Cook Islands
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| Official Language | English, Cook Islands Maori | ||||
| Capital | Avarua | ||||
| Head of State | Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (as Queen in right of New Zealand) | ||||
| Queen's Representative | Sir Frederick Goodwin KBE | ||||
| Prime Minister | Jim Marurai | ||||
| Area | 240 km² (92.7 sq. mi) | ||||
| Population (2005) | 17,954 | ||||
| Independence – Date |
The Cook Islands is not independent. It is self-governing in free association with New Zealand August 4, 1965. | ||||
| National anthem | Te Atua Mou E (God is Truth) | ||||
| Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD). Also, have local $5, $2 and $1 coins. | ||||
| Time zone | Universal Time -10 | ||||
| Calling Code | 682 | ||||
| Internet TLD | .ck | ||||
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| Map of The Cook Islands | |||||
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| The Matavera Christian Church in Rarotonga | |||||
The Cook Islands (Cook Islands Maori: Kūki 'Āirani) are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The 15 small islands in this South Pacific Ocean have a total land area of 240 square kilometres (92.7 sq. mi).
Tourism is the country's leading industry, the strongest element of the economy, far ahead of offshore banking, pearls, marine, and fruit exports. A popular art form on the islands is tivaivai, often likened to quilting.
National defense is the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands and at its request. The Cook Islands has adopted an increasingly independent foreign policy, particularly after the adoption of an isolationist and non-aligned policy by New Zealand in the 1980s.
Geography
The Cook Islands are a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. The northern Cook Islands are seven low-lying, sparsely populated, coral atolls — Manihiki, Nassau, Palmerston Island, Penrhyn Island (also known as Tongareva), Pukapuka, Rakahanga, and Suwarrow. The southern Cook Islands consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic isles where most of the populace lives — Aitutaki, Atiu (Enua-Manu or Island of Birds), Mangaia, Mauke, and Rarotonga (capital, Manuae, Mitiaro, and Takutea.
The total land area is 240 square kilometres, or about 1.3 times the size of Washington, DC.
It has a tropical climate moderated by trade winds. The highest point is Te Manga, at 652 meters. Arable land comprises 16.67 percent of land use, permanent crops 8.33 percent and other 75 percent. Typhoons from November to March pose the only natural hazard.
History
The Cook Islands became a British protectorate at their own request in 1888, then were transferred to New Zealand in 1901. They remained a New Zealand protectorate until 1965, at which point they became a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. Today, the Cook Islands are essentially independent, but are still officially placed under New Zealand sovereignty. New Zealand is tasked with overseeing the country's foreign relations and defence, but may not impose legislation on the Cook Islands without the latter's consent. The Cook Islands are one of three New Zealand dependencies, along with Tokelau and Niue.
After achieving autonomy in 1965, the Cook Islands elected Albert Henry of the Cook Islands Party as their first Prime Minister. He was succeeded in 1978 by Tom Davis of the Democratic Party.
On June 11, 1980, the United States signed a treaty with New Zealand specifying the maritime border between the Cook Islands and American Samoa and also relinquishing its claim to the islands of Penrhyn, Pukapuka (Danger), Manihiki, and Rakahanga.
Politics
Politics of the Cook Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic associated state, whereby the Chief Minister is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. The Islands are self-governing in free association with New Zealand and are fully responsible for internal affairs. New Zealand retains some responsibility for external affairs, in consultation with the Cook Islands. In recent years the Cook Islands has taken on more of its own external affairs and as of 2005 has diplomatic relations in its own name with 18 other countries. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of the Cook Islands. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Economy
Like other South Pacific island nations, the Cook Islands' economic development is hindered by the distance from foreign markets, the limited size of domestic markets, lack of natural resources, periodic devastation from natural disasters, and inadequate infrastructure. Agriculture provides the economic base. Copra and citrus fruitare the main exports. Manufacturing activities are limited to fruit processing, clothing, and handicrafts. Trade deficits are offset by remittances from emigrants and by foreign aid, overwhelmingly from New Zealand.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the country maintained a large public service and accumulated a large foreign debt. Subsequent reforms, including the sale of state assets, the strengthening of economic management, the encouragement of tourism, and a debt restructuring agreement, have rekindled investment and growth.
Exports totalled $US9.1-million in 2000. Export commodities were copra, papayas, fresh and canned citrus fruit, coffee, fish, pearls and pearl shells, and clothing. Export partners were Australia 34 percent,, Japan 27 percent, New Zealand 25 percent, U.S. 8 percent in 2004.
