HHG » Australia / Oceania » Cocos (Keeling) Islands

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Only two of the islands are inhabited - Home Island where the majority of the indigenous Cocos Malay people reside and West Island which houses most of the mainly Australian workers on contract to various government departments. The total population of the two islands is just 600 people. Few groups in the world today are as little known or understood as the Cocos Malay inhabitants of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Theirs has been a world sealed off from the outsider by geography, history, politics and language. Few outsiders have lived among them and very little has been recorded of their cultural practices and tradition. This tiny society has been held together for eight generations by its very isolation, shared economic endeavor, strong family loyalty, a deep commitment to Islam and a unique version of the old "Trading Malay" language of the East Indies.