place to hunt birds.

Language

Anutans speak the '' Anuta language'' (locally ''te taranga paka-Anuta''), which is related to other Polynesian languages.

Relationship with environment

An important value in Anutan society is ''aropa'', which emphasizes collaboration, sharing and compassion for others. The concept of ''aropa'' encourages islanders to share their finite resources equitably. Because Anuta's high population density has not had a severely negative impact on the island's ecosystem, Anuta has attracted interest from scientists interested in

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

. The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary series '' South Pacific'' devotes part of the episode 1, Ocean of Islands, to the ability of Anutans to maintain their island's bounty, contrasting it with the environmental destruction found on Easter Island. The Anuta people take care to fulfil their needs with respect to the environment, to preserve it. At certain times they do not catch certain fish or hunt animals.

Social life

Like most of the other

n islands, Anuta has traditions of choral polyphonic singing. Free time is spent dancing, singing and swimming.

Research and media exposure

Anthropologist Raymond Firth visited Anuta for a day in 1952. Ethnobotanist Douglas Yen, along with archaeologists Patrick Kirch and Paul Rosendahl, spent about two months there in 1971, and anthropologist Richard Feinberg lived on Anuta for almost a year in 1972–1973. He has remained in communication with the Anutan community from that time onward and has made several additional visits. Five documentaries about Anuta have been created. In January 2005 Italian documentarists Elisabetta (Lizzi) Eordegh and Carlo Auriemma sailed aboard the sailing boat "Barca Pulita" with a crew of four (including two doctors) and visited the island for one week. In 2006, Bruce Parry of the BBC visited for several weeks, during which he and his team filmed an episode of the TV show, ''

Tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

''. In 2008, another film team from the BBC made a brief visit, and in 2012 a team from the

Seoul Broadcasting System Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS; ) is one of the leading Television in South Korea, South Korean television and radio broadcasters. The broadcaster legally became known as SBS in March 2000, changing its corporate name from Seoul Broadcasting ...

filmed a TV show there for a Korean audience. In 2013, the team and crew of the Canadian documentary ''1000 jours pour la planète'' arrived on the island with the anthropologist Richard Feinberg.

References

External links

Language: Anuta, Basic Vocabulary Database

Anuta community fishing, BBC video
{{Authority control Islands of the Solomon Islands Polynesian outliers Volcanoes of the Solomon Islands