Cook Islands Language Week

‘E tu‘anga mātau‘ia te ‘akapapa‘anga kōrero ta‘ito ‘ō te kōpū tangata ‘ē tatou mei mua mai. Ka nākirokiro mai tātou ‘i te kite ‘i tō tātou tika‘anga tangata ‘i te kite‘anga ‘ē ko‘ai tatou, ‘ē nō‘ea mai tātou. Ka ō mai ki roto ‘i te au ‘ākapapa‘anga kōrero ta‘ito te au tūtū, puka-tūtū, au reta, ‘ē te au ‘ākapapa‘anga peapa pu‘apinga.

Nā roto ‘i te raverave‘anga ‘ē te ‘ākono‘anga ‘i te au ‘apinga ‘akaputu o tō tātou kōpū tangata ‘ē ‘akakite mai ‘i te roa‘anga ‘ō te tuātau ‘ē vai meitaki ai tē reira. Ka rauka i tēia au kaveinga ‘i te tauturu iā koe ‘i te tāporoporo ‘i te au ‘akapapa‘anga kōrero ta‘ito o tō‘ou kōpū tangata nō te au uki ki mua.

‘Ātoro atu

_{E tūtū ta‘ito, mei roto mai ‘i te ngā‘i vaira‘anga au ‘apinga ta‘ito pu‘apinga ma‘ata, ā te Pacific Islands Education Resource Centre (PIERC), ‘ē te Pū-Ma‘ata Mua ‘ō te PIERC, Le Mamea Taulapapa Sefulu Ioane, mei te au mata‘iti, 1970’s mai.}

Kia orā na, my name is Liam Kokaʻua. My role at the Museum is Project Curator, Mātauranga Māori for the upcoming Natural Environment and Human Impacts Gallery, opening in 2025. I grew up in South Auckland but am deeply connected to the tapere (traditional district) of Pokoinu on the island of Rarotonga.

Cook Islands Māori, or simply “Māori” as we call it in Rarotonga, is hugely important to my identity. I speak the Rarotonga dialect of Māori, one of six spoken in the Cook Islands.

We have a few unique words in our dialect not spoken elsewhere in the Cook Islands or Pacific, for example: katu (head), ūtaro (grandchild), puakaaoa (dog), tuatua (speak), and pāʻī (swim).

Learning the language as a teenager first helped me to feel secure in who I am. As an adult, knowing Māori has enabled me to better understand the indigenous worldviews I now rely on in the fields of environmental conservation and cultural research. I continue to remain on my language journey, speaking it with anyone interested but especially my children and partner.

I will leave with one of my favourite tākiato or proverbs:

ʻĀʻāere mārie e aku pōtiki, kia kite i ngā ʻinapōtea

Take things gently, my dears, so you may (live to) see many bright moonlight nights.

Kia orana, Turou, Oromai!
Turou kite taua ngutuare, koukouanga ite au tuatua, ete au reo pakari e manganui
Mou te kō, mou te ‘ere
kia pukuru o vaevae, kia mokorā ō kakī
Meitaki maata

My heritage is Indian from dad’s side (Hoshiarpur, Punjab), and Cook Island & Tahitian from my mum’s side (Tauhunu, Manihiki, Cook Islands & Rapa Iti, Rurutu, Tahiti). I work within the Visitor Services department as Visitor Experience & Bookings Manager.

Working within the Museum being part of the front of house team, I am proud to welcome all walks of life. Many of our Pasifika people are always feel lost, confused, or unsure if they are welcomed in the Museum -many still have that old fashioned belief that they cannot come into such an institute. Being front house, myself and my fellow Māori and Pacific colleagues break down those stereotypes and welcome our fellow brothers and sisters with open arms and show them that our Museum -Tāmaki Paenga Hira is open for everyone- especially for them. Seeing & receiving the gratitude and happiness from our Pasifika communities is indescribable, I am proud I can break down those barriers so our communities can enjoy our space and connect with many of our taonga on display.

