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Cook Islands
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Atiu
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A raised
volcanic island in the Cook Islands southern group, Atiu is surrounded by
a reef from which rise six-metre cliffs of fossilised coral -- makatea
-- which form a mile-wide ring around the island, virtually a plateau.
Erosion at the inner side of the ring has formed a dip of some 30 metres
into fertile land which gradually rises again to a central flat-topped
hill about 230 feet (70 m) above sea level where most human habitation is
concentrated. The island stands some 14,500 feet (4500 m) above the ocean
floor.
Atiuans trace their
ancestry from Tangaroa, the principal god of Atiu and universally
recognised in Polynesia as tutelary God of the Sea. Atiu's area is about
half that of Rarotonga. The low swampy
land consists of taro plantations, marshes and a lake, Te Roto. This
fertile area also grows bananas, citrus fruits, pawpaws, breadfruit and
coconuts. The ancient name of the island was Enuamanu, meaning the island
of insects and animals, although there is some dispute over whether 'animals'
includes 'insects'.
The Atiuans understand it as meaning
there were no previous inhabitants. The Atiuans call themselves 'worms of
Enuamanu' because they were born on Atiu and hope to be buried there.
There was once a custom on Atiu similar to that of New Zealand Maori of
burying a newborn child's placenta under a newly planted tree. This is the
origin of the Atiuan saying: "We come from the land and go back to
the land." The Atiuans were a fierce, warrior people and before the
arrival of the missionaries busied themselves with making war on their
neighbors on Mauke and Mitiaro,
slaughtering and eating significant numbers of them.
Captain
Cook sighted the
island on March 31 1777 and made tentative contact with some of the people
over the next few days. In common with most islands in the southern group,
Atiu has only a small, shallow lagoon. It compensates, however, with many
picturesque, sandy beaches. As is usual with the makatea islands of
the southern group, the fossilised coral limestone abounds with caves
filled with stalactites and stalagmites. One in particular, the
Anatakitaki Cave, is inhabited by tiny kopeka birds which navigate
in the dark using sonar, like bats. Male visitors can enjoy the esoteric
delights of the "tumunu" or bush beer party.
Technically illegal and banned ever
since the missionaries descended on these beautiful islands, the tumunu
is a hangover (in more senses than one) from the old-time kava
ceremonies so detested by the missionaries. However, they have survived
and "invitations" can be arranged for visiting enthusiasts.
Atiu is a great place for
active travellers and holidaymakers who enjoy scenery and walking.
A travel impression |
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We touch down on the baked coral
airstrip on the north of Atiu and board a pickup truck which bounces up
through the makatea (fossilised coral) cliffs which form a
kilometre-wide ring around the island. This is heavily forested with
tropical broadleaf trees and vines in luxuriant abundance. The grey
outcrops of razor-sharp makatea loom mysteriously out of the green
depths of the forest.
The truck starts to climb on a red earth road up
onto the high plateau which is the inhabited centre. Here five small
villages cluster together to form what appears to be a single unit. It is
hot and very dry.
The normally rainy
season has been cancelled because of El Niño. The village roads are dusty
and the low coral walls which line them are stained with red. Here and
there are magnificent cashew trees.
Atiu had been suffering near drought conditions
for the past eight weeks. There was underground water at the foot of the
hill near the makatea but almost no water pressure at the top of
the hill. The hose at the back of the house trickled slowly all day into
buckets, freezer cabinets and other containers. We had to carry these
inside to the shower to enjoy a "Manihiki" shower, which
consists of filling a bowl from a bucket, washing and scrubbing down the
whole body with the cold water in the bowl and then rinsing off with the
rest of the bucket. One becomes quite adept after two practice sessions.
Similarly, we boiled the cold water in the electric jug and transfer it to
plastic bottles in the refrigerator.
The first night was extremely hot because we
closed the louvred windows to keep mosquitoes at bay. Sleeping was very
difficult. The second night we solved the problem by leaving the eastern
door open to allow ingress for the breeze. We also opened the windows.
Mosquitoes were deterred by lighting a mosquito coil in each room as well
as the corridor.
