Tokelau

Tokelau
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Location of Tokelau
National AssemblyTokelau
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[1] 1,849
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source  
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 64
Related media
Categories: Tokelau • People

Tokelau (means "north-northeast" or "north wind," was previously known as the Union Islands, and until 1976 was officially the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the Southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo. They have a combined land area of 10 sq km (4 sq mi). Tokelau lies north of the Samoan Islands, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the Line Islands, and northwest of the Cook Islands. The Islands have a population of about 2,500. It is referred to as a nation by both the New Zealand government and the Tokelauan government.[2]

==History]]

Tokelau was a difficult place to teach the Faith. First because of government restrictions and the difficulty of travel to the islands. Tokelau was assigned as a goal to New Zealand in 1963.[3]

Mr. Toma Aviata of American Samoa. First Tokelauan Bahá’í who returned to his homeland to carry the Word of Bahá’u’lláh to his people.

In 1966, Toma Aviata of American Samoa left his wife and children behind to pioneer to the Tokelau Islands where he was born. He was advanced in years and had some health issues. It could only be reached by ship once every 4 months. He also assisted in translating prayers into the Tokelauan language.[4] He would remain for three years. He was informed on arrival that he could not teach the Faith on penalty of expulsion. He quietly prayed and lived a Bahá’í life. When he left to visit his family and attend convention, he was told that he could teach the Faith openly when he returned.[5]

New Zealand reported that a new pioneer had settled in the Tokelau Islands in 1966.[6][7]

In 1973, Tokelau was an extension teaching goal assigned to National Spiritual Assembly of Samoa. The seeds planted by Toma Aviata (for years the only Tokelau Bahá’í) were were brought to fruition by Mr. Tumanuvao White in the establishment of Bahá’í Centers on the three Tokelau islands before Rid Ván 1973. After he returned to Samoa, his wife Manasesa White (the first Samoan woman to be a travel teacher outside of Samoa) went to Tokelau for an extended stay hoping to establish at least one Assembly while the was there. There were currently only two Bahá’ís on the island. The result of their efforts were the formation of the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Fakaofo at Ridván 1974.[8][9][10]

References[edit]

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See also[edit]

  1. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Tokelau". Wikipedia.
  3. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 161. View as PDF.
  4. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 426, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  5. ↑ Baha'i News (1969). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 464, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
  6. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 423, Pg(s) 15. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 424, Pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1976). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 15 (1968-1973), Pg(s) 275. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ The American Bahá’í (1974). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Volume 5, Issue 3, pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  10. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1978). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 16 (1973-1976), Pg(s) 279. View as PDF.
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