Cook Islands Celebration of Turama
A poignant and beautiful All Soul's Day Celebration in November
The celebration of Turama on All Soul's Day is celebrated on the island of Raratonga with flowers and candle light.
The Cook Islands festival, Turama is a beautiful and spectacular celebration on the island of Rarotonga that honours the dead.
In the week leading up to All Soul’s Day families come together to clean up their graveyards. All through All Soul’s Day (November the 1st) islanders decorate graves with beautiful and often fragrant flowers; frangipani, gardenias and hibiscus blooms are strung in garlands about the grave sites. Special candles are placed ready to be lit in the evening of November 1st and then left to burn all over the island through the night. It is lovely to drive around the island and see constellations of flickering candle light as you pass the many roadside graveyards.
Turama is a Roman Catholic celebration, but all denominations now join in this poignant and lovely celebration. On November 1st islanders gather at grave sites and swap stories, sometimes laughing, sometimes silent as they remember their loved ones. It is a time for reflection, sharing, beauty, remembrance and celebration of life and the after-life. In the evening there are services and non-denominational programs to remember loved ones who have died.
It may not be a usual type of event to time with a holiday, but it is a gracious and ultimately joyous celebration in the Cook Islands. It may be worth considering if you are heading to the South Pacific in October/November.
Visit What’s On In The Cook Islands to time your holiday with one of the many festivals and events held throughout the year.
