From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Core area of Polynesia
The Polynesian Triangle is a geographical region of the Pacific Ocean with
Hawaii
(
Hawai?i
) (1),
New Zealand
(
Aotearoa
) (2) and
Easter Island
(
Rapa Nui
) (3) at its corners, but excluding
Fiji
on its western side. At the center is
Tahiti
(5), with
Samoa
(4) to the west.
The
Polynesian Triangle
is a region of the
Pacific Ocean
with three island groups at its corners: The
US
state of
Hawaii
,
Easter Island
(
Rapa Nui
) and
New Zealand
(
Aotearoa
). This is often used as a simple way to define
Polynesia
.
Outside the triangle, there are traces of Polynesian settlement as far north as
Necker Island (
Mokumanamana
)
, as far east as
Salas y Gomez Island (
Motu Motiro Hiva
)
, and as far south as
Enderby Island (
Motu Maha
)
. Also, there have once been Polynesian settlements on
Norfolk Island
and the
Kermadec Islands (
Rangitahua
)
. By the time the Europeans first arrived, these islands were all uninhabited.
Today, the most numerous
Polynesian peoples
are the
M?ori
,
Hawaiians (Kanaka Maoli)
,
Tongans
,
Samoans
,
Niueans
and
Tahitians
. The native languages of this vast triangle are
Polynesian languages
, which are classified by linguists as part of the
Oceanic subgroup
of
Malayo-Polynesian
. They ultimately derive from the
proto-Austronesian language
spoken in
Southeast Asia
5,000 years ago. There are also numerous
Polynesian outlier islands
outside the triangle in neighboring
Melanesia
and
Micronesia
.
History
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]
Anthropologists believe that all modern
Polynesian cultures
descend from a single
protoculture
established in the South Pacific by migrant Malayo-Polynesian people (
see also
Lapita culture
). There is also some evidence that Polynesians ventured as far east as
Salas and Gomez Island
and as far south as the
sub-Antarctic islands
to the south of
New Zealand
. However, none of these islands are considered part of Polynesia proper, as no viable settlements have survived. There are remains of a Polynesian settlement dating back to the 13th century on
Enderby Island
in the
Auckland Islands
.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
A shard of pottery was also recorded to have been found in the
Antipodes Islands
, but the
Te Papa
museum in
Wellington
has stated that they do not possess this shard and that the original description of the find did not say anything about its being Polynesian in origin.
In contrast to the shape of a triangle, another theory states that the geography of Polynesian society and navigation pathways more accurately resemble the geometric qualities of an octopus with head centred on
Ra'i?tea
(French Polynesia) and tentacles spread out across the Pacific.
[5]
[6]
In Polynesian oral tradition the octopus is known by various names such as
Taumata-Fe'e-Fa'atupu-Hau
(Grand Octopus of Prosperity),
Tumu-Ra'i-Fenua
(Beginning-of-Heaven-and-Earth) and
Te Wheke-a-Muturangi
(The Octopus of
Muturangi
).
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
O'Connor, Tom
Polynesians in the Southern Ocean: Occupation of the Auckland Islands in Prehistory
in New Zealand Geographic 69 (September?October 2004): 6?8
- ^
Anderson, Atholl
, & O'Regan, Gerard R. (2000). "To the Final Shore: Prehistoric Colonisation of the Subantarctic Islands in South Polynesia". In
Australian Archaeologist: Collected Papers in Honour of Jim Allen
. Canberra: Australian National University. pp. 440?454.
- ^
Anderson, Atholl
, & O'Regan, Gerard R. (1999).
The Polynesian Archaeology of the Subantarctic Islands: An Initial Report on Enderby Island
. Southern Margins Project Report. Dunedin: Ngai Tahu Development Report.
- ^
Anderson, Atholl
(2005). "Subpolar Settlement in South Polynesia".
Antiquity
79.306: pp. 791?800
- ^
Au gre des vents et des courants
(Editions des Mers Australes) 2009
, E. Tetahiotupa
- ^
Te Rangi H?roa
:
Vikings of the sunrise
; New York 1938,
p. 88
.
External links
[
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]
