The Cook Islands are a group of 15 islands in the South Pacific Ocean with a population of 13,200 people. The islands have their own language and government and are divided into two groups - the Southern Cook Islands and the Cook Islands. Traditional houses called Kikau still exist in a few locations, such as in New Jerusalem on Aitutaki. Cook Islands dancing is always accompanied by music and singing, and the singers and drummers from the small islands are renowned in Polynesia. Local cuisine includes foods like sea cucumbers, fish, and young taro leaves prepared and cooked in underground ovens called umus.