OCEANIA AND THE PACIFIC

ISLANDS THE COOK ISLANDS

The Cook Islands is a group of fifteen volcanic islands and atolls in the South Pacific, spread widely over 1.35 million square miles of ocean, that exist as a self-governing democracy. Considered to be "in free association" with New Zealand, the islands are broken into two distinct groups. The Southern Cook Islands, which include the most populous island, Rarotonga. Actually the largest population of Cook Islanders is not in Rarotonga, or anywhere in the islands themselves, but in New Zealand. In In 2006 about 14,000 people lived on Rarotonga. In 2006, 58,000 in New Zealand self-identified as being of Cook Island descent.

Though each of the Cook Islands has its own unique shades of culture, a common strain running among them is a social organization based on chiefs, families (clan) and a lack of individuality as opposed to integration with the village or family group. The chiefdom primarily passed along the male bloodline, while land rights passed down the mother’s line. Among other duties such as leading the village in war, chiefs were responsible for the all-important sharing of food and giving of gifts; the greatest chiefs threw the best parties.

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