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| Outrigger Canoe or "proa" |
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| A sub-region of Oceania; made up of more than 1,000 islands around the central and southern Pacific Ocean |
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600s-1300s, Polynesians go eastward to Hawaii in boats, spread their culture, bring caste system, military leadership and priests/religious beliefs
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| Polynesian war canoes at Tahiti |
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Samoa, Easter Island/Rapa Nui,
New Zealand, Marquesas, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu |
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| Early Polynesian weapons; made from hardened wood and shark teeth. Used up until the Polynesian utilization of gunpowder and power weapons |
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| Religion, farming, fishing, weather prediction, out-rigger canoe construction and navigation |
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| Christianity as well as aspects of other native relgions |
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| Kava Ceremony: The most significant ritual practice among Polynesian societies. Traditional ritual of welcome and acknowledgement of the status of visitors, more importantly, dignitaries. Ritual of drinking of a beverage made from the crushed root of the kava plant. Served in a coconut shell cup with the kava drink drawn from a stone or wooden bowl. Most important person is the first presented with the drink and then served according to social status. The Kava ceremony comes from the story of Kava'onau who was sacrificed in an offering to the king. Her grave became the source of the kava plant |
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| Catamaran: Two outriggers joined together with a sail |
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| Oldest Political entity of Polynesia |
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Samoa-based Tu'i Manu'a Confederacy.
ruled by the holders of the Tu'i Manu'a title/ the oldest chieftain title in Polynesia. This confederacy likely included much of Western Polynesia and some outliers at the height of its power in the 10th and 11th centuries; most notably: the Samoa, Tonga, Lau Islands, and possibly the main islands of Fiji |
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| With the exception of New Zealand, the majority of independent Polynesian islands derive much of their income from foreign aid and remittances from those who live in other countries. Some encourage their young people to go where they can earn good money to send back to their stay-at-home relatives. Many Polynesian locations, such as Easter Island, supplement this with tourism income.Some have more unusual sources of income, such as Tuvalu which marketed its tv internet top-level domain nameor the Cooks that relied on stamp sales. |
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| Polynesian societies have an incredibly rich body of folklore and mythology. Myths relate the origins of human beings as well as the origins of cultures. There is a considerable amount of mythology regarding the origins of tattooing in Polynesian cultures. Some origin myths describe the process of migration from one island to another via ocean-going canoes (outriggers). Cultural heroes are important figures in the folklore of Polynesian societies. |
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| One of the Polynesian's strongest suits were their strengths in navigation. Navigators traveled using only their own senses and knowledge passed by oral tradition from navigator to apprentice. In order to locate directions at various times of day and year, navigators in Eastern Polynesia memorized important facts: the motion of specific stars, and where they would rise on the horizon of the ocean; weather; times of travel; wildlife species that appear in certain areas; directions of swells on the ocean and how the crew would feel their motion; colors of the sea and sky, especially how clouds would cluster at the locations of some islands; and angles for approaching harbors. |
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| Western-style education has become the norm for Polynesia. Polynesians also attend colleges and universities within and outside of the region |
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| The right to make their own decisions is important for many Polynesian people. Increased nuclear testing in French Polynesia is a central concern for the region and the world. Groups like the Maori continue to deal with the social problems of alcoholism and domestic violence. |
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Societies such as Tahiti with distinct social classes,forbid marriage between those of separate classes. Children born of sexual relations between members of different classes were killed at birth. These practices were discontinued as a result of missionary activity in Tahiti.
In many Polynesian societies, polygamy was practiced, as well as polyandry, a woman having multiple husbands. It was very uncommon to find a man who had more than one wife in the Marquesas. Monogamy is now the universal practice in Polynesia.
The role and status of women in relation to men varies between island societies in Polynesia. In the Marquesas, women have always enjoyed a status nearly equivalent with men. One traditional indicator of this equality was that women were allowed tattooing almost as extensive as that of men. This was not the case in all societies, in many other Polynesian societies, women held positions of lower status than men. |
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| Tattooing was begun at adolescence. Pre-teens were tattooed to mark the passage between childhood and adulthood. Different tattoos were added with the passing of years. The more a man was tattooed, the more prestige he had. Tattooing was not only a sign of wealth, but also a sign of strength and power. Chiefs and warriors generally had the most elaborate tattoos. Men without any tattoo were despised, whereas those whose bodies were completely tattooed, the to’oata, were greatly admired. |
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