Niue

Niue, known as the “Rock of Polynesia,” is a predominantly Christian island in the South Pacific. While indigenous practices remain evident both in communal life and in syncretic beliefs, the Protestant Church of Niue, a Congregationalist body also known as the Ekalesia Nieue, commands adherence of 75% of the population. Owing to its history of missionary activity, another 15% of the populace are members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, with 7% identifying as Roman Catholic and 1.5% as members of the Baha'i Faith. Christian and indigenous practices have been synthesized to a greater or lesser degree on the island and can be seen in the belief in aitu (ancestral ghosts) and prohibitions around places where violent deaths occur. The fono (prohibition) that falls on such places can be lifted by a pastor, illustrating the attribution of traditional Niuean powers to the Christian clergy.

The island, which in 2003 became the first “WiFi Nation” with free wireless Internet service provided across the country, was for many years known as Savage Island after the inhabitants drove off Captain Cook, preventing him from landing there in 1774. The reputation of the Niueans kept colonial powers at bay, but Samoan missionaries arrived on the island in the mid-19th century, followed by English missionaries from the London Missionary Society in 1861. The presence of the religious institutions played a role in the politics of the island by softening the Niuean perception of the British Crown, which resulted in King Fata-aiki offering to cede Niue's sovereignty to the British Empire in 1887; however, his offer was not accepted by the British until 1900. Niuean national identity too is a direct result of missionary and colonization activity coupled with service in foreign wars and trade; up to the 20th century, community was understood at the village level, with Niueans first identifying as members of a village rather than as citizens of Niue. With export migration to New Zealand, which had annexed the island in 1901, national identity grew to distinguish the newly emigrant Niueans from other Pacific Islanders. New Zealand granted Niue independence in October 1974, resulting in the self-determination of Niue but with continued financial and military support from New Zealand.

Christianity has become associated with modernization in Niue, evidenced in the names of villages (e.g., Hakupu, lit. “Any Word of God”) as well as the local anthem Ko e Iki he Lagi (lit. The Lord in Heaven). Pastors of the Ekalesia Nieue, normally trained in Samoa, play a large role in the civic life and are consistently popular choices for [Page 925]election to political office. One of the country's main secular holidays, Peniamina's Day, celebrates the day the missionary hero Nukai Peniamina returned to Samoa with the Christian gospel after (as the legend goes) being abducted from the island and trained as a pastor at the Malua Theological College in Samoa. A secular holiday celebrating the introduction of Christianity to the island illustrates the extent to which religion has become enmeshed with the state.