page_title: Takuu Atoll
section_title: Population and culture
hierarchical_section_title: Takuu Atoll / Population and culture
caption_attribution_description: Nukutoa village, Takuu Atoll, Papua New Guinea, in the year 2000. A village scene on a Polynesian outlier island.
context_page_description: Takuu, formerly known as Tauu and also known as Takuu Mortlock or Marqueen Islands, is a small, isolated atoll off the east coast of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.
context_section_description: The islands are inhabited by approximately 400 people of Polynesian origin. Takuu is one of the Polynesian outlier cultures which are situated outside of the Polynesian Triangle. The people of Takuu have traditionally placed great value on the retention of their indigenous practices and religious sites. To protect Takuu from outside influences, the Ariki (chief) banned Christian missionaries for the last 25 years.  Only four researchers have been permitted to spend time on the islands in that time. The ban was only lifted in the last five years, as young islanders who had lived and studied on the Papua New Guinea mainland returned to their homeland.  A number of churches have now been established on Nukutoa.
  Since 2006 a team of filmmakers (principally Briar March and Lyn Collie) have visited the atoll twice, making a documentary that records culture and life on the atoll, and examines the possibility that the community might have to relocate to the Bougainville mainland if their physical situation worsens.  The second shoot in 2008 included the visit of scientists Scott Smithers and John Hunter.
  Traditional life continues to this day on Takuu. Traditional thatched houses stand in crowded rows, so close to each other that the eaves almost touch. There are few trees on the island apart from coconut palms, and the main street serves as a marae, a space for ritual ceremonies. Music is still a fundamental part of life on Takuu. Because of the long period of isolation, many of the indigenous songs, stories and dances have survived. Many of the songs date from the period before European contact, which occurred in the mid 19th century. The songs tell stories of voyages between the islands, while "dance performances fill 20 or 30 hours a week" (Wane 2005). Many of the songs are celebrations of successful relationships, whether relationships that link extended families together in productive activity or relationships binding people with their ancestors in times of need.
caption: Nukutoa village, Takuu, 2000. Photo:Hamish McDonald
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