Mangaia – Settled around 1000 CE, the Cook Islands' “terraced island”
Mangaia, traditionally called A’ua’u Enua, “terraced island”, was first settled around 1000 CE, according to excavations at the Tangatatau Rockshelter. Oral tradition says the island rose from the underworld of Avaiki already populated. Archaeologists found here the earliest recorded sweet potato cultivation in Polynesia, and stone tools show trade with Rarotonga, Samoa and Raiatea. Over time settlement moved inland and chiefs competed for land and status.
Captain James Cook arrived on 29 March 1777, and in 1824 two preachers from Taha’a, left by missionary John Williams, began spreading Christianity. Today Mangaia is a quieter island whose population has fallen sharply in recent decades. Do you have Mangaian family stories or legends to share? We would love to hear them!