The Cocos (Keeling) Islands A Jewel In The Indian Ocean [Archives:2005/863/Culture]
By Irena Knehtl
[email protected]
For the Yemen Timen
Surrounded by unbelievably clean Indian Ocean, The Cocos (Keelings) Islands are Australias best kept holiday destination secret. Here a breathtaking beautiful sunset awaits the visitor, kaleidoscope of colors of the lagoons and fringing reef. Rhythmic sound of waves gently lapping perfectly white sandy beach, watching the golden sun slowly sinking into the Indian Ocean.
Imagine yourself swimming with the dolphins or snorkeling with the manta rays. Or taking a trip to one of the many isolated islands when the tides are high.
Or exploring the islands on the bike, or just walk along the beautiful beaches soaking up the spectacular view of the Indian Ocean. This tiny horseshoe shaped jewel of the Indian Ocean is located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, some 2750 km north west of Perth in Australia, 900 km west of south-west of Christmas Island, its closest neighbor, and another island of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories, south of Indonesia and about one-half of the way from Australia to Sri Lanka.
The Cocos experience two main season which tend to overlap. The trade wind season from April/May to September/October and the calmer doldrums season from November through to April.
Rainfall usually visits this sandy atoll in the evenings, bringing yet another glorious sunn day. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are made up of 27 islands formed on two isolated mid oceanic atolls surrounded by an azure lagoons. The lay in the path of the south-east trade wind, which ensure an extremely mild weather pattern throughout the year.
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands has been a unique place for coral atoll research since the days when Charles Darwin visited the atoll in April, 1836. Fringing reefs are converted into barrier reefs and barrier reefs, when encircling islands are thus converted into atolls, he wrote. It was the only coral atoll he had ever visited to support his theory.
Named first “Cocos Eylanden” in a manuscript map drawn by Hessel Gerritsz, they were re named :Cocos (Keelings)” after sighting of the group by Captain William Keeling in 1609 during one of his homeward voyages from Java to England. Although he did not record it in his journals, they remained uninhabited until the 19th century.
The first settlement was established in 1826 on the islands by Alexader Hare. From then on the people of Cocos cleared all the native vegetation to plant coconut trees where they extracted the oil from the coconuts to sell and trade as copra. Declared a part of the British Dominions in 1857, the responsibility for supervision of the island alternated between the government of Ceylon and Singapore.
Eventually in 1978 the government of Australia purchased the majority of the islands from John Cecil Clunies-Ross. The majority of the land was transferred to the Cocos Island Council.
On the 4th April 1984 the Cocos Malay residents voted to become part of Australia. Only two of the islands are inhabited, the Home Island where the majority of indigenous Cocos-Malay people reside and the West Island which houses most of the Australian workers.
Few groups in the world today are as little known or understood as the Cocos Malay inhabitants of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Theirs has been a world sealed off from the outsider by geography, history, politics and language.
Few outsiders have lived among them and very little has been recorded of their cultural practices and tradition. This tiny society has been held together for eight generations by its very isolation, shared economic endeavor, strong family loyalty, a deep commitment to Islam and an unique version of the old “Trading Malay” language of the East Indies.
Today the cornerstone of Coco Malay society and the focus of each individual life is the religion of Islam. The Cocos people have been described as Muslims since the first settlement. Throughout the year a large number of ceremonies are held at various houses for a wide range of family celebrations.
These include house blessings, welcomes, farewells, boat launchings, remembrances of deceased relatives, circumcisions and other family events. The biggest celebrations of the year for the Cocos Malay people is Hari Raya Puasa, the day that marks the end of the Islamic fasting month of the Holy month of Ramadan.
The first group of settlers brought to the islands by Alexander Hare whose family then owned the Islands, were predominately Malay with number of people of Chinese, Papuan and Indian descent. It is believed the party also comprised a few African individuals. The people came from such places as Bali, Bima, Celebes, Madura, Sumbawa, Timor, Sumatra, Pasir-Kutai, Malacca, Penang, Batavia and Cerebon.
They were described by subsequent visitors to the islands as Muslims speaking Malay – the trading lingua franc of then East Indies. Despite their disparate origins, the Cocos Malays people achieved an identity of their own within one generation of settlement.
The “Cocos-born” have their own mosques, their own leaders and their own ceremonies.
Today, the Malay dialect spoken by the Cocos- Malay people is an unsophisticated oral language. It contains words that reflect diverse origins of these people and their history of sporadic contacts with outsiders.
The two staples off the Cocos Malay diet are fish and rice. Most of Cocos fish are fried, although some are boiled and some curried. Rice is not grown on Cocos and has always been imported and it is still felt that no day should pass without at least one good meal of fish and rice.
The Cocos Malays people have shown a remarkable flair for accepting new cultural elemtns in their relatively short social history and blending them with tradition of their own.
Getting to the Island
Sunday and Friday from Perth International airport, from Australia. Unlike most holidays island destinations the Cocos (Keelings) Islands do not have huge resorts, shopping centers, restaurants, gift shops or organized activities.
Tourism is uncomplicated and simplistic which enhances it beauty and the islands uniqueness. West Island is ideal to explore by bike and travels along palm fringed roads and tracks and take in the natural beauty of the island and enjoy the peace and tranquility of this unspoiled tropical paradise.
Surrounded by the unbelievably clean Indian Ocean, the Cocos (Keeling) are a haven for water based activities. Renowned for its diverse marine life of beautiful fish, corals, reef shark, huge wrasse and parrotfish.
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands in brief
Total area 14 sq km land
Two main islands the West Island and Home Island
Population: 633
Economy: Coconut are the sole cash crop. Copra and fresh coconuts are the major export earners. Small local gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply.
Climate: Pleasant, modified by southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year, moderate rainfall
Fresh water resources are limited to rainwater and accumulations in natural underground reservoirs
Throughout the tsunami disaster Yemen Times kept direct contact with the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the neighboring Christmas Island. Due to high coral reefs protecting both Islands, they were not affected by the tsunami. This article is fulfilling a promise given to the Cocos Islanders then that we will write about them.
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