A Cook Islands Detour
After saying goodbye to Bora Bora, we headed west to our last stop in French Polynesia, the remote atoll of Maupiha’a. One day we were just snorkeling the reef there when we heard… the distant sound of distant relatives!
Before we left, we signed the Maupiha’a visitors’ guestbook with 75% of the atoll’s population. Thank you for your wonderful hospitality!
After five wonderful months in French Polynesia, we then took a slightly unconventional detour north, and found ourselves in the most remote and northerly atoll of… the Cook Islands!
Tongareva, also known as Penrhyn, was once a heavily populated Polynesian island. Its history since has been shaped by tragic “blackbirding” episodes, various foreign claims, and significant WWII infrastructure. We were looking forward to learning more about this beautiful jewel of an island and its people, and our first few interactions with the friendly community here were already incredible.
Sunday is very important in the village of Te Tautua. Several times throughout the day, the whole village (a congregation of 25) gathers in its beautiful church for services, and they were kind enough to welcome us in.
The service was conducted in the Penrhyn language (endangered, and now spoken by fewer than 200 people) but even then we got the gist of the moving Father’s Day sermon.
All the hymns and songs are sung unaccompanied and from memory, in the traditional Cook Islands style known as ‘imene tuki’. This comprises an incredible mix of harmonic, microtonal, and rhythmical elements - sung to the highest quality by every member of this remote little village. The result was an otherworldly experience we’ll never forget. Thank you Te Tautua!
We spent our days in magical Penrhyn anchored off Te Tautua, with birds above the boat and a friendly welcoming committee ashore. We signed another village guest book, and read about Tom Mahuta Robinson who also stayed for a while on Penrhyn while repairing his row boat. We also welcomed Parehenua Mamia onboard Scout for the day while he literally sang his way around the island as we explored the island together. We also went fishing, although we lost most of the catch to the sharks!
On our last day in Te Tautua, Principal Maine Rasmussen invited us to the village school - ages 3-18, population 5½! We got to hear what even these few little voices can do when they proudly sing their island anthem.
It was an emotional farewell to a very special place. Then we were on the move again, out into that big blue expanse beyond, and on towards Samoa.
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