Difference between revisions of "Polynesia" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Polynesia-triangle.png|250px|thumb|Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the triangle]]
 
'''Polynesia''' (from the Greek words meaning "many islands") is a large grouping of over 1000 islands scattered over the central and southern [[Pacific Ocean]].
 
The term "Polynesia" was coined by Charles de Brosses in 1756, and originally applied to all the islands of the Pacific. Jules Dumont d'Urville in an 1831 lecture to the Geographical Society of Paris proposed a restriction on its use, and also introduced the terms [[Micronesia]] and [[Melanesia]]. This division into three distinct Pacific sub-regions remains in widespread use today.
 
  
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[[Image:Polynesia-triangle.png|200px|thumb|Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the triangle]]
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'''Polynesia''' (from the Greek words meaning "many islands") is a large grouping of over one thousand islands scattered over the central and southern [[Pacific Ocean]]. The term "Polynesia" was coined by Charles de Brosses in 1756, and originally applied to all the islands of the Pacific. In 1831 Jules Dumont d'Urville introduced the terms [[Micronesia]] and [[Melanesia]] in a lecture to the [[Geographical Society of Paris]]. This division into three distinct Pacific sub-regions remains in widespread use today.
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==Geography==
 
==Geography==
Polynesia may be described as a triangle with its corners at [[Hawaiian Islands|Hawai'i]], [[New Zealand]] and [[Easter Island]]. The other main island groups located within the Polynesian triangle are [[Samoa]], [[Tonga]], the various island chains that form the [[Cook Islands]] and [[French Polynesia]]. A Polynesian island group outside of this great triangle is [[Tuvalu]]. There are small Polynesian enclaves in the Solomons and in Vanuatu. It is also an anthropological term referring to one of the three parts of [[Oceania]] (the others being [[Micronesia]] and [[Melanesia]]).  
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[[Image:Moorea baie cook.JPG|250px|thumb|Cook Bay on Moorea, [[French Polynesia]]]]
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Polynesia may be described as the islands within a triangle with its corners at [[Hawaii|Hawaiian Islands]], [[New Zealand]], and [[Easter Island]]. A Polynesian island group outside of this great triangle is [[Tuvalu]]. There are small Polynesian enclaves in the [[Solomon Islands]] and in [[Vanuatu]]. The Pacific Islands—except New Zealand and Easter Island—lie within the rainy tropics or the humid subtropics. In these climates, there are no abrupt seasonal changes as in the temperate zones. Temperatures typically average close to 80 °F (27 °C) most of the year.
  
The Pacific Islands, except New Zealand and Easter Island,  lie within the rainy tropics or the humid subtropics. In such areas there are no abrupt seasonal changes as occur in regions of temperate climate. Temperatures typically average close to 27° C (80° F) most of the year.
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There are [[coral]] atolls, volcanic islands, many with active [[volcano]]es, and some of the highest [[mountain]]s in the world. The vegetation varies. On coral atolls, soils are thin and sandy. [[Vegetation]] is sparse and consists of shrubs, small trees, grasses, and coconut palms. The continental islands typically have mangrove forests on the coast, palm trees further inland, and [[rainforest]]s in the interior.
 
 
There are coral atolls, volcanic islands, many with active volcanoes, and some of the highest mountains in the world. The vegetation varies. Soils on coral atolls are thin and sandy. Sparse vegetation consists of shrubs, small trees, grasses, and coconut palms. Continental islands have mangrove forests on the coast, palm trees further inland, and rainforest in the interior.
 
 
 
[[Image:Moorea baie cook.JPG|250px|thumb|Cook Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia]]
 
 
 
The following are the islands and island groups, either nations or sub-national territories, that are of native Polynesian culture.  Some islands of Polynesian origin are outside the general triangle that geographically defines the region. 
 
 
 
[[American Samoa]]  (overseas [[United States]] territory), [[Anuta]]  (in the [[Solomon Islands]]), [[Cook Islands]] and [[Niue]]  (both self-governing states in association with [[New Zealand]]),  [[Easter Island]]  (part of [[Chile]], also called ''Rapa Nui,''  [[Emae]]  (in [[Vanuatu]]), [[French Polynesia]]  (a territory of [[France]]), [[Hawai'i|Hawai‘i]]  (a [[U.S. state|state]] of the [[United States]]), [[Kapingamarangi]]  (in the [[Federated States of Micronesia]]), [[Loyalty Islands]]  (a dependency of the [[France|French]] [[territory]] of [[New Caledonia]]), [[Mele, Vanuatu|Mele]]  (in Vanuatu), [[New Zealand]] (also called ''Aotearoa''), [[Nuguria]]  (in [[Papua New Guinea]]), [[Nukumanu]] and  [[Takuu]]  (both in Papua New Guinea),  [[Nukuoro]]  (in the Federated States of Micronesia), [[Ontong Java]], [[Pileni]],  [[Sikaiana]], [[Rennell]], and [[Tikopia]]  (all in the Solomon Islands), [[Samoa]]  (an independent nation),  [[Swains Island]] (politically a part of American Samoa), [[Tokelau]]  (an overseas dependency of New Zealand), [[Tonga]]  (an independent nation), [[Tuvalu]]  (an independent nation), and [[Wallis and Futuna]]  (overseas territory of France)
 
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
[[Image:Karte vom Amerikanischen Polynesien 1859.jpg|350px|thumb|Map of American Polynesia, [[1851]]]]
 
Polynesian culture has developed in four different historical eras: Exploration and settlement (from about 1800 B.C.E.  to 700 C.E.), pre-European growth (from 700 B.C.E. to 1595), European discovery and colonization until World War II (1595 to 1945), and modern times (from 1945 to present)
 