Atiu's economy was feeling the pain of the
austerity regime introduced in 1997 to bring the Cook Islands back onto an
accountable, free market basis. The drastic reductions in the Public
Service -- down from about 120 to 49 on Atiu -- had resulted in many
families going back to subsistence farming and fishing. There was also
much more time for the men to enjoy their favorite pastime, the tumunu.
The Tumunu |
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ORIGINALLY
tumunu was Atiu's version of the Pacific-wide habit of kava
drinking. After the Europeans arrived it became an illegal beer brewing
and drinking school which grew out of the prohibitions placed on alcohol
last century by the missionaries. To outwit the zealots the men of Atiu
would disappear into the bush and brew beer made mainly from oranges.
Nowadays they use hops, malt, yeast and sugar.
There are about eight tumunu currently in Atiu. We were taken to
Sam and the Boys which was run in a tiny bush hut with coconut thatched
roof (kiekau). Before entering, our necks were garlanded with two
leaves with stems knotted together. We sat on the verandah on upended
coconut logs in a circle with the barman in the centre. Ranged in a
semi-circle was, first, Sam himself, a dour thin man who smiled only with
difficulty. Then came the Brewmaster, a strikingly handsome man who sat
before a white plastic drum and occasionally stirred its contents with a
stick. Next, the Atiuan Earthquake, a wrestler who played the tea-chest
bass, and two other lugubrious characters.
The barman, who wore a headcloth in approved Los
Angeles streetgang style, pulled back the lid of his plastic drum, dipped
in a cup made from the pointed end of a coconut shell, and offered it to
each person in turn. Everyone was expected to drink the first cup straight
down and hand it back to the barman. After that, those who did not wish to
drink held up a hand with palm outwards each time the cup passed.
The brew was warm and flat and tasted faintly like a
fortified wine, a rough port, although it was clearly a beer. However, it
was quite strong, probably about 10 per cent alcohol. After a couple of
circuits during which the boys sang some songs to their own accompaniment
on ukelele, guitar and string bass, the barman tapped the pointed end of
the cup on the lid of his keg.
This was the signal for silence while a short
prayer was intoned -- one wonders what the missionaries would have thought
of that little touch -- and the guests were then expected to introduce
themselves and give a brief autobiography. When one has had a sufficiency
of the brew and wishes to leave it is customary, indeed expected, that
visitors will leave a small donation (usually about $3) to assist with the
costs of making the next brew. The tumunu also has a practical
function. Much of the community's day-to-day operations are discussed
there and, under the influence of alcohol, paths are smoothed and ways
made straight because normally inarticulate citizens are emboldened to
speak.
Arts and crafts
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At the northern
end, in the village of Teenui, is the Fibre Arts Studio, a gallery and
arts centre plus coffee shop run by Andrea Eimke, a German-born artist who
designs, paints and embroiders with exquisite craftsmanship a wide range
of Polynesian handicrafts. These include the home-grown Cook Islands
speciality, tivaevae quilts, as well as wall hangings, handbags,
earrings, jewellery and tapa artefacts. The quality of the work is
outstanding.
Her husband runs the Atiu coffee
factory, whose product is exported in whole bean form to Rarotonga and New
Zealand.
A short way down the road in Areora is Mrs
Patikura Jim, who turns out beautiful pandanus hats and tapa
flowers. The process of making tapa is manual and time-consuming.
The women sit on the floor and beat banyan tree and other plant fibre with
heavy sticks on an ironwood anvil. When dry they cut them into the shape
of petals of different colors and make artificial flowers to adorn the
hair and hats of those island women able to afford them. Usually they cost
about $15 each -- approximately US$8.
Activities |
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Beaches
on Atiu are few and far between. To reach them one has to strike
seawards off the road which circles the island. They are well worth the
effort. They are small, clean and nearly always deserted. The reef is very
close and in a big swell, swimming in the narrow lagoon is exhilarating. For
more general information
on Cook Islands, go to: |
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For more regional information on Cook Islands, go to: |
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For more product information on Cook Islands, go to: |
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We have included the Cook Islands in some of our specials to the South
Pacific, eg. our Bounty
Voyage and South
Sea Dream Voyage.
You may select below your period of stay for
available hotels and resorts (incl. rates): |
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