Cook Islands

Religion

The dominant religion of Polynesia and the Cook Islands is Christianity. The missionaries arrived in 1821 and quickly uprooted the old animistic worship of tribal gods and idols. Their success was much quicker than in the Marquesas and Society Islands.

 The London Missionary Society focussed its early efforts on the Society Islands. Ex-ironmonger John Williams hit on the idea of using converted Polynesians to spread the gospel to the islands to the west. He sent two Raiateans to Aitutaki in 1821 and others followed shortly after to Mitiaro, Mangaia, Mauke and Atiu. Finally, Rarotonga fell to the new beliefs. The islanders probably identified the missionaries as bringers of all the material benefits they saw as being part of European civilisation. Nonetheless, it is curious that they became such quick and eager converts. The missionaries faced the hostility of European sailors and traders but pressed on with their task of wiping out cannibalism, infanticide and idol worship. Missionaries are responsible for many negative aspects of life in Polynesia but without them there would have been no schools and no written form of the Rarotongan language.

Any politician seeking the popular vote is well-advised to put in plenty of church "time".

It is reasonable to assume that the relationship between the mission families and their servants mirrored the general attitude of missionaries towards the people, in other words, they looked on the islanders as children who needed to be schooled in the ways of the Lord.

The missionaries influenced the traditional gender roles of Cook Island women by treating them as equal with the island men. Throughout the latter part of the 19th century less importance was put on authority figures being solely male and some women became more influential in the public sphere.

Other crucial changes effected by the missionaries included the way in which the people were governed. The traditional tribal system where hereditary chiefs were in control was gradually replaced by a centralised form of government under elected politicians. Another important change was the concept of a cash economy which replaced the traditional barter system. Also, the missionaries introduced calico cotton. This, being cheap, plentiful and easily produced, replaced the traditional tapa as garments. Calico led to the skills of sewing for clothing, bedding and house furnishings. Agriculture also changed because of the missionaries. Plantations replaced subsistence farming and hundreds of new acres began to be farmed.

Father Don Manning, the ex-parish priest of Aitutaki, wrote in 1997:-

'The London Missionary Society is not to be confused with the Church Missionary Society which worked in other parts of the Pacific. The LMS was a conglomerate of the theories of its leaders and is at the 'Congregational' end of the spectrum of Protestantism. Although the early missionaries insisted on long dresses for the women and trousers for the men, they encouraged their traditional singing. This is known as the 'Imene Tuki' and is idiosyncratic and particular to the Cook Islands. It is strongly harmonious and sung in parts with the interjection of the guttural sounds of the men. Most of the tunes are traditional and go back beyond living memory.
  'The words used are made up by each generation although some have stood the test of time. In fact, from when Cook Islanders are very young, they know the rhythms and tunes well. There are often classes in singing which are dominated by the elders and many of the imene (hymns) are songs about the past and about the local village as well as songs of praise.
  'Luncheons being served after the service is not a universal practice but is becoming more popular on Rarotonga specially as the church people feel grateful for the money that visitors put into the collection baskets. Women are still not given the job as pastors but they often take the lion's share of all the other leadership roles.'

The missionaries set up their stations on the coast and persuaded the chiefs to build villages around them. Housing was changed to suit a nuclear family unit instead of the previous communal extended-family living arrangements. On Atiu, precisely the reverse situation obtained, since the people were persuaded to move up onto the central plateau.

The missionaries of the London Missionary Society who served in the Cook Islands were:

1. Rev John Williams. Several visits between 1823-1839
2. Rev Charles Pitman. 1827-1854
3. Rev Aaron Buzacott. 1828-1857
4. Rev William Gill. 1845-1860
5. Rev Henry Royle. 1839-1876
6. Rev George Gill. 1845-1860
7. Rev Wyatt Gill. 1852-1883
8. Rev Ernest Krause. 1859-1867
9. Rev James Chalmers. 1867-1877
10. Rev George Harris. 1871-1893
11. Rev John Hutchin. 1882-1912
12. Rev William Laurence. 1884-1905
13. Miss Ardill. 1892-1898
14. Rev James Cullen. 1894-1902
15. Miss Large. 1895-1902
16. Rev Percy Hall. 1900-1916
17. Rev John Jones. 1901-1905
18. Rev Bond James. 1902-1934
19. Rev George Eastman. 1913-1918
20. Rev Herbert Bralsford. 1927-1930
21. Rev Henry Cater. 1931-1943
22. Rev Robert Challis. 1933-1947
23. Rev William Murphy. 1947-1956
24. Rev Bernard Thorogood. 1956-1963
25. Rev John Sturney. 1963-1964
26. Rev John F. Clerke. 1964-1967
27. Rev Bernard Thorogood. 1968-1970
28. Rev B.G. Bealing. 1972-1974

For more general information on Cook Islands, go to:

• Country Information on the Cook Islands
• Culture of the Cook Islands
• History of the Cook Islands
• Holidays & Festivals in Cook Islands
• Religion of the Cook Islands
• Visitors Information for the Cook Islands

For more regional information on Cook Islands, go to:

• Rarotonga
• Aitutaki
• Atiu
• Mauke
• Mitiaro
• Mangaia
• Northern Group
  • Penrhyn
  • Puka Puka
  • Rakahanga
  • Palmerston
  • Suwarrow
  • Nassau

For more product information on Cook Islands, go to:

• Diving in the Cook Islands
• Domestic Flights
• Excursions
• Hotels & Resorts
• Rental Cars
• Tours
• Weddings & Honeymoons

We have included the Cook Islands in some of our specials to the South Pacific, eg. our Bounty Voyage and South Sea Dream Voyage.