  
Maternal mitochondrial DNA analysis suggests that Polynesians, including Tongans, Samoans, Niueans, Cook Islanders, Tahitians, Hawaiians, Marquesans and Maori, are genetically linked to indigenous peoples of parts of Southeast Asia including those of [[Taiwanese aborigines|Taiwan]]. Between about 3000 and 1000 B.C.E. speakers of Austronesian languages spread through island South-East Asia – almost certainly starting out from Taiwan – into the edges of western [[Micronesia]] and on into [[Melanesia]]. In the archaeological record there are well-defined traces of this expansion. In the mid 2nd millennium B.C.E. a distinctive culture appeared suddenly in north-west Melanesia, in the [[Bismarck Archipelago]]. This culture, known as [[Lapita]], is distinctive for its large permanent villages on beach terraces, and the making of pottery. Between about 1300 and 900 B.C.E., the Lapita culture spread 6000 kilometers east until it reached [[Tonga]] and [[Samoa]]. In this region, the distinctive Polynesian culture developed.
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Polynesian history covers four eras: Exploration and settlement (1800 <small>B.C.E.</small> to 700 <small>C.E.</small>), pre-European growth (700 to 1595), European exploration and colonization (1595 to 1945), and modern times (from 1945 to the present).
 
The early Polynesians were an adventurous seafaring people. Archaeological evidence indicates that by about 700 C.E., the Polynesians had settled the vast [[Polynesian triangle]]. By comparison, [[Viking]] navigators first settled [[Iceland]] around 875C.E.
 
Most evidence indicates that their motivation was to ease the demands of burgeoning populations.
 
  
Each island or island group's culture developed in isolation.  There was no widespread inter-island group communication, nor is there much indication during this period of any interest in such communications, at least not for economic reasons. This fact makes all the more astounding the limited linguistic entropy of the [[Polynesian languages]].
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Maternal [[mitochondria|mitochondrial]] [[DNA]] analysis suggests that [[Tonga]]ns, [[Samoa]]ns, [[Niue]]ans, [[Cook Island]]ers, [[Tahiti]]ans, Hawaiians, Marquesans, and [[Maori]] are genetically linked to indigenous peoples of [[Southeast Asia]]. Between about 3000 and 1000 <small>B.C.E.</small>, speakers of Austronesian languages spread from [[Taiwan]] into the edges of western [[Micronesia]] and on into [[Melanesia]]. In the mid second millennium <small>B.C.E.</small>, a distinctive culture appeared suddenly in north-west Melanesia, in the [[Bismarck Archipelago]]. This culture, known as [[Lapita]], is distinctive for its large permanent villages on beach terraces, and the making of pottery. Between about 1300 and 900 <small>B.C.E.</small>, the Lapita culture spread 6,000 kilometers east to [[Tonga]] and [[Samoa]]. Adventurous seafarers by 700 <small>C.E.</small>, the Polynesians had settled the vast Polynesian triangle. By comparison, [[Viking]] navigators first settled [[Iceland]] around 875 <small>C.E.</small> Evidence indicates that the Polynesians were motivated to expand to ease the demands of burgeoning populations.  
  
Each local population developed politically in diverse ways, from fully-developed [[monarchy|kingdom]]s in some islands and island groups, to constantly-warring tribes or extended family groups between various sections of islands, or in some cases, even within the same valleys on various islands.  
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Each local population developed its political structures in diverse ways, from fully-developed [[monarchy|kingdom]]s in some islands, to constantly warring tribes, or extended family groups on others. On low elevation islands, where communication was unimpeded, there was no conflict. But on most high elevation islands, warring groups inhabited various districts, usually separated by mountain ridges, with carefully drawn lowland boundaries.
  
On low islands, where communications are essentially unimpeded, there does not appear to have developed any widely-observable incidence of conflict.  But on most high islands, there were, historically, warring groups inhabiting various districts, usually delimited primarily by mountain ridges, with carefully drawn lowland boundaries.  Early on, however, many such islands developed a united social and political structure, usually under the leadership of a strong [[monarch]].
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[[Image:Karte vom Amerikanischen Polynesien 1859.jpg|350px|thumb|right|Map of American Polynesia, 1851 (in German)]]
  
The first Polynesian islands visited by European explorers were the [[Marquesas Islands]], first discovered by Europeans when the [[Spain|Spanish]] navigator, [[Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira]], found the islands in [[1595]].
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In 1595 [[Spain|Spanish]] navigator [[Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira]] was the first [[Europe]]an to reach a Polynesian island, the [[Marquesas Islands]]. But the European exploration of Polynesia was of little more than passing interest because of the scarcity of mineral or gemological resources. [[United Kingdom|British]] navigator Captain [[James Cook]] was the first to attempt to explore Polynesia.
  
Because of the paucity of mineral or gemological resources, the exploration of Polynesia by European navigators (whose primary interest was economic), was of little more than passing interest.  The great navigator Captain [[James Cook]] was the first to attempt to explore as much of Polynesia as possible.
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Europeans did bring changes, however. They introduced [[disease]]s to which the Polynesians had no immunity, [[slavery]] to supply [[plantation]]s in [[South America]], and [[Christian]] missionaries. Many colonizing powers, pressured by missionaries, forcibly suppressed native cultures and languages.
  
Europeans brought a great number of changes within Polynesian culture, mostly as a result of colonization, the introduction of a large number of alien diseases to which the Polynesians had no immunity, slavery to supply plantations in [[South America]], and an influx of Christian missionaries, many of whom regarded the Polynesians as descendants of the Lost Tribes|lost tribes of Israel.  In many cases, colonizing powers, usually under pressure from missionary elements, forcibly suppressed native cultural expression, including the use of the native Polynesian languages.
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By the early 1900s, almost all of Polynesia and its outliers were colonized or occupied by Western colonial powers, or subsumed into the sometimes-overlapping territorial claims of [[Japan]], the [[United Kingdom]], and [[France]]. However [[Tonga]] (or the "Friendly Islands") maintained its independence, at least nominally.  
  