The Cook Islands (Te Kūki 'Āirani or ʻAvaiki Nui) is a group of 15 islands spread across 2,200,000 km2 of the South Pacific Ocean. Each island is unique and diverse in habitat, flora, and fauna, though unfortunately the true extent of biodiversity is unknown. We're lucky to have some Cook Islands dragonflies and damselflies from Atiu and Rarotonga collected in the 21st century. In this blog for ‘Epetoma ō te reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani (Cook Islands Language Week) we take a closer look at the specimens in our collection and what they can teach researchers about the ecology and evolution of these special creatures.

Read more

“Our reo contributes to our identity as Cook Islanders. We are a small nation with a rich and beautiful history that stretches back to primordial beings that have now become part of myth and legend.”

William Kainana Cuthers, Researcher and Academic Writer, has written an article in celebration of Cook Islands Language Week and to commemorate and highlight the legacy of Cook Islands service persons, like his grandfather and namesake William Kiri Cuthers, a Coastwatcher during the Second World War.

Introduction written by Arerangi Tongia.

Read more

More than 500 Cook Islanders fought for New Zealand in the WWI. They served with distinction but suffered great loss. Find out more about these courageous servicemen.

Read more

Tivaevae are the height of women’s artistic expression within Cook Island and Society Islands communities, both in the islands and abroad. They are the key gift item during significant life ceremonies such as christenings, graduations, weddings, and funerals. Tivaevae (or tifaifai in Tahitian) are treasured heirlooms that feature from the beginning of life to its end.

Tivaevae making is largely a communal undertaking. Vainetini, tivaevae-making groups, are centered around a tivaevae ta’unga, quilting expert, who leads the creation and cutting of patterns and oversees the final form of tivaevae. Familial, village and island pride are bound up in the creativity and skill expressed in tivaevae.

Go behind the scenes to find out more with exhibition curator Fuli Pereira in her interview with Viva.

Read more

The first of our highlights is a beautifully illustrated children’s book about the making of a Paiere (fishing canoe) on the island of Ma‘uke in the southern group (also known as Akatokamanava) by Judith Kunzle. Called ‘Paiere : The Making of a Fishing Canoe in Ma‘uke’, and published in 1995 by the Cook Islands Natural Heritage Project, the book shows, through beautiful watercolours, a group of canoe builders creating a new paiere from scratch. Judith Kunzle lived on Rarotonga for many years and has worked closely with the local knowledge holders to create this demonstration of an important traditional creative process. She has interwoven local Ma‘uke terms (rather than Rarotongan) into the text and acknowledged a number of those who contributed their knowledge; Rairi Rairi, Rangi Moekaa, Mata Taruia, Vavia Mata, Ngavii Tere, Tautara Purea and Noo Aiturau.

We then dive back to the 1800s and two titles based around the Cook Islands and in particular, Tongareva (Penrhyn Atoll) and Mangaia.

‘Wild Life Among The Pacific Islanders’ (published 1867) was written by E. H. Lamont, an American trader and beachcomber who voyaged through the islands of French Polynesia and the Southern Cooks until he eventually washed up on Tongareva in 1853 after the brig “Chatham” was wrecked on the reef. Tongareva (Penrhyn Atoll) is the most remote of the Cook Islands, 1360 kilometres north east of Rarotonga. Lamont and the other survivors were captured by the locals, becoming involved in the local community. In fact, though only on Tongareva a year, Lamont was so involved he had three wives whilst there, before escaping on a canoe he built with Bill, another survivor of the shipwreck. He was picked up by a whaling ship, the “John Appleton” out of New Bedford and so managed to get to Rarotonga. This title has interesting references to fishing at that time, including methods and types of fish caught. You can read the references to fish and fishing in this book online here.

Another great online resource to access and research fishes, flora and other fauna found in the Cook Islands is the Cook Islands Biodiversity Database developed by the Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust and hosted by the Bishop Museum based in Honolulu, Hawaii. Common names of different species are often listed alongside their name in Cook Islands Maori as well in Latin. Images, scientific taxonomy, and distribution in the geographic area are also key features of the records in this comprehensive database.

Bring to life the beautiful fish found in the clear waters of the Cook Islands. 

Download now