The Material Culture of the Cook Islands (Aitutaki)
The Carrying Pole, oka
The Carrying Pole, oka.
Throughout Polynesia, the name for the balance pole is usually amo or some variation of it. In Aitutaki, the name is oka and the word amo is not used. To carry on the shoulder is hapai, and to carry on the back, hakapiki. The word oka, as applied to the balance pole, is old. When the ancestor Ruatapu arrived, he is said to have brought the first cocoanuts. The place where they were carried ashore was named Okaoka from the balance pole on which they were borne to the land.