By the early 1900s, almost all of Polynesia was colonized or occupied to various degrees by Western colonial powers. However [[Tonga]] (or the "Friendly Islands") maintained its independence, at least nominally. Meanwhile, all of the [[Polynesian outlier]]s were subsumed into the sometimes-overlapping territorial claims of Japan, the United Kingdom and France.
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The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, in south-central Oahu, [[Hawaii]], brought the [[United States]] into [[World War II]] in 1941. A number of islands were used by the [[Allies]] as military bases, including as far east as [[Bora Bora]].
  
During World War II, a number of Polynesian islands played critical roles. The critical attack which brought the United States into the war, was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, in south-central Oahu, [[Hawaii]]. A number of islands were developed by the [[Allies]] as [[military base]]s, especially by the [[United States|American]] forces, including as far east as [[Bora Bora]].
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After World War II, political change came more slowly to Polynesia than to the other overseas colonies. Although sovereignty was granted by royal proclamation to [[New Zealand]] as early as 1907, this did not go into full effect until 1947.
  
Following World War II, political change came more slowly to the islands of Polynesia than to the other parts of overseas colonies of European powers. Although sovereignty was granted by royal proclamation to [[New Zealand]] as early as [[1907]], this did not go into full effect until [[1947]].
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==Migration==
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[[Image:hawaiiancanoe.jpg|Polynesian voyaging canoe|thumb|300px|Polynesians settled the vast Polynesian triangle by 700 <small>C.E.</small>]]
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Migration by Polynesian people in great ocean-going canoes is impressive considering that the islands settled are spread out over great distances&mdash;the Pacific Ocean covers nearly a half of Earth's surface area. Most contemporary cultures, by comparison, never voyaged beyond sight of land.
  
Following in independence were the nations (and the sovereign powers from which they obtained complete political independence) of: [[Samoa]], as "Western Samoa" (from New Zealand) in 1962, [[Tonga]] (from the United Kingdom) in 1970, [[Tuvalu]] (from the United Kingdom) in [[1978]], the Phoenix Islands and most of the Line Islands as part of the republic of [[Kiribati]] (from the United Kingdom) in [[1979]]
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Knowledge of the traditional Polynesian methods of navigation was largely lost after colonization by Europeans. Explorer Captain [[James Cook]] accepted the view that migration occurred when large groups of Pacific islanders were driven off course in storms and ended up hundreds of miles away. Late nineteenth century writers told of heroic Polynesians migrating in great coordinated fleets. In the mid-twentieth century, [[Thor Heyerdahl]] argued that the Polynesians had migrated from [[South America]] on [[balsa]]-log boats.
  
The remaining islands are still under official sovereignty of the following nations: [[American Samoa]]  (United States), [[Cook Islands]] (New Zealand), [[French Polynesia]] (France), [[Niue]]  (New Zealand), [[Pitcairn]] (United Kingdom), [[Tokelau]] (New Zealand), [[Wallis and Futuna]]  (France), [[Easter Island]] (Chile), [[Howland Island|Howland]], [[Baker Island|Baker]], [[Jarvis Island|Jarvis]], and [[Palmyra Atoll|Palmyra]] Islands  (United States).
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In the late 1960s, Dr. [[David Lewis]] sailed his catamaran from [[Tahiti]] to [[New Zealand]] using [[stellar navigation]] without instruments. Ben Finney built a 40-foot replica of a Hawaiian double canoe and tested it in a series of sailing and paddling experiments in Hawaiian waters. At the same time, ethnographic research in the Caroline Islands in [[Micronesia]] revealed that traditional stellar navigational methods were still in everyday use there, as in the [[Sulu Archipelago]] in the [[Philippines]].  
  
The various outliers lie within the sovereign territory of the nations of [[Vanuatu]], the [[Solomon Islands]], [[Fiji]], the [[Federated States of Micronesia]], and the [[France|French]] territory of [[New Caledonia]].
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Polynesian navigators probably used the stars, the movement of ocean currents and wave patterns, the air and sea interference patterns caused by islands and atolls, the flight of birds, the winds, and the weather. Scientists think that long-distance voyaging followed the migration and seasonal paths of [[bird|birds]]. A voyage from Tahiti, the Tuamotus, or the [[Cook Islands]] to New Zealand might have followed the migration of the [[Long-tailed Koel|Long-tailed cuckoo]]. It is also believed that Polynesians used shore-sighting birds, like the [[Frigate bird]].
  
==Migration==
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==Politics==
[[Image:hawaiiancanoe.jpg|Polynesian voyaging canoe|thumb|300px|Polynesians settled the vast Polynesian triangle by 700C.E.]]
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Polynesia includes six independent nations ([[New Zealand]], [[Solomon Islands]], [[Tonga]], [[Tuvalu]], [[Vanuatu]], and [[Samoa]]); two political units that are parts of larger nations ([[Hawaii]] is a state of the [[United States]], and [[Easter Island]] is part of [[Chile]]); two self-governing entities that remain linked with their former colonial power ([[Cook Islands]] and [[Niue]] with [[New Zealand]]); and five territories administered by other nations&mdash;[[New Caledonia]], [[French Polynesia]], and [[Wallis]] and [[Futuna]]&mdash;all administered by [[France]], [[Tokelau]] administered by [[New Zealand]], and [[American Samoa]] administered by the [[United States]].
The migration of the Polynesians is impressive considering that the islands settled by them are spread out over great distances — the Pacific Ocean covers nearly a half of the Earth's surface area.  Most contemporary cultures, by comparison, never voyaged beyond out of sight of land.
 
  
Knowledge of the traditional Polynesian methods of navigation was largely lost after contact with and colonization by Europeans. Explorer Captain [[James Cook]], already familiar with [[Charles de Brousse]]’s accounts of large groups of Pacific islanders who were driven off course in storms and ended up hundreds of miles away with no idea where they were, encountered in the course of one of his own voyages a castaway group of Tahitians who had become lost at sea in a gale and blown 100 miles away to the island of Atiu. Cook wrote that the Atiu incident ‘will serve to explain, better than the thousand conjectures of speculative reasoners, how the detached parts of the earth, and, in particular, how the South Seas, may have been peopled’ (Sharp 1963:16).
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Polynesian governments vary. The independent nations replaced hereditary chiefs with constitutions providing for executives and legislatures. In Tonga, politics are controlled by a hereditary king, who serves as head of state and appoints the head of government. In the nations that have entered pacts with the United States or New Zealand, the pattern is for local self-government with matters of defense overseen by the foreign power.  
  
