About the Cook Islands. Their Nomenclature and a Systematic Statement of Early European contacts - article ; n°38 ; vol.29, pg 23-56

W. G.Coppell

Description

Journal de la Société des océanistes - Année 1973 - Volume 29 - Numéro 38 - Pages 23-56
34 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

Informations

• Publié par: JOURNAL_DE_LA_SOCIETE_DES_OCEANISTES
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1973
• Nombre de lectures: 9
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Dr W. G. Coppell
About the Cook Islands. Their Nomenclature and a Systematic
Statement of Early European contacts
In: Journal de la Société des océanistes. N°38, Tome 29, 1973. pp. 23-56.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Coppell W. G. About the Cook Islands. Their Nomenclature and a Systematic Statement of Early European contacts. In: Journal
de la Société des océanistes. N°38, Tome 29, 1973. pp. 23-56.
doi : 10.3406/jso.1973.2410
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/jso_0300-953X_1973_num_29_38_2410About the Cook Islands.
Their Nomenclature
and a Systematic Statement
of Early European contacts *
identification used A and, small Zealand secretive Southern and Furthermore, consequence The for when in the fifteen in area, about group commercial 1901. whole various of there and islands new of before this of The widely was discoveries discoveries. islands the which exploitation confusion early the no present scattered proclamation form since are voyagers because included is of European Cook Frequently of the political over the in appearance of Islands the 800,000 in islands incorrect the union contact area also present with British seemed were square between confusion of plotting was the a of Protectorate day multiplicity established, miles possible, several annexation the of Cook arose their of islands nationalities the Islands were about positions. of a in by Pacific. names confuof often 1888 New the are
sion which was confounded by the fact that the Maoris also used more than
one name for their island homes.
In more recent years careful examination of primary sources has shed clear
er light upon the sightings of islands made by the explorers, whalers and
traders and has allowed credit to be given to those responsible for making
the first European contacts.
This chapter is a summary of the information available from the literature
which establishes the customary names given by the Maoris to each island,
and the various names used in the literature for each island.
Frequent references have also been made in the literature to islands in
the area which are supposed to have disappeared in recent times and this
* This article is the introductory chapter the author's Bibliography of the Cook Islands, to be
published by the Australian National University Press, Canberra, in its Pacific Monograph series, and
is reproduced by permission of the Press.
23 SOCIETE DES OCÉANISTES
chapter also summarizes the information available concerning these "doubt
ful" islands and also about the various shoals, reefs and banks which have
been reported within the waters.
'W. lot I'W. 155 •W. 16
Openrhyn
10* S. IO*S. n « «_
iki Pukapuka
•N. ssau
«^Suwarrow
IS'S. IS'S.
'almerston • 1
A Aitutaki • ManiiM
Takute» • » Mitiaro 20'3. 2O'S.
Atiu «Mauke
o Rarotonga
Mangaia
cook: is LANDS
TION- mercator's proje<
<-lt*Vl Y DIPT RAROTONGA ,65 •w. PJD •W. 160 •w. I5S
The pre-contact Maori knowledge of the Area
Several early European explorers, who visited the Tahiti area, recorded the
knowledge of the people there of other islands in the area and several of the
islands of what is now the Cook Islands were mentioned.
In the Journal of Don Thomas Gayangos, Atiu and Mangaia are described
as being inhabited and abounding in coconuts, plantains and pigs, while of
24 ABOUT THE COOK ISLANDS
Rarotonga it is said that the people knew nothing more than that it was inha
bited. (1)*. Probably the first reference in the literature to islands included
in the present day Cook Islands occurs in James Cook and George Foster's
A Voyage Round The World, where among the names of nine islands known
to the people of Raiatea are Rorotoa (Rarotonga) and Wouwou which is most
likely Auau, one of the customary names for Mangaia. (2).
When Rev. Robert Bourne and Rev. John Williams visited Aitutaki in 1823
they were told by the people of islands supposed to be in the area, i.e.
Manuae, Atiu, Maute, Mitiaro, Rarotonga, Anau (Mangaia), Takutea, Manuki,
Rakanga, Motukaute (Palmerston?) and the unidentified Pakaira and
Anuanu (3).
