Polynesian societies outside the main region
Polynesian outliers
are a number of
culturally Polynesian
societies that geographically lie outside the main region of Polynesian influence, known as the
Polynesian Triangle
; instead, Polynesian outliers are scattered in the two other Pacific subregions:
Melanesia
and
Micronesia
. Based on
archaeological
and
linguistic
analysis, these islands are considered to have been colonized by seafaring
Polynesians
, mostly from the area of
Tonga
,
Samoa
and
Tuvalu
.
The closest Polynesian outliers,
Anuta
and
Tikopia
in
Solomon Islands
, were settled some time between the 10th and 13th centuries and subsequently received multiple waves of Polynesian immigration,
[1]
while the farthest outlier,
Nukuoro
in the
Federated States of Micronesia
, was only settled in the 18th century.
[2]
General definition
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The region commonly termed "
Polynesia
" includes thousands of islands, most of them arranged in a rough triangle bounded by
Hawaii
,
Easter Island
, and
New Zealand
. Outside this
Polynesian Triangle
, in areas commonly designated
Micronesia
and
Melanesia
, lie about two dozen islands, most of them small and remote, whose inhabitants speak
Polynesian languages
. These islands are collectively termed the Polynesian "outliers".
Their residents generally share racial features found within Polynesia proper. Physically, Polynesians tend to have brown complexions and dark, wavy hair, and they are typically large people of muscular build.
The fact that people in all of the Polynesian outliers speak recognizably Polynesian languages implies that their ancestors fairly recently migrated from the Polynesian heartland. Yet there is much social variation. In some places, outlier populations settled in close proximity to Melanesian or Micronesian populations and seem to have been
influenced
by them. In other locations, outlier populations remained isolated by geography, ecology, or choice and seem more classically Polynesian.
[3]
Geography
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Polynesian outlier cultures are scattered across five countries of the Pacific: in the
Federated States of Micronesia
, in
Papua New Guinea
, in
Solomon Islands
, in
Vanuatu
, and in
New Caledonia
.
The Federated States of Micronesia has two outlier cultures,
Kapingamarangi
and
Nukuoro
. Papua New Guinea has three:
Nuguria
,
Nukumanu
, and
Takuu
. The country with the most outlier cultures is the Solomon Islands, with seven (listed from north to south):
Ontong Java
(Luangiua),
Sikaiana
(the
Stewart Islands
),
Vaeakau-Taumako
(the
Duff Islands
and
Reef Islands
),
Rennell
and
Bellona
in the southwest, and
Anuta
and
Tikopia
in the southeast. Vanuatu has three:
Emae
,
Mele
(now known as Ifira-Mele) and
Futuna-Aniwa
(on
Futuna Island
and
Aniwa Island
). Futuna recognizes links with Tonga.
New Caledonia
has one Polynesian outlier culture on
Ouvea
in the
Loyalty Islands
, where the
Fagauvea language
is spoken.
Language
[
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]
The outlier groups in Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and the northern Solomon Islands speak
Ellicean languages
(which also includes
Tuvaluan
), while those further to the south in the Solomons, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia speak
Futunic languages
(which also includes the language of
Wallis and Futuna
). These are two of the branches of the
Samoic language family
, which is sometimes called the Samoan-Outlier language family for this reason. It is a sub-branch of the
Nuclear Polynesian languages
. In some of these islands, the outlier population may also speak the local Melanesian or Micronesian language.
Genetics
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]
A 1983 study analyzing the
DNA
of 2400 people in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have found markers which clearly distinguish the Polynesian outlier islands of the group. Of the four Polynesian outliers considered, Anuta was the most genetically distinct, followed by Rennell and Bellona. Tikopia showed more influence from the nearby Melanesian population. All indicate traces of inter-island population movements, and even sources from Europeans, Africans, and Asians, though the latter were at a low level.
[4]
Sovereignty issues
[
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]
Two of the more remote Polynesian outliers have disputed legal
sovereignty
:
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Kennedy, Donald G. (1929).
"Field Notes on the Culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands"
.
Journal of the Polynesian Society
.
38
: 2?5.
- ^
Matagi Tokelau,
History and Traditions of Tokelau
, USP Suva pp. 82-83
- ^
Feinberg, Richard and Richard Scaglion, eds. 2012.
Polynesian Outliers: The State of the Art
. Ethnology Monographs, No. 21. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
- ^
Blake, N.M.; Hawkins, B.R.; Kirk, R.L.; Bhatia, K.; Brown, P.; Garruto, R.M.; Gajdusek, D.C. (December 1983). "A population genetic study of the Banks and Torres Islands (Vanuatu) and of the Santa Cruz Islands and Polynesian Outliers (Solomon Islands)".
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
.
62
(4): 343?61.
doi
:
10.1002/ajpa.1330620402
.
PMID
6607679
.
- ^
GAO/OGC-98-5 : U.S. INSULAR AREAS; Application of the U.S. Constitution
(PDF)
(Report). United States General Accounting Office. November 1997. p. 39 (note 4).
External links
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