By the late 19th century to the early 20th century a more generous view of Polynesian navigation had come into favour, perhaps creating too romantic a picture of their canoes, seamanship and navigational expertise. Late nineteenth and early twentieth century writers such as [[Abraham Fornander]] and [[Stephenson Percy Smith]] told of heroic Polynesians migrating in great coordinated fleets from Asia to the islands now known as Polynesia (Finney 1976:5). In the mid-twentieth century, [[Thor Heyerdahl]] proposed another romanticised theory of Polynesian origins, arguing that the Polynesians had migrated from South America on [[balsa]]-log boats (Sharp 1963:122-128, Finney in Finney 1976:5).
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Internal self-government is also the rule among the territories of overseas powers, with elected legislatures and executives. Some elected representatives are sent to the national legislature in the overseas capital. French Polynesia sends one voting member to each house of the French National Assembly in Paris. The territories are dependent on the mainland government for economic subsidies, and often have little control over political decisions.
  
Research and practice: A more sober and analytical view was presented by Andrew Sharp, who amassed a wealth of evidence to challenge the ‘heroic vision’ hypothesis, asserting instead that Polynesian maritime expertise was severely limited and that as a result the settlement of Polynesia had been the result of luck, random searching, and drifting, rather than as organised voyages of colonisation (Sharp 1963). Sharp’s reassessment caused a huge amount of controversy  and led to a stalemate between the romantic and the sceptical views (Finney in Finney 1976:5).
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==Economy==
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[[Image:Paul Gauguin 056.jpg|300px|thumb|''Tahitian Women on the Beach'' by [[Paul Gauguin]] from Musée d'Orsay]]
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With the exception of New Zealand, most independent Polynesian islands derive much of their income from foreign aid. Some families encourage their young people to go where they can earn good money to remit to their stay-at-home relatives. Many Polynesian locations supplement this with income from tourism. Some have more unusual sources of income, such as Tuvalu which marketed its '.tv' internet top-level domain name, or the Cook Islands' reliance on postage stamp sales. A very few others still live as they did before western civilization encountered them.
  
By the mid to late 1960s it was time for a new hands-on approach. Dr [[David Lewis]] sailed his catamaran from Tahiti to New Zealand using [[stellar navigation]] without instruments (Lewis 1976). [[Ben Finney]] built a 40-foot replica of a Hawaiian double canoe and tested it in a series of sailing and paddling experiments in Hawaiian waters. At the same time, ethnographic research in the Caroline Islands in [[Micronesia]] brought to light the fact that traditional stellar navigational methods were still very much in everyday use there. This was also the case in the [[Sulu Archipelago]] in the Philippines. The building and testing of canoes inspired by traditional designs, the harnessing of knowledge from skilled Micronesian and Philippine navigators, as well as voyages using stellar navigation, allowed practical conclusions about the sea-worthiness and handling capabilities of traditional Polynesian canoes and allowed a better understanding of the navigational methods that were likely to have been used by the Polynesians and of how they, as people, were adapted to seafaring (Finney in Finney 1976:6-9).
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Most Pacific Islanders grow crops for their own use. These include [[banana]]s, [[breadfruit]], [[sweet potato]]es, [[yam]]s, [[cassava]], and [[taro]]. [[Coffee]] plantations, introduced in the colonial era, are important in [[New Caledonia]] and [[Papua New Guinea]], and [[vanilla]] is raised for export on [[Tonga]]. [[Coconut]], the source of [[copra]], or dried [[coconut]] meat, is the most common crop and is sometimes the major export. Extensive [[rainforest]]s in the [[Solomon Islands]] provide forest products for export. [[Fishing]] is a source of food and an export earner for some economies. Pacific Island nations have had fisheries disputes with the [[United States]] and [[Japan]]. French Polynesia exports cultured [[pearl]]s.
  
Recent re-creations of Polynesian voyaging have used methods based largely on Micronesian methods and the teachings of a Micronesian navigator, [[Mau Piailug]]. See also [[Polynesian Voyaging Society]], [[Hokulea]].
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[[New Caledonia]] has rich deposits of [[nickel]], [[chromite]], and [[iron]] [[ore]]. Large reserves of [[petroleum]] are believed to lie in the continental shelves along the Pacific Rim. Fields of [[manganese]] nodules, potato-sized nuggets of iron and manganese [[oxide]]s that can contain [[copper]], [[cobalt]], and nickel have been found on patches of the ocean floor. Manufacturing is limited to handicrafts and food processing.  
  
Techniques: It is probable that the Polynesian navigators employed a whole range of techniques including use of the stars, the movement of ocean currents and wave patterns, the air and sea interference patterns caused by islands and [[atoll]]s, the flight of birds, the winds and the weather (Gatty 1999). See [[Navigation#Polynesian_navigation|Polynesian navigation]].
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Polynesian countries trade with their former and current colonial powers the [[United Kingdom]], the [[United States]], [[New Zealand]], [[Australia]], [[Germany]], and [[France]] as well as [[Canada]], and increasingly, [[Japan]].  
  
Scientists think that long-distance Polynesian voyaging followed the seasonal paths of [[bird migration|birds]]. There are some references in their oral traditions to the flight of birds and some say that there were range marks onshore pointing to distant islands in line with these [[flyway|flyways]].  A voyage from Tahiti, the Tuamotus or the Cook Islands to New Zealand might have followed the migration of the [[Long-tailed Koel|Long-tailed cuckoo]] ([[List of New Zealand birds|Eudynamys taitensis]]) just as the voyage from Tahiti to Hawaii would coincide with the track of the [[Pacific Golden Plover]] and the [[Bristle-thighed Curlew]]. It is also believed that Polynesians employed shore-sighting birds as did many seafaring peoples. One theory is that they would have taken a [[Frigatebird|frigatebird]] with them. These birds refuse to land on the water as their feathers will become waterlogged making it impossible to fly. When the voyagers thought they were close to land they may have released the bird, which would either fly towards land or else return to the canoe (Gatty 1999).
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Tourism has grown, with Japan the largest single source of visitors. But since most tourist facilities are foreign-owned, much of the profit from tourism leaves the Pacific. Jobs in the hospitality [[industry]] are seasonal, and only low-skill jobs are open to islanders. Growing numbers of visitors can harm [[coral reefs]] and rain forests.
  
