'Are'are people 'Are'are people ‘Are‘are is the name of a people from the south of the island of Malaita, which is part of the Solomon Islands. Their language is the 'Are'are language, which is part of the Austronesian language family. In 1999 there were an estimated 17,800 speakers, up from about 8-9,000 in the 1970s. Prior to colonisation and subsequent independence, the 'Are'are occupied a much larger geographical area encompassing parts of Guadalcanal and Makira, as well as Malaita. This included the northern part of Makira known as Arosi and the eastern part of Guadalcanal known today as Marau Sound. In the
Malaita central government did not act on this request, the council encouraged a boycott of the 1986 national elections. World War II, which played a major role in Solomons history, did not have a major impact upon Malaita. Auki became the temporary capital when Tulagi was seized by the Japanese, and it too was briefly raided by Japan, but little fighting happened on the island. Malaitans who fought in battalions, however, brought a new movement for self-determination known as Maasina Ruru (or "Marching Rule"), which spread quickly across the island. Participants united across traditional religious, ethnic, and clan lines, lived in