Historical sights in the Cook Islands are scattered around the islands but most are more interesting in their interpretation than visually. Unfortunately few Cook Island Maoris have little interest in their past and most do not respect the ancient marae that lie entangled in the bush. Marae were the ancient meeting places of the people and are marked by stone foundations. The most sacred marae on Rarotonga is the Marae Arai-Te-Tonga on the north-east side of the island and there is a small plaque to commemorate this but little else. Marae on the outer islands are often more interesting as the locals seem to have more interest in their importance. On Atiu and also on Mangaia in the far south of the group there are several burial chambers found in the caves around the island which are steeped in legends.
There are several interesting buildings around Rarotonga which are referred to as palaces, being the homes of the district chief or ariki. More impressive are the old limestone churches built by missionaries in the mid-1800's. The oldest church is on Aitutaki in Arutanga Village, but of equal beauty is Matavera church on the east coast of Rarotonga and Avarua church in the main town where several notable islanders and distinguished Europeans are buried.
The Cook Islands museum has a few original artefacts from the past but most artefacts on display are replicas - the originals being in the Auckland museum in New Zealand. There's a cultural centre which explains about pre-European culture and history but although the displays are interesting, they are aimed at the general tourist market with wise crack jokes and interaction to keep people on their toes.
The Cook Islands are believed to have been settled about 500AD by a migration that left from western French Polynesia. The ancient Cook Island Maoris believed in ancestral gods and the community was held together by the ruling chief or ariki and the priest or ta'unga both of which were hereditary titles, usually passing through the male lineage. The ariki and ta'unga were reveered as having supernatural powers referred to as mana and this mana could be increased from consuming their enemies in war. Cannibalism and warfare were thus common practice. Sub chiefs were responsible for smaller collections of families within a village.
The islanders were experienced sea navigators and travelled between islands in large double-hulled catamarans that could accommodate up to 60 people. They navigated using the stars, cloud patterns and the swell, temperature and currents of the sea. When looking for new islands they would take frigate birds with them and on their release, follow their direction to find land. Seven such canoes departed from Ngatangiia Harbour on the east coast of Rarotonga and eventually reached New Zealand to colonise the islands. Knowledge of these sea-faring voyages were passed on in the form of chants.
There are no written accounts of pre-Christian history, so most of what we know now comes through the words and actions of traditional dances and through examining the archaeological marae (spiritual meeting places) that lay in ruins around the islands. The Maoris practised body tattooing as a form of identity, markings based on the descendency of ones heritage.
In 1595, Pukapuka in the northern group was sighted by Alvarano de Mendana of Spain. In 1773, on his second Pacific voyage, Captain Cook sighted Manuae and named it Hervey's Island which was applied to the entire Southern Group after more sightings. It wasn't 1824 that the islands were named the Cook Islands in his honour. Following the explorers came the missionaries and blackbirders bringing with them Christianity and new diseases. Within time the Maoris were clothed, their religious beliefs abolished and traditions abandoned. Kava drinking was forbidden, and today is one of the few South Pacific Islands where it is still not practised. Instead, alcohol brewed from oranges became popular and today the "bush-beer" schools still thrive on Atiu.
In 1888, the ariki on Rarotonga pronounced the islands a British protectorate on hearing the French were voyaging to claim the islands from themselves. For 14 years, the islands were administered from New Zealand and in 1901 the Cooks finally became annexed to New Zealand and the power of the ariki was removed. In 1965, the islands attained independence in the form of internal self-governance in association with New Zealand. Cook Islanders remain New Zealand citizens.