The peoples of the Pacific, including Micronesians and Polynesians, developed navigating by the stars into a fine art. It is surmised that the Polynesians imagined the heavens as the interior of a dome where a star proceeded along a path which passed over certain islands. They had names for over a hundred and fifty stars. A navigator would have known where and when a given star rose and set, as well as which islands it passed directly over. Thus Polynesian navigators would have then been able to sail toward the star they knew to be over their destination, and as it moved westward with time they would then set their course by the succeeding star which would have then moved over the target island (Gatty 1999).
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Shipping networks carry cargo and passengers between the hundreds of inhabited islands and atolls. Most Pacific Island nations are well served by satellite [[technology]], and their access to [[telephone]], [[television]], and [[radio]] services is good. As most Polynesian nations do not produce any [[oil]] or [[natural gas]], most [[fuel]]s must be imported. In rural households, [[wood]] from forests is an important source of energy.
  
It is likely that the Polynesians also used wave and swell formations to navigate. Many of the habitable areas of the Pacific Ocean are groups, or chains, of islands (or atolls) in long chains—hundreds of  kilometers long. Island chains have predictable effects on waves and on currents. Navigators who lived within a group of islands would learn the effect various islands had on their shape, direction, and motion and would have been able to correct their path in accordance with the changes they perceived. When they arrived in the vicinity of a chain of islands they were unfamiliar with, they may have been able to transfer their experience and deduct that they were nearing a group of islands. Once they had arrived fairly close to a destination island, they would have been able to pinpoint its location by sightings of land-based birds, certain cloud formations, as well as the reflections shallow water made on the undersides of clouds. It is thought that the Polynesian navigators may have measured the time it took to sail between islands in "canoe-days’’ or a similar type of expression (Gatty 1999).
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== Demographics==
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[[Image:Urville-Tahiti-houses.jpg|300px|thumb|Houses of natives in Tahiti, c. 1842]]
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Polynesia has a total population of just over six million, but the Polynesian population is estimated at about three million people spread over one thousand islands. Of New Zealand's four million people, about 260,000 identify themselves as Polynesian. Auckland has the largest concentration of Polynesians in the South Pacific. In addition, New Zealand has about 600,000 [[Maori]] people. Of Hawaii's 1.2 million people, there are about 116,000 native Hawaiians or other Polynesians. Polynesians, whose features are [[Mongoloid]], are tall and have lighter skin than [[Micronesia]]ns or [[Melanesia]]ns. Their hair is dark and either straight or wavy but not curled. Polynesian languages are all members of the family of Oceanic languages, a sub-branch of the [[Austronesian language]] family.
  
==Politics==
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Pre-Christian Polynesians worshiped many gods, each of whom represented some aspect of their environment. They often believed their founding ancestors were gods, and had [[altar]]s and houses for them. Offerings sometimes included [[human being|human]] sacrifices. Valuable tools or strong chiefs or warriors were sometimes thought to possess mana, a force that gave an object or person prestige or authority. Because of an openness to new ideas and relatively large numbers of competitive sects of Christian missionaries, Polynesians readily adopted [[Christianity]]. Polynesians today are mostly [[Protestant]]s of various groups, but with a large minority who are [[Roman Cathoicism|Roman Catholic]]. [[Anthropology|Anthropologists]] term the Eastern Polynesian system of [[kinship]] the ''[[Hawaiian kinship|Hawaiian system]]''.
Polynesia includes six independent nations (New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Samoa), two political units that are parts of larger nations (Hawaii is a state of the United States, and Easter Island is part of Chile), two self-governing entities that remain linked with their former colonial power (Cook Islands and Niue with New Zealand), and five territories administered by other nations — New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna, all administered by France, Tokelau, administered by New Zealand, and American Samoa administered by the United States.
 
Polynesian governments vary. The independent nations replaced hereditary chiefs with constitutions providing for executives and legislatures. In Tonga, politics are controlled by a hereditary king, who serves as head of state and appoints the head of government. In the nations that have entered pacts with the United States or New Zealand, the pattern is for local self-government with matters of defence overseen by the foreign power.  
 
Internal self-government is also the rule among the territories of overseas powers, with elected legislatures and executives. Some elected representatives are sent to the national legislature in the overseas capital. French Polynesia sends one voting member to each house of the French National Assembly in Paris. The territories are dependent on the mainland government for economic subsidies, and often have little control over political decisions.  
 
  
==Economy==
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Settlements by the Polynesians were of two categories: the hamlet and the [[village]]. The size of the island determined whether or not a hamlet would be built. The larger [[volcanic]] islands usually had hamlets because of the many divisions that could be created across the island. Food and resources were plentiful and these settlements of four to five houses (usually with gardens) were established to maintain independence among the divisions. Villages, on the other hand, were built on the coasts of smaller islands and consisted of thirty or more houses. Usually these villages were fortified with walls and palisades made of stone and wood. However, New Zealand demonstrates the opposite&mdash;large volcanic islands with fortified villages.
With the exception of New Zealand, the majority of independent Polynesian islands derive much of their income from foreign aid and remittances from those who live in other countries. Some encourage their young people to go where they can earn good money to remit to their stay-at-home relatives. Many Polynesian locations, such as Easter Island, supplement this with tourism income. Some have more unusual sources of income, such as Tuvalu which marketed its '[[.tv]]' internet top-level domain name, or the Cooks that relied on [[Postage stamp|stamp]] sales. A very few others still live as they did before Western Civilization encountered them.
 
