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Aaere marie e aku potiki kia kite i nga inapotea.

“Go gently, my little ones, so that you may live to see the years of old age.”

Elder counsel to the young to act carefully and avoid recklessness, so that they may live long enough to grow old.

— Traditional Cook Islands Wisdom, Cook Islands

Source: Short, Apenera, "Native Proverbs and Figurative Expressions of the Cook Islands", Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 60, No. 4 (1951); reproduced in a Cook Islands Reo Māori Facebook post crediting Apenera Short

More about Traditional Cook Islands Wisdom →·More Proverbs from Cook Islands →

More Proverbs from Cook Islands

Karikao pao ngata.

“This is a shell in the sea which is hard to crack — you are a stubborn one.”

Used to describe a person who is stubborn and will not be moved from their position, comparing them to a shellfish that resists cracking open.

Traditional Cook Islands Wisdom

Source: Short, Apenera, "Native Proverbs and Figurative Expressions of the Cook Islands", Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 60, No. 4 (1951), pp. 255-259

Oore a meika para ua.

“Skin it like a banana.”

Describes something that is easily achieved or a person who is easily defeated, as effortless as peeling a ripe banana.

Traditional Cook Islands Wisdom

Source: Traditional Cook Islands Maori proverb, recorded in the corpus collected in Short, Apenera, "Native Proverbs and Figurative Expressions of the Cook Islands", Journal of the Polynesian Society (1951); compiled in Cook Islands Maori proverb collections

Kare a mango e tuku i tana kai e mate uatu.

“The shark does not give up its food, even unto death.”

Said of a person who shows great tenacity and refuses to let go of what they have set out to achieve or hold onto.

Traditional Cook Islands Wisdom

Moemoe a panako.

“The small fish that never sleeps.”

A call to stay wary, watchful, and wide awake, as a small fish must remain alert to survive among larger predators.

Traditional Cook Islands Wisdom

E tumurangi matangi ra i ua.

“A storm cloud, but no rain.”

Said of a person who promises to give or help but then forgets or fails to follow through — someone whose words cannot be trusted.

Traditional Cook Islands Wisdom

Auraka e kai mata i te vī.

“Do not eat the mango while it is still green.”

A caution against hasty action — advises patience and waiting for the right time rather than rushing something before it is ready.

Traditional Cook Islands Wisdom

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