Conventions for grouping the islands
The islands divide themselves naturally into the two groupings of Raro
tonga, Aitutaki, Mangaia, Atiu, Mauke, Mitiaro, Manuae and Takutea to the
south, and the atolls of Penrhyn, Rakahanga, Pukapuka, Nassau, Suwarrow and
Palmerston Island to the north. Before the advent of the European inte
rcommunication between the islands was tenuous, and usually accidental, except
in two instances. The close proximity to each other of Rakahanga and Mani-
hiki allowed the people to travel from one atoll to the other, while to the
south the people of Atiu had subjugated the inhabitants of nearby Mauke and
Mitiaro by the time of the arrival of the missionaries, Robert Bourne and
John Williams in 1823.
The first apparent conventional grouping of the islands occurs in Zimmer-
mann's map published in 1810, in which he includes Penrhyn's, Tienhaven,
Groningen, Isle San Bernando, Roggeween, Baumann, Danger Isle and the
shoal to the south (Tema Reef) in the Archipel Roggeween (4). Some later
writers use the convention of the Manihiki Group. (5), but as late as 1883,
Beltran Y. Rozpide was using the alternatives of Islas Manihiki 6 Rogge
ween (6).
The Russian explorer, Adam Von Krusenstern, was the first to use the term
Cook Islands for the Southern Group islands of Aitutaki, Atiu, Mangaia,
Manuae and Takutea. He said " Sont si près les unes des autres, qu'il est
permis d'en faire un groupe, et comme toutes ces îles, exceptée Why-too-take
ont été découvertes parle Capitaine Cook, je leur ai donné son nom". (7).
Krusenstern also included an island Mahowarah or Owhararouah, which
was first reported by Cook, and placed at 20°12'S : 202°09' on Arrowsmith's
chart. (8). However, J. C. Beaglehole considers that this may be a mistaken
identification of Mangaia. (9).
James Cook named Manuae the Hervey Islands, and this name came into
common usage for the Southern Group islands. The Rev. M. Russell in 1842,
for instance, gives the alternatives of the Hervey Islands or the. Cook
Islands (10) and the former remained as probably the more frequently used
# Note Nde : les nombres entre parenthèses renvoient aux références bibliographiques.
23 SOCIETE DES OCÉANISTES
term until the British Protectorate was proclaimed in 1888. The form Harvey
Islands was also frequently used.
The islands referred to as comprising the Cook Islands were not always
solely inclusive of the present-day islands. Wimmer, in 1832, includes the
additions of the Caroline, Roggeween, Baumann's Group, Flint and Mopeha
islands (11). C. Henricy et de Rienzi, in 1847, categorized "lies Cook et
leurs dépendances" and in addition to the present islands of the Souther
Group included " Rimetara, Ohiteroa, Toubouai, Vavitou au High, Râpa, et le
groupe de Bass". (12).
Aitutaki*.
18°51'45"S : 159°48'10"W.
Area : 4,461 acres.
Population 1971 : 28' 54.
A. Customary names :
Ara' ura. The name given by Ru, its discoverer, meaning "where the wind (a)
drove Ru in his search for land". (13)..
(b) Utataki-enua. The name of a warrior whose name was given to the
island. " The land of Utataki ". (14).
(c) Utataki- enua-o-Ru-ki-te-Moana. "Ru's landing of a cargo (of people) over
the ocean". (15).
(d) Ararau-enua-o-Ru-ki-te-moana. "Ru's search for land over the
ocean". (16).
(e) Aitutaki. "God-led". (17).
B. European Contacts :
(a) Lieutenant William Bligh, on H.M.S. "Bounty", 11 April, 1789, who
recorded the name of the islands as Wytootackee. (18).
(b) Captain Edward Edwards, H.M.S. " Pandora ", 14 April, 1791, while search- .
ing for "Bounty" mutineers. (19).
(c) Captain William Bligh, H.M.S. "Providence", 20th July, 1792, Bligh then
used Wytootackee on his charts and Whytootackee in his log. (20).
(d) Captain Philip Goodenough, in Sydney schooner " Cumberland ", August,
1814. (21).
(e) Rev. John Williams visited Aitutaki in 1821 and put ashore Papeiha and
Vahapata, who established the LMS Mission there. (22).
(f) Rev. Robert Bourne and Rev. John Williams on "Endeavour" owned by
the united chiefs of the Leeward Islands, Captain John Dibbs, called at
Aitutaki, 9th July, 1823. (23).
* Maps of the Cook Islands 1970 : 4 is used as the source for all positions and areas of
islands and Cook Islands Population Census, 1971. Preliminary figures published by the Government
of the Cook Islands for all population figures.
26 ABOUT THE COOK ISLANDS
Station M a n u a e
Lagoon
HERVEY ISLANDS
Lagoon
Sea AligKtirtg Area\ \ rVwrînj»^
AITUTAKI ISLAND
Mlltt SURVEY | F-< J/« O£fT. Vl H— Compiled >/4 1~ HAKOTONGA O > from Survey Records
C. Variant Names :
(a) Aitutaike. (24).
(b) Aitotake. (25).