Central Leeward Islets 



24. Mannikiba (Fig. 53) 



25. Blackfin (Fig. 54) 



26. Matawa (Fig. 54) 



27. Emerald (Fig. 54) 



28. Shark (Fig. 55) 



29. Scarlet Crab (Fig. 55) 



30. Nautonga (Fig. 55) 



31. Azure (Fig. 55) 



32. Reef-flat (Fig. 55) 



33. Bird (Fig. 55) 



34. Fishball (Fig. 55) 



Southern Leeward Islets 



35. Raurau(Fig. 57) 



36. Eitei (Fig. 57) 



37. Pisonia(Fig. 57) 



38. Kimoa(Fig. 57) 



39. Ana- Ana (Fig. 57) 



/. NAKE ISLAND (91.72 ha) (Figs. 30,37; Pis. 

 35-37,43) 



18,23. 



History : Nake's large size and underground water lens, 

 coupled with topography and soils more varied than elsewhere 

 on Caroline, attracted early Polynesian settlers. Because early 

 European visitors stayed primarily on South Island, there is 

 only a single reference to Cocos prior to the late 19th century 

 (one tree seen in 1825 by Paulding [1831]). 



The far northwest of Nake (also called North Island in 

 Young, ca. 1922) houses the most important archaeological 

 site on Caroline — a large marae (Figs. 3,37; PI. 36). Discovered 

 during the guano era, the site is marked as "graves" on Arundel' s 

 map. Arundel, who was living on the atoll when the marae was 

 discovered, describes it thus: "On the north-west end of 

 Caroline are some curious old native remains, whether places 

 of burial or of sacrifice I cannot determine. I opened one of 

 these, but could find no indication whatever to guide me in a 

 decision" (Arundel, 1890). The senior author, R. Falconer, and 

 G. Wragg located, measured, and photographed this marae in 

 1990. The entire courtyard was approximately 18 m long by 

 14 m wide. All 10 peripheral stones and the central one were 

 easily identifiable from the 1883 plan (Fig. 3), although a few 

 had fallen over or broken due to encroaching vegetation. The 

 lower wall, partly destroyed by Arundel, had not been 

 reconstructed. It is probable that this marae had not been seen 

 since the 1 880' s; though discussed by Emory (1947), he never 

 visited Caroline personally. 



Northwest Nake is particularly suitable for a place of 

 worship and sacrifice: it fits most of the environmental criteria 

 indispensable to ancient Tuamotuan religious ritual (Emory, 

 1947). First, flat ground was necessary, preferably lying at 

 right angles to, or parallel to, the lagoon. Second, it was 

 important to have the wind blowing across the marae to waft 

 away the smells of sacrificed animals. Third, ceremonial items 

 included branches of the Pisonia tree, leaves of Cocos (for leaf 



charms/" rosaries"), and the aerial roots oiPandanus. Fourth, 

 feathers from "black terns" (black noddy), frigatebirds, and 

 red-tailed tropicbirds were also necessary for rituals. Rather 

 than a smooth substrate, the early Polynesians would have had 

 to be content with leveled coral rubble and distance from the 

 lagoon. The only organism not living near the marae today is 

 the tropicbird; however, their elongated tail feathers could 

 have been plucked from adults nesting on nearby motus. 



Since marae are sacred places, there is possibly a meaning 

 to the location of the main "courtyard" close to the atoll's 

 northern tip. Generally the northern extremities of islands were 

 auspicious places for Polynesians; it is here, they believed, that 

 disembodied spirits were whisked to the netherworld. 



Physiography : Largest in area, Nake is the northernmost 

 motu, separated from Long by a 40-m channel (PI. 18). With 

 maximum dimensions 2,000 m long and 685 m wide, it is 

 basically rectangular with rounded corners and a peninsula- 

 like extension in the southeast. 



Nake lies north of the lagoon, having a southern "bay" 

 (which we named Sandy Inlet), in which silt, sand, and fine 

 coral debris are being actively deposited (PL 23). Sandy Inlet, 

 , a hard, flat expanse of fine lagoon mud and sand, is 145 m wide 

 at its mouth and extends 200 m north into the main islet. Its 

 3.50 ha provide a favorite feeding location for shorebirds, 

 especially bristle-thighed curlews. If Arundel's chart (Fig. 4) 

 is correct, Sandy Inlet has increased its land area during the last 

 century. 



On the reef flats off the west side are extensive remnants 

 of jagged upraised reef (PI. 1 1) and occasional beachrock. The 

 exposed beaches and reef flats at Nake's north point are 

 especially broad, characteristic of reef flats at the exposed 

 corners of islands. Comparisons of the northern sweep of 

 rubble on recent aerial photos with Arundel' s map indicate that 

 much coral debris, in the form of raised ridges (PI. 17), has been 

 added since 1883. In the deep, fine coral rubble mixed with 

 sand east of the marae, the 1990 expedition found three old 

 turtle nests. Overall, unvegetated coral rubble, mud, and sand 

 account for only 6% of the land area. In addition, some sparsely 

 vegetated expanses of hardpan were noted in the south-central 

 sector, just inland of the coast within a belt of Tournefortia 

 forest. 



Nake's windward coast, complete with a peaked beach 

 crest and discontinuous beachrock, is 30 m wide in the north, 

 narrowing to 3 m in the south. Offshore, submerged reef flats 

 form a sandy moat bordered by a barrier reef upon which waves 

 pound incessantly. 



In the distant past, what we now call Nake consisted of two 

 separate motus. Aerial photos (Chapter Frontispiece) reveal an 

 oblique, ancient channel about two-thirds of the way down the 

 islet. It is now well vegetated in the center but scrubby near the 

 coastlines. 



Vegetation : There are 16 plant species (5 trees, 1 shrub, 

 10 herbs), 59% of Caroline's flora. Nake is the lushest motu. 

 Its woodlands (82.39 ha) are about 80% native and 20% with 

 Cocos (PI. 37). Although in 1916 there were about 260 palms, 

 and the entire island was evidently planted with 10,544 palms 

 in 1918-1919(Young,ca. 1922, Table 13), substantial tracts of 

 each major vegetation type occur today. Its interior is rich in 



35 



