Anuta

Anuta (Anuda)

Nickname: Cherry Island
NASA Satellite Image Geocover 2000
Santa Cruz Islands overview map
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	11°36′39″S 169°51′01″E / 11.61083°S 169.85028°E / -11.61083; 169.85028
Archipelago	Solomon Islands
Area	0.37 km2 (0.14 sq mi)
Length	0.876 km (0.5443 mi)
Width	0.576 km (0.3579 mi)
Highest elevation	65 m (213 ft)
Highest point	unnamed
Administration
Solomon Islands
Province	Temotu
Largest settlement	Mua village (pop. 200)
Demographics
Population	300
Pop. density	811 /km2 (2,100 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Polynesians

Anuta is a small high island in the southeastern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu, one of the smallest permanently inhabited Polynesian islands. It is one of the Polynesian Outlier communities in Melanesia.

The island lies about 311 miles (501 km) to the east-southeast of Nendö. It is a small volcanic island with a fringing coral reef. The highest point on the island is 213 feet (65 m) above sea level. The island has a diameter of only about 820 yards (750 m).

Anuta was first mentioned in 1791, and the political and geographical circumstances led to isolation of Anuta's population.

According to oral traditions, Anuta was settled by voyagers from Tonga and 'Uvea about fifteen generations ago. The time frame of the migration is not precisely identified but is understood to be some time between the 10th century to the mid-13th century, although the arrival of the voyagers in Anuta could have occurred later. The pattern of settlement that is believed to have occurred is that the Polynesians spread out from Tonga and other islands in the central and south eastern pacific islands. During pre-European-contact times there was frequent canoe voyaging between the islands as Polynesian navigation skills are recognised to have allowed deliberate journeys on double-hull sailing canoes or outrigger canoes. The voyagers moved into the Tuvaluan atolls, with Tuvalu providing a stepping stone to migration into the Polynesian Outlier communities in Melanesia and Micronesia.

The current social structure was established around ten generations ago, when the chief, Tearakura, his two brothers, and one brother-in-law, slew the remainder of the island's male population. These men, along with Tearakura's two sisters, were founders of the island's four kainanga, large descent groups that are sometimes described in English as 'clans'. Anglican missionaries arrived in 1916, and established a church, which plays an important part for Anutans, offering church services twice a day. During the 1990s, Anuta's advisors rejected western medicines on the island, arguing that it would indicate a lack of faith in the church.