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Takuu, formerly known as Tauu and also known as Nukutoa, Mortlock Island, or Marqueen Island, is a small, isolated
atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...
off the east coast of
Bougainville Island Bougainville Island (; Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is . The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at . The much smaller Buk ...
in
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
.


Geography

Takuu lies about to the northeast of Kieta, a city on the east coast of Bougainville. The atoll consists of about 13 islands to the east and one island to the northwest. Its position is . Takuu Island is the southernmost and largest of the islands on the eastern side of the atoll. Most of the population, however, lives on the small neighbouring island of Nukutoa. The islands in the atoll are very low-lying, about a metre (three feet) above the high tide mark. Local rise in sea level has been noticed by the people of Takuu and by Richard Moyle, a University of Auckland ethnomusicologist who studied the atoll for 17 years. It is, however, much lower than the publicised a year. Two scientists (Scott Smithers and John Hunter) who visited the atoll in November and December 2008 say it does not appear to be sinking due to tectonic activity. While the atoll is likely to persist physically for some time, a variety of problems due to apparent climate-change related phenomena and the political situation are making life on Takuu very difficult. Moyle has predicted that climate change will eventually extinguish the atoll's ability to sustain life. "Takuu families living elsewhere in Papua New Guinea will take in as many as they can, but with no single resettlement location, I can't see Takuu continuing to function as a community" (Moyle, quoted in Wane 2005:10).


Population and culture

The islands are inhabited by approximately 400 people of Polynesian origin. Takuu is one of the Polynesian outlier cultures which are situated outside of the
Polynesian Triangle The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean with three island groups at its corners: Hawaii (''Hawaiʻi''), Easter Island (''Rapa Nui'') and New Zealand (''Aotearoa''). This is often used as a simple way to define Polynesia. Outsi ...
. The people of Takuu have traditionally placed great value on the retention of their indigenous practices and religious sites. To protect Takuu from outside influences, the Ariki (chief) banned Christian missionaries for the last 25 years. Only four researchers have been permitted to spend time on the islands in that time. The ban was only lifted in the last five years, as young islanders who had lived and studied on the Papua New Guinea mainland returned to their homeland. A number of churches have now been established on Nukutoa. From 2006 a team of filmmakers (principally Briar March and Lyn Collie) visited the atoll twice, making a documentary that recorded culture and life on the atoll, and examines the possibility that the community might have to relocate to
Bougainville Island Bougainville Island (; Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is . The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at . The much smaller Buk ...
if their physical situation worsened. The second shoot in 2008 included the visit of scientists Scott Smithers and John Hunter. The documentary was released in 2010 as ''There Once was an Island: Te Henua a Nnoho''. Traditional life continues to this day on Takuu. Traditional thatched houses stand in crowded rows, so close to each other that the eaves almost touch. There are few trees on the island apart from coconut palms, and the main street serves as a marae, a space for ritual ceremonies. Music is still a fundamental part of life on Takuu. Because of the long period of isolation, many of the indigenous songs, stories and dances have survived. Many of the songs date from the period before European contact, which occurred in the mid 19th century. The songs tell stories of voyages between the islands, while "dance performances fill 20 or 30 hours a week" (Wane 2005). Many of the songs are celebrations of successful relationships, whether relationships that link extended families together in productive activity or relationships binding people with their ancestors in times of need.


Language

The people of Takuu speak a
Polynesian language The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austr ...
. Recent classifications of the Polynesian languages place the Takuu language in an Ellicean branch, along with Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi, Nukuria, Nukumanu, Luangiua, and Sikaiana. Twentieth-century classifications had placed these languages in a Samoic Outlier group.Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database
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Economy

The local economy depends on agriculture and fishing. In recent years, the cultivation of food plants has grown steadily more difficult as the fresh water table becomes contaminated by sea water. Some of the traditional taro gardens have salt water flowing into them at high tide, which kills the crop. As a result, the returns from cultivation are diminishing and the people have been forced to appeal to the Papua New Guinea and Bougainville Regional governments for assistance. In 2001, the community faced a time of great deprivation and hunger when the supply ship that regularly visits the islands was laid up for six months for repairs - and this is not unusual. In early 2006 a cyclone devastated the islands and added to their already compromised situation. In December 2008, a series of tidal surges at high tide over three days washed away kitchens, flooded homes and destroyed a number of churches, terrifying the people. The service boat was unable to come for several weeks afterwards, emphasising the vulnerability of the atoll community. It appears that some of the community are now looking to relocate permanently to the Bougainville mainland. The population dropped rapidly from around 2010 with the end of regular shipping, and expatriate Takuu chartered open boats to bring off family members, most of whom settled in Buka. In 2019 the estimated resident population was 150.


References

*Joanna Wane, 2005.
Before the Flood
. ''Ingenio et Labore: Magazine of the University of Auckland'', Spring 2005, 10–12. Accessed 19 May 2009. *Herb Kawainui Kāne, Evolution of the Hawaiian Canoe,1998.http://pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu/ike/kalai_waa/kane_evolution_hawaiian_canoe.html. Accessed 17 January 2011.


External links


Before the flood
''Ingenio'' magazine, University of Auckland (pdf file)

The two distinct island groups named "Mortlock Islands"

CNN.com/World
Musical Memory of Takuu
Royal Society of New Zealand, Marsden Fund Newsletter

''World today'' archives, ABC Online (Australia)

An associated dedicated to saving the islands
Takuu's tragedy unfolding
Islands Business
There once was an Island
{{Authority control Atolls of Papua New Guinea Geography of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville Polynesian outliers Volcanoes of Bougainville Island