  
== Demographics==
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==Culture==
Polynesia divides into two distinct cultural groups, East Polynesia and West Polynesia. The culture of West Polynesia is conditioned to high populations. It has strong institutions of marriage, and well-developed judicial, monetary and trading traditions. It comprises the groups of [[Tonga]], [[Niue]], [[Samoa]] and the [[Polynesian outlier]]s.
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[[Image:TahuhuNgatiAwa.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Carving from the ridgepole of a [[Māori]] house, c. 1840]]
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Polynesia can be divided into two distinct cultural groups, East Polynesia and West Polynesia. West Polynesia is characterized by high populations. It has strong institutions of [[marriage]], and well-developed judicial, monetary, and trading traditions. It comprises the groups of [[Tonga]], [[Niue]], [[Samoa]], and the Polynesian outliers.
  
[[Image:Urville-Tahiti-houses.jpg|350px|Houses of natives in Tahiti, circa 1842|thumb]]
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Eastern Polynesian cultures reflect the smaller islands and atolls including the [[Cook Islands]], [[Tahiti]], the [[Tuamotus]], the [[Marquesas Islands]], [[Hawaii]], and [[Easter Island]]. Eastern Polynesians adapted their culture to a non-tropical environment when they settled [[New Zealand]].
  
Eastern Polynesian cultures are highly adapted to smaller islands and atolls including the Cook Islands, Tahiti, the Tuamotus, the Marquesas, Hawaii and Easter Island. However, the large islands of [[New Zealand]] were first settled by Eastern Polynesians who adapted their culture to a non-tropical environment. [[Anthropology|Anthropologists]] term the Eastern Polynesian system of [[kinship]] the ''[[Hawaiian kinship|Hawaiian system]]''.  
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Although pre-European Polynesians had no metals, they developed a complex civilization by using available materials. For example, coconut palm leaves provided matting and roof thatch, the fibrous material covering the coconuts could be made into baskets, the shells could become household containers and other utensils, while the meat and liquid provided various foods and beverages.  
  
Religion, [[farming]], [[fishing]], weather prediction, out-rigger canoe (similar to modern [[catamaran]]s) construction and [[navigation]] were highly developed skills because the population of an entire island depended on them.  
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Religion, [[farming]], [[fishing]], [[weather]] prediction, out-rigger canoe (similar to modern [[catamaran]]s) construction, and [[navigation]] were highly developed skills because the population of an entire island depended on them.
  
Trading consisted of both luxuries and mundane items. Many low-lying islands could suffer severe famine if their gardens were poisoned by the salt from the storm-surge of a hurricane. In these cases fishing, the primary source of protein, would not ease loss of [[food energy]]. Navigators, in particular, were highly respected and each island maintained a house of navigation, with a canoe-building area.  
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Pre-colonial Polynesians also devised snares, traps, nets, harpoons, and special hooks that do not snag on reefs to catch fish. There are the giant stone statues on Easter Island and polished, exquisitely carved war clubs made throughout the region. Skills were handed down through their families. Craft items, like ''tapa'' cloth made from tree bark, remain important, especially for the tourist trade. Other art forms include ceremonial dancing and singing. Woodcarving is practiced throughout Polynesia.  
  
Settlements by the Polynesians were of two categories. The [[hamlet (place)|hamlet]] and the [[village]]. Size of the island inhabited determined whether or not a hamlet would be built. The larger [[volcanic]] islands usually had hamlets because of the many zones that could be divided across the island. Food and resources were more plentiful and so these settlements of four to five houses (usually with gardens) were established so that there would be no overlap between the zones. Villages, on the other hand, were built on the coasts of smaller islands and consisted of thirty or more houses. Usually these villages were fortified with walls and pallisades made of stone and wood [Encyclopedia Britannica, 1995]. However, New Zealand demonstrates the opposite; large volcanic islands with fortified villages.  
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Independence is not the only influence affecting modern Polynesian society. The primary driving forces are the ever-increasing outside influences, through improved air communications as well as through vastly improved telecommunications. Tourism has had a tremendous impact on the direction of the development. The culture has adapted to accommodate the interests of outsiders, while retaining native traditions.  
  
Because of a strong readiness to accept new ideas and due to relatively large numbers of competitive sects of Christian missionaries in the islands, Polynesians readily adopted [[Christianity]].
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==External links==
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All links retrieved November 24, 2022.
  
[[Polynesian languages]] are all members of the family of [[Oceanic languages]], a sub-branch of the [[Austronesian]] language family.
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*[http://polynesia.com/ Polynesia (Polynesian Cultural Center)]  
 
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*[http://www.tritonfilms.com/lewisreview.htm Lewis commenting on ''Spirits of the Voyage'']
==Culture==
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*[http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/15/1037080913844.html Obituary: David Henry Lewis] &mdash; including how he came to rediscover Pacific Ocean navigation methods
  
==Issues==
 
Independence and/or increasing autonomy is not the only influence affecting modern Polynesian society.  The primary driving forces are, in fact, the ever-increasing accessibility of the islands to outside influences, through improved air communications as well as through vastly improved telecommunications.  The economic importance of [[tourism]] has also had a tremendous impact on the direction of the development of the various island societies.  Accessibility of outside sources, as well as the tourism viability of individual islands has played an important role to which the modern culture has adapted itself to accommodating the interests of outsiders, as opposed to the influences of those intent upon promoting the retention of native traditions.  Because of this, Polynesia is today an area in varying degrees of extreme cultural flux.
 
===See also ===
 
*[[Polynesian mythology]]
 
* [[List of Polynesians]]
 
  
{{Polynesia}}
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{{credit2|Polynesia|57123740|Polynesia|95506622}}
  
{{credit|42893118}}
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[[Category:Islands]]
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[[Category:Global regions]]
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[[Category:Geography]]

Latest revision as of 08:46, 24 November 2022


Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the triangle

Polynesia (from the Greek words meaning "many islands") is a large grouping of over one thousand islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The term "Polynesia" was coined by Charles de Brosses in 1756, and originally applied to all the islands of the Pacific. In 1831 Jules Dumont d'Urville introduced the terms Micronesia and Melanesia in a lecture to the Geographical Society of Paris. This division into three distinct Pacific sub-regions remains in widespread use today.

