[2] Prior to colonisation and subsequent independence, the ꞌAreꞌare occupied a much larger geographical area encompassing parts of Guadalcanal and Makira, as well as Malaita.
In the past they lived in hamlets in the mountainous hinterland, or on the banks of lagoons in the southwest or the Mara Masika Strait (separating Malaita and South Malaita islands), but during colonization many coastal villages were established.
Traditionally, they practiced subsistence agriculture of taro, yams, and sweet potatoes, as well as raising pigs and fishing.
[2] The southern and northern zones differ in their political organization, with the south led by hereditary chieftains, while the north follows the self-made big man structure common in Melanesia.
[2] The traditional religion was ancestor worship, but during colonization, Christianity made big inroads, and by the mid-1970s at least half of the population was converted.