The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
with three island groups at its corners:
Hawai‘i,
Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...
(''Rapa Nui'') and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
(Aotearoa). It is often used as a simple way to define
Polynesia
Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...
.
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''). There was also once Polynesian settlement on
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together w ...
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
Tongans, a Polynesian group, represent more than 98% of the inhabitants of Tonga. The rest are European (the majority are British), mixed European, and other Pacific Islanders. There also are several hundred Chinese. Almost two-thirds of the p ...
,
Samoans
Samoans or Samoan people ( sm, tagata Sāmoa) are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between ...
,
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
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
5,000 years ago. There are also numerous
Polynesian outlier islands outside the triangle in neighboring
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, ...
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 ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
. 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
The Auckland Islands ( Māori: ''Motu Maha'' "Many islands" or ''Maungahuka'' "Snowy mountains") are an archipelago of New Zealand, lying south of the South Island. The main Auckland Island, occupying , is surrounded by smaller Adams Islan ...
. A shard of pottery was also recorded to have been found in the
Antipodes Islands, but the
Te Papa museum in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...
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
Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the unification in 1810 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporadical ...
*
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