A ra’ui has been placed in the southern part of the lagoon for Tongareva’s homecoming event to be held in December 2025.

Preparations for the major event have already started and part of it was the ra’ui blessing ceremony held this week.

The ra’ui system is the traditional method of conservation and preservation of any or all resources whether on land, sea or air.

Effective from Thursday, May 9, the island’s executive officer Puna Vano says no one is allowed to fish in the southern part of the lagoon – almost half of the lagoon between Omoka and Te Tautua.

The ra’ui will be lifted in December 2025 when residents and Cook Islanders from overseas will attend the opening of Cook Islands Christian Church Mission House.

“It is Tongareva’s homecoming, Cook Islanders will be attending the opening of the church, but a lot of our people have not been back home for long,” said Vano.

Tongareva islanders during the Ra’ui blessing. 24051067

He said the homecoming would be an opportunity for Cook Islanders to bring their children and grandchildren to see the older generation who are still alive and to show them their homeland.

“This is the main reason why they’re coming; they’re coming back home. So this ra’ui is to stop people from harvesting, and we will leave it so it will replenish and make sure we have a good quantity of stock when the end of next year comes, so we have enough to feed our people.”

Vano said they are estimating around a thousand people for the homecoming event.

Penrhyn Island (Tongareva) is also seeking government’s assistance to transport Cook Islanders from overseas for the homecoming.

In April, Vano said they received an average of 840 bookings and the cut off for booking would be June 30 this year.

Last year the government spent $1.3 million to charter Lady Samoa IV vessel to transport around 170 passengers to Pukapuka-Nassau. The charter came about in 2022, after a group of people from Pukapuka, who live in New Zealand and Australia, got in touch with the island MP Tingika Elikana to see if transport could be arranged for them to go to the island.

Penrhyn is seeking similar arrangement.

Vano said they had enquired directly with Samoa but they want to work with the government on the matter.

He said they would collect the fares and hoped the government would assist in sorting transport.

“We will pay with government approval. And each passenger would pay around $2000,” Vano said.

“And we want to make sure we fill the ship.”