Rokovoko

Rokovoko or Kokovoko is the fictional island home of the character Queequeg, as described in Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick.

For the New Zealand-Fijian rugby player whose name is pronounced approximately as Rokovoko, see Joe Rokocoko.

Rokovoko is said to be "an island far away to the West and South. It is not down in any map; true places never are", Melville writes. The geography of this island is unclear, but Queequeg is said to have traveled "twenty thousand miles from home, by way of Cape Horn" before arriving in Massachusetts, perhaps placing his home in Polynesia. The island was ruled by Queequeg's father, who is described as both high chief and king. Queequeg's uncle is the island's High Priest. Ishmael feared this island's inhabitants practiced cannibalism.

The spelling of the name differs in the initial British and American editions of the book.[1]

References
  1. "Versions of Moby-Dick - Chapter 12: Biographical". Melville Electronic Library. Retrieved 2023-03-19. Queequeg was a native of Kokovoko, an island far away to the West and South.


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