Cook Islands Māori is an East Polynesian language. It is the official language of the Cook Islands and is an indigenous language of the Realm of New Zealand. Cook Islands Māori is closely related to New Zealand Māori but is a distinct language. Cook Islands Māori is simply called Māori when there is no need to disambiguate it from New Zealand Māori, but it is also known as Māori Kuki Airani, or, controversially, Rarotongan. Many Cook Islanders also call it Te reo Ipukarea, literally "the language of the Ancestral Homeland".