Nukapu

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NASA picture of Nukapu Island
NASA picture of Nukapu Island

Nukapu is an island in what is now known as the Solomon Islands. It has a coral reef encircling a lagoon. Nukapu is located to the Northwest of the main Reef Islands separated from them by approximately 20km of ocean.

The island contains a memorial to Bishop John Patteson who died on Nukapu in 1871.

The language spoken on Nukapu is Pileni, which is a member of the Polynesian language family. Pileni is also spoken on the islands of Pileni, Nupani, Nifiloli, Aua and Matema Island of the Reef Islands, as well as in the Taumako Islands (also known as the Duff Islands), some 200 miles to the east. Speakers are thought to be descendants of people from Tuvalu.