Imports totalled $US50.7-million in 2000. Import commodities were foodstuffs, textiles, fuels, timber, and capital goods. Import partners in 2004 were: New Zealand 61 percent, Fiji 19 percent, the U.S. 9 percent, Australia 6 percent, and Japan 2 percent.
Demographics
By 2006 some 21,388 people were living in the Cook Islands, but only 13,500 were usual residents. About 51,000 lived in New Zealand, 70 percent were born there, and 42 percent were under 15. About 15,000 Cook Islanders lived in Australia. With most of the population living away from the islands, efforts to preserve language and culture are underway in expatriate communities, as well as in the homeland.
Cook Islanders are Polynesians. Ethnic groups in the 2001 census were: Cook Island Maori 87.7 percent, part Cook Island Maori 5.8 percent, other 6.5 percent.
Cook Island Maori belongs to the family of Oceanic languages, a sub-branch of the Austronesian language family. English is the official official language while Maori Island Maori is in use.
The London Missionary Society introduced Christianity to the Cooks in the early 1800s. In the 1970s the Cook Islands Christian Church was formed from the London Missionary Society. Cook Islands Christian Church claims 55.9 percent of the population, Roman Catholic Church 16.8 percent, Seventh-Day Adventists 7.9 percent, Church of Latter Day Saints 3.8 percent, other Protestant 5.8 percent, other 4.2 percent, unspecified 2.6 percent, and three percent say they have no religion.
Culture
As in other Polynesian island, the Cook Islands pre-European culture was a chiefly system based on traditional legends of migration and settlement. These stories enshrined the power of the chiefs as inheritors of an "heroic" culture, similar to that of the heroic period of Greece around 1200 B.C.E. The Polynesian hero acquired “mana,” meaning “power” and “prestige” by the deeds he accomplished.
Allegiance to chiefs was fundamental. The chiefs' titles were passed down through the senior male line, while land rights were inherited via the mother's line. Chiefs were responsible for war leadership, carrying out important discussions with other groups or clans, land allocation, disputes settlement and intercession with the gods. A chief organised and paid for feasts. A chief, or indeed, any man, was judged by his ability and willingness to bestow gifts and to throw big parties.
The Cook Islands has a total of 23 government-run schools, eight of which are on Rarotonga and 15 of which are spread out among the nine outer islands of Aitutaki, Atiu, Mangaia, Manihiki, Mauke, Mitiaro, Nassau, Penrhyn, and Pukapuka. Literacy is 95 percent
In the Cook Islands, Christian music is extremely popular. "Imene tuki" and "imene metua" are forms of unaccompanied vocal music known for a uniquely Polynesian drop in pitch at the end of the phrases, as well as staccato rhythmic outbursts of nonsensical syllables "tuki." Harmony-singing church music and a wide variety of hymns and wedding and funeral music are found throughout the Cook Islands. There is much variation across the region, and each island has its own traditional songs. There are numerous Polynesian string bands who play at restaurants, hotels and concerts and they use combinations of modern electronics with traditional ukeleles fashioned from coconut shells.
Traditional dance is the most prominent art form of the Cook Islands. Each island has its own unique dances that are taught to all children, and each island is home to several annual competitions. Traditional dances are generally accompanied by the drumming of the paté.
The Cook Islands drumming style is well-known internationally, but is often misidentified as an example of Tahitian music. The art of drumming has existed for hundreds of years in Aitutaki, Manihiki, Pukapuka, Mangaia and Tongareva.>.
Carving does not have the spiritual and cultural emphasis given to it by the Maori in New Zealand. Atiu has a strong tradition of crafts both in carving and local fibre arts such as tapa. Mangaia is the source of many fine adzes carved in a distinctive, idiosyncratic style with the so-called double-k design. From Mangaia come food pounders carved from the heavy calcite found in its extensive limestone caves.
“Tivaevae” is the art of making handmade patchwork quilts. Introduced by the wives of missionaries in the 19th century, the craft grew into a communal activity.
Cook Islands writers include Stephen Savage, a New Zealander and a public servant, who compiled a dictionary late in the 19th century, Robert Dean Frisbie, a Californian writer who, in the late 1920s, sought refuge from the hectic world of post-war America and numerous magazine articles and books on the island, and Ronald Syme, founder of a pineapple canning enterprise on Mangaia, nd author of "Isles of the Frigate Bird" and "The Lagoon is Lonely Now".
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