Ancestral Traces of Polynesia: Austronesian People

French Polynesia (Photo Source: Pxfuel)

INDEPHEDIA.com - Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, a number of islands located in the Pacific Ocean and its surroundings.

The Oceania subregion consists of thousands of islands scattered along the central to southern Pacific Ocean.

The indigenous people who live on the islands in the Polynesian Islands are called Polynesians.

In their community life, they have many common similarities, such as language proximity, cultural practices and traditional beliefs.

They, like Melanesians and Micronesians, have a matrilineal and matrilocal kinship system, such as the Minangkabau, Kerinci and or Malay people.

Polynesian Ancestors of the Austronesian People

The Polynesians are part of the native Austronesian people of the Polynesian Islands who speak Polynesian languages.

The various Polynesian languages ​​are a branch of the Oceanic subfamily of the Austronesian language family.

The indigenous Polynesians of New Zealand (the largest country in Polynesia) and Hawaii are large minorities in their homelands.

Polynesians, including Samoans, Tongans, Niueans, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian Mā'ohi, Hawaiian Māoli, Marquesians, and New Zealand Māori, are part of the Austronesian peoples.

They share common roots with the indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia, especially Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and even Madagascar.

These origins are supported by genetic, linguistic and archaeological evidence found in the Polynesian Islands.

Based on linguistic, genetic and archaeological data, scientists believe that the ancestors of the Polynesians came from Taiwan, and possibly the nearby southern coast of China.

From there, they are said to have traveled south to the Philippines and on to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago, where they mixed with the local population.

By around 1300 BCE, a new culture had developed, the Lapita, known in part for its distinctive pottery.

These direct descendants of the Polynesians quickly spread eastward, first to the Solomon Islands.

They then made their way to uninhabited Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji and elsewhere.

The Lapita are said to have been the first people to enter the remote areas of Oceania. By the 9th century B.C., the Lapita had reached Tonga and Samoa.

Although the exact timeline has long been debated, it appears that the major wave of Polynesian expansion began around 900 or 950 A.D.

The explorers, also called pathfinders, quickly discovered the Cook Islands, the Society Islands, including Tahiti, the Marquesas and Hawaii.

By 1250, when they reached New Zealand, they had explored at least 10 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean and discovered more than 1,000 islands.

In fact, research suggests they had already landed in the Americas centuries before Columbus.

Polynesian voyagers, —so called great sailors, sailed without a compass or other nautical instruments.

But, by reading the stars, waves, currents, clouds and others they managed to cross vast areas and sail the oceans. (*)