Geography

Cook Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia

Polynesia may be described as the islands within a triangle with its corners at Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand, and Easter Island. A Polynesian island group outside of this great triangle is Tuvalu. There are small Polynesian enclaves in the Solomon Islands and in Vanuatu. The Pacific Islands—except New Zealand and Easter Island—lie within the rainy tropics or the humid subtropics. In these climates, there are no abrupt seasonal changes as in the temperate zones. Temperatures typically average close to 80 °F (27 °C) most of the year.

There are coral atolls, volcanic islands, many with active volcanoes, and some of the highest mountains in the world. The vegetation varies. On coral atolls, soils are thin and sandy. Vegetation is sparse and consists of shrubs, small trees, grasses, and coconut palms. The continental islands typically have mangrove forests on the coast, palm trees further inland, and rainforests in the interior.

History

Polynesian history covers four eras: Exploration and settlement (1800 B.C.E. to 700 C.E.), pre-European growth (700 to 1595), European exploration and colonization (1595 to 1945), and modern times (from 1945 to the present).

Maternal mitochondrial DNA analysis suggests that Tongans, Samoans, Niueans, Cook Islanders, Tahitians, Hawaiians, Marquesans, and Maori are genetically linked to indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia. Between about 3000 and 1000 B.C.E., speakers of Austronesian languages spread from Taiwan into the edges of western Micronesia and on into Melanesia. In the mid second millennium B.C.E., a distinctive culture appeared suddenly in north-west Melanesia, in the Bismarck Archipelago. This culture, known as Lapita, is distinctive for its large permanent villages on beach terraces, and the making of pottery. Between about 1300 and 900 B.C.E., the Lapita culture spread 6,000 kilometers east to Tonga and Samoa. Adventurous seafarers by 700 C.E., the Polynesians had settled the vast Polynesian triangle. By comparison, Viking navigators first settled Iceland around 875 C.E. Evidence indicates that the Polynesians were motivated to expand to ease the demands of burgeoning populations.

Each local population developed its political structures in diverse ways, from fully-developed kingdoms in some islands, to constantly warring tribes, or extended family groups on others. On low elevation islands, where communication was unimpeded, there was no conflict. But on most high elevation islands, warring groups inhabited various districts, usually separated by mountain ridges, with carefully drawn lowland boundaries.

Map of American Polynesia, 1851 (in German)

In 1595 Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira was the first European to reach a Polynesian island, the Marquesas Islands. But the European exploration of Polynesia was of little more than passing interest because of the scarcity of mineral or gemological resources. British navigator Captain James Cook was the first to attempt to explore Polynesia.

Europeans did bring changes, however. They introduced diseases to which the Polynesians had no immunity, slavery to supply plantations in South America, and Christian missionaries. Many colonizing powers, pressured by missionaries, forcibly suppressed native cultures and languages.

By the early 1900s, almost all of Polynesia and its outliers were colonized or occupied by Western colonial powers, or subsumed into the sometimes-overlapping territorial claims of Japan, the United Kingdom, and France. However Tonga (or the "Friendly Islands") maintained its independence, at least nominally.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, in south-central Oahu, Hawaii, brought the United States into World War II in 1941. A number of islands were used by the Allies as military bases, including as far east as Bora Bora.

After World War II, political change came more slowly to Polynesia than to the other overseas colonies. Although sovereignty was granted by royal proclamation to New Zealand as early as 1907, this did not go into full effect until 1947.

Migration

Polynesians settled the vast Polynesian triangle by 700 C.E.

Migration by Polynesian people in great ocean-going canoes is impressive considering that the islands settled are spread out over great distances—the Pacific Ocean covers nearly a half of Earth's surface area. Most contemporary cultures, by comparison, never voyaged beyond sight of land.

Knowledge of the traditional Polynesian methods of navigation was largely lost after colonization by Europeans. Explorer Captain James Cook accepted the view that migration occurred when large groups of Pacific islanders were driven off course in storms and ended up hundreds of miles away. Late nineteenth century writers told of heroic Polynesians migrating in great coordinated fleets. In the mid-twentieth century, Thor Heyerdahl argued that the Polynesians had migrated from South America on balsa-log boats.

In the late 1960s, Dr. David Lewis sailed his catamaran from Tahiti to New Zealand using stellar navigation without instruments. Ben Finney built a 40-foot replica of a Hawaiian double canoe and tested it in a series of sailing and paddling experiments in Hawaiian waters. At the same time, ethnographic research in the Caroline Islands in Micronesia revealed that traditional stellar navigational methods were still in everyday use there, as in the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines.

Polynesian navigators probably used the stars, the movement of ocean currents and wave patterns, the air and sea interference patterns caused by islands and atolls, the flight of birds, the winds, and the weather. Scientists think that long-distance voyaging followed the migration and seasonal paths of birds. A voyage from Tahiti, the Tuamotus, or the Cook Islands to New Zealand might have followed the migration of the Long-tailed cuckoo. It is also believed that Polynesians used shore-sighting birds, like the Frigate bird.

Politics

Polynesia includes six independent nations (New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Samoa); two political units that are parts of larger nations (Hawaii is a state of the United States, and Easter Island is part of Chile); two self-governing entities that remain linked with their former colonial power (Cook Islands and Niue with New Zealand); and five territories administered by other nations—New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna—all administered by France, Tokelau administered by New Zealand, and American Samoa administered by the United States.

Polynesian governments vary. The independent nations replaced hereditary chiefs with constitutions providing for executives and legislatures. In Tonga, politics are controlled by a hereditary king, who serves as head of state and appoints the head of government. In the nations that have entered pacts with the United States or New Zealand, the pattern is for local self-government with matters of defense overseen by the foreign power.

