Melanesia
Oceania's western islands
Melanesia is a region of the Pacific Ocean comprising island groups north and northeast of Australia, including New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and New Caledonia.
The name, meaning "black islands," refers to the dark skin of the indigenous peoples.
Melanesia is distinguished from Polynesia and Micronesia by geography, culture, and linguistic diversity: Melanesian languages number in the hundreds.
Southwest Pacific island nation
- FijiPacific island republic
- VanuatuMelanesian archipelago nation
- Solomon IslandsOceanian archipelago nation
- New CaledoniaFrench territory near Australia
Religious honoring of forebears
- totemsSpiritual clan symbols
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- kinshipState of being related
matrilineal · cargo cult · bride price · initiation rites · spirit house · storytelling · wood carving · mythology
Of a Pacific archipelago
- DaniShortened given name
