Taumako

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Taumako is the largest of the Duff Islands. This 5.7 Km long island has steep sides and rises to a height of 400 m above sea level. It is composed of basaltic lavas and pyroclastics like the other islands in the Duffs .

Taumako seen from space. Lua, one of the small Bass Islands can be seen on the right-hand side. Courtesy NASA.

The inhabitants of the Duff Islands are Polynesians, and their language, Pileni, is a member of the Samoic branch of Polynesian languages. On the Duff Islands live about 439 people (1999 census). The islands were settled by the Lapita people about 900 BC. Melanesian settlers followed. Finally Polynesians settlers arrived in mid 1400's.

The way of life is traditional by subsistence farming and fishing. Taumako has no roads, airport, telephones, or electricity. Contact with outsiders comes by battery-powered marine radio and the occasional cargo ship.

[edit] Traditional Navigation

Studies of David Lewis and Marianne (Mimi) George uncovered that full traditional Polynesian navigational technique is still preserved in these islands (Finney and Lowe, 2006, p163).

[edit] References

[1]
Ben Finney and Sam Low, "Navigation", in K.R.Howe(eds), "Vaka Moana:Voyages of the Ancestors", Bateman, 2007.

[edit] External links

The Vaka Taumako Project

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