Cook Islands in Stone

1st June – 21st June (preview 6pm 31st May)
Cook Islands National Museum

The Cook Islands National Museum is proud to present “Cook Islands in Stone”, an exhibition that documents various stone structures, sites and objects that are distinctive to our islands. It is a visual and historical record that looks at specific locations and monuments, providing a glimpse into cultural traditions that once shaped the lives of the Polynesian people.
EXHIBITION STATEMENT
Stone structures, sites and objects in the Cook Islands exist in a variety of different forms, spanning a range from the purely functional to the ceremonial, the sacred and the spiritual. During prehistoric times stone tools, especially adzes, were essential for making houses, domestic implements and ocean-going canoes. In their natural form, some stones served spiritual purposes, representing a genealogy, an ancestor or a god or were associated with ancient supernatural beliefs, that continue to be acknowledged up to the present day.
In the Cook Islands and throughout Polynesia the most predominant of stone structures was the construction and architecture of the marae. It was commonly a site for ceremonies, a sacred place which was used for religious, political and social purposes. The architecture of a marae was often determined by two sets of functions;- as a space of ceremonial gathering and as a monument that reflected chiefly status for the reigning ariki. Due to the advent of Christianity in the early 19th century, many of the marae were destroyed or neglected, in some cases stones from a marae were used in the construction of a newly built church. Very few have retained their original form.
A special feature of this exhibition will be the display of the Ngati Tiare cache, a collection of considerable importance, dating back to around 1300AD, an era that represents the early phase of Rarotongan prehistory.
The cache, discovered in 1963, on the Ngati Tiare site in Takuvaine, comprises of six Samoan type adze indicating contact and possible settlement between the Samoan and Southern Group.
This exhibition aims to highlight the diversity of monumental stone structures, some of which have been regarded as the most significant and remarkable within Polynesia. It also aims to link past traditions to the present through encompassing contemporary carving and sculpture which is represented through photography.
The Cook Islands National Museum wishes to extend their gratitude and thanks to their sponsors and supporters, Cook Islands Printing, Cook Islands Library and Museum Society, the Karika Ariki Family and the National Gallery of Australia.
Mahiriki Tangaroa
Museum Curator
Cook Islands National Museum

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