The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
with three island groups at its corners:
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
(''Hawaiʻi''),
Easter Island (''Rapa Nui'') and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
(''Aotearoa''). This is often used as a simple way to define
Polynesia
Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
.
Outside the triangle, there are traces of Polynesian settlement as far north as
Necker Island (''Mokumanamana''), as far east as
Salas y Gómez 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
Māori,
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
Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify ...
spoken in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
5,000 years ago. There are also numerous
Polynesian outlier islands outside the triangle in neighboring
Melanesia and
Micronesia.
History
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 Gómez Island and as far south as the
sub-Antarctic islands to the south of
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. 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. A shard of pottery was also recorded to have been found in the
Antipodes Islands, but the
Te Papa museum in
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
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'iātea (French Polynesia) and tentacles spread out across the Pacific.
[ Te Rangi Hīroa: ]
Vikings of the sunrise
'; New York 1938
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
*
Ancient Hawaii
*
Māori people origins
*
Polynesian Leaders Group
*
Te Wheke-a-Muturangi
References
External links
Polynesian Cultural CenterBernice Pauahi Bishop Museum
{{Regions of Oceania
Geography of Polynesia
Pacific Ocean