Te Kohanga (te koˈhaŋa)
"Is it true that all the birds of Te Kohanga can speak to the people, and tell them stories?"
"No, not all of them. Just most of them" - a Mu'o'a child asking about Te Kohanga
Te Kohanga is part of a small archipelago located south of Motu. It is the largest island in the group, and the only one with any inhabitants. The island is known for the large and impressive bird population, and for the friendliness of the Kohangan people.
The island's main settlement is a small village located on the island's northern coast, called Nukunui. This is where more than half of all the Kohangan people meet, and is famous for the large tamaligi tree which grows in the center of the village. This tree, which is called the Rākau Ngākau Manu in Kohanga, is home to a large population of Kohanga Parrots. These birds are large, intelligent, and are known for their ability to speak and converse in Kohanga. They are also capable of learning new languages, and many have learned the languages of other bird species, and can translate them, and a few of the parrots have learned the language of Wind-Whistling. Kohanga parrots are prized by sailors and merchants, who can sometimes convince them to accompany them and act as translators in their journeys. However, the parrots usually grow homesick after only a few months of voyaging and will return home to Te Kohanga. Attempts to restrain the parrots from leaving when they wish have ended poorly; caging or shackling the birds is bad luck among sailors and can bring down the wrath of both wind and sea on a ship that does so.
Notable Spirits
Like their Mu'o'a cousins, the Kohangan people worship the Aku, who inhabit every aspect of the natural world. The most important Aku on Te Kohanga is Manu'aku, who is embodied by the winds and birds of the island. The Kohanga Parrot is particularly sacred to Manu'aku, and their exceptional gift for languages is a mark of the Aku's blessing. The Kohangans treat the care and feeding of the island's birds as a religious duty, and will never harm a bird or their eggs.
Geography
Te Kohanga is the largest island in a small archipelago that extends in an arc south of Motu. The islands are volcanic in origin, which has created rugged terrain with several peaks over two thousand feet high. The largest of these is called Maunga Ana, which is known for the large system of lava caves and tubes beneath it. Te Kohanga is roughly teardrop shaped, and measures around 26 miles from north to south, and about 16 miles across at its widest point.
There are five islands besides Te Kohanga in the Kohangan archipelago, but none of them are inhabited and they are all much smaller than Te Kohanga, which has over three quarters of the total landmass. These islands are close to one another and have extremely rugged terrain. There are also a couple of dozen smaller islets and skerries in the archipelago, most with less than one square mile in area. The Kohangans say that each of these smaller islands are eggs laid by Manu'aku, and that they will one day hatch and begin to grow into new islands in their own right.
Geographic Details
Location: Southern RegionLatitude: 11.49 degrees South
Longitude: 0.7 degrees East
Average Elevation: 213 ft
Highest Point: 2,080 ft (Maunga Ana)
Lowest Point: -7 ft
Area: 170.9 sq mi
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