Nui is an atoll and one of nine districts of the Pacific Ocean state of Tuvalu. It has a land area of 3.37 km² and a population of 610 (2017 Census). Traditionally Nuian culture is organised in three family circles – Tekaubaonga, Tekaunimala and Tekaunibiti families. Most people live on the western end of Fenua Tapu. In the 2012 census, 321 people live in Alamoni – Maiaki and 221 people live in Manutalake – Meang (Tanrake). The junior school is Vaipuna Primary School. Geography Nui consists of at least 21 islets. These are: Fenua Tapu Motupuakaka Pakantou Piliaieve Pongalei Talalolae Telikiai, also known as Meang Tokinivae Unimai and at least 12 other islands The biggest, most southern and most eastern island is Fenua Tapu (area 1.38 km²), which is followed by Telikiai (which is the most western islet), Tokinivae, Pongalei, Talalolae, Pakantou, Unimai, Piliaieve and Motupuakaka. Languages The people of Nui speak the Gilbertese language, the language of Kiribati, and Tuvaluan, the official language of Tuvalu. The ancestors of Nui came from both Samoa and the Gilbert Islands in what is now Kiribati. Early history The island was first sighted by Europeans on 16 January 1568 by Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña, who named it Isla de Jesús (Spanish for "Island of Jesus") because it was discovered on the day following the feast of the Holy Name. There are no less than six accounts of this event, that of Mendaña himself being as follows: "A little after nine o'clock in the morning, a lad called Trejo, being aloft, first sighted land upon the starboard side to the southwest...When we drew near, we found it so small that it was no more than six leagues in circumference. This island was very full of trees like palms; towards the north it had a reef, which entered the sea a quarter of a league, and towards the south was another smaller reef. On the west side it had a strand lying lengthways, with reefs in different parts. This is on the west side, for we could not go round the east side because of the weather. Taking this island from the sea outwards, it has the shape of two galleys, with a copse in the middle which appears like a fleet of ships" Mendaña found the island inhabited and five canoes came nearly within bow shot of his ship, when their occupants raised