Internal self-government is also the rule among the territories of overseas powers, with elected legislatures and executives. Some elected representatives are sent to the national legislature in the overseas capital. French Polynesia sends one voting member to each house of the French National Assembly in Paris. The territories are dependent on the mainland government for economic subsidies, and often have little control over political decisions.

Economy

Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin from Musée d'Orsay

With the exception of New Zealand, most independent Polynesian islands derive much of their income from foreign aid. Some families encourage their young people to go where they can earn good money to remit to their stay-at-home relatives. Many Polynesian locations supplement this with income from tourism. Some have more unusual sources of income, such as Tuvalu which marketed its '.tv' internet top-level domain name, or the Cook Islands' reliance on postage stamp sales. A very few others still live as they did before western civilization encountered them.

Most Pacific Islanders grow crops for their own use. These include bananas, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, and taro. Coffee plantations, introduced in the colonial era, are important in New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea, and vanilla is raised for export on Tonga. Coconut, the source of copra, or dried coconut meat, is the most common crop and is sometimes the major export. Extensive rainforests in the Solomon Islands provide forest products for export. Fishing is a source of food and an export earner for some economies. Pacific Island nations have had fisheries disputes with the United States and Japan. French Polynesia exports cultured pearls.

New Caledonia has rich deposits of nickel, chromite, and iron ore. Large reserves of petroleum are believed to lie in the continental shelves along the Pacific Rim. Fields of manganese nodules, potato-sized nuggets of iron and manganese oxides that can contain copper, cobalt, and nickel have been found on patches of the ocean floor. Manufacturing is limited to handicrafts and food processing.

Polynesian countries trade with their former and current colonial powers the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, and France as well as Canada, and increasingly, Japan.

Tourism has grown, with Japan the largest single source of visitors. But since most tourist facilities are foreign-owned, much of the profit from tourism leaves the Pacific. Jobs in the hospitality industry are seasonal, and only low-skill jobs are open to islanders. Growing numbers of visitors can harm coral reefs and rain forests.

Shipping networks carry cargo and passengers between the hundreds of inhabited islands and atolls. Most Pacific Island nations are well served by satellite technology, and their access to telephone, television, and radio services is good. As most Polynesian nations do not produce any oil or natural gas, most fuels must be imported. In rural households, wood from forests is an important source of energy.

Demographics

Houses of natives in Tahiti, c. 1842

Polynesia has a total population of just over six million, but the Polynesian population is estimated at about three million people spread over one thousand islands. Of New Zealand's four million people, about 260,000 identify themselves as Polynesian. Auckland has the largest concentration of Polynesians in the South Pacific. In addition, New Zealand has about 600,000 Maori people. Of Hawaii's 1.2 million people, there are about 116,000 native Hawaiians or other Polynesians. Polynesians, whose features are Mongoloid, are tall and have lighter skin than Micronesians or Melanesians. Their hair is dark and either straight or wavy but not curled. Polynesian languages are all members of the family of Oceanic languages, a sub-branch of the Austronesian language family.

Pre-Christian Polynesians worshiped many gods, each of whom represented some aspect of their environment. They often believed their founding ancestors were gods, and had altars and houses for them. Offerings sometimes included human sacrifices. Valuable tools or strong chiefs or warriors were sometimes thought to possess mana, a force that gave an object or person prestige or authority. Because of an openness to new ideas and relatively large numbers of competitive sects of Christian missionaries, Polynesians readily adopted Christianity. Polynesians today are mostly Protestants of various groups, but with a large minority who are Roman Catholic. Anthropologists term the Eastern Polynesian system of kinship the Hawaiian system.

Settlements by the Polynesians were of two categories: the hamlet and the village. The size of the island determined whether or not a hamlet would be built. The larger volcanic islands usually had hamlets because of the many divisions that could be created across the island. Food and resources were plentiful and these settlements of four to five houses (usually with gardens) were established to maintain independence among the divisions. Villages, on the other hand, were built on the coasts of smaller islands and consisted of thirty or more houses. Usually these villages were fortified with walls and palisades made of stone and wood. However, New Zealand demonstrates the opposite—large volcanic islands with fortified villages.

Culture

Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, c. 1840

Polynesia can be divided into two distinct cultural groups, East Polynesia and West Polynesia. West Polynesia is characterized by high populations. It has strong institutions of marriage, and well-developed judicial, monetary, and trading traditions. It comprises the groups of Tonga, Niue, Samoa, and the Polynesian outliers.

Eastern Polynesian cultures reflect the smaller islands and atolls including the Cook Islands, Tahiti, the Tuamotus, the Marquesas Islands, Hawaii, and Easter Island. Eastern Polynesians adapted their culture to a non-tropical environment when they settled New Zealand.

Although pre-European Polynesians had no metals, they developed a complex civilization by using available materials. For example, coconut palm leaves provided matting and roof thatch, the fibrous material covering the coconuts could be made into baskets, the shells could become household containers and other utensils, while the meat and liquid provided various foods and beverages.

Religion, farming, fishing, weather prediction, out-rigger canoe (similar to modern catamarans) construction, and navigation were highly developed skills because the population of an entire island depended on them.

Pre-colonial Polynesians also devised snares, traps, nets, harpoons, and special hooks that do not snag on reefs to catch fish. There are the giant stone statues on Easter Island and polished, exquisitely carved war clubs made throughout the region. Skills were handed down through their families. Craft items, like tapa cloth made from tree bark, remain important, especially for the tourist trade. Other art forms include ceremonial dancing and singing. Woodcarving is practiced throughout Polynesia.

Independence is not the only influence affecting modern Polynesian society. The primary driving forces are the ever-increasing outside influences, through improved air communications as well as through vastly improved telecommunications. Tourism has had a tremendous impact on the direction of the development. The culture has adapted to accommodate the interests of outsiders, while retaining native traditions.

External links

All links retrieved November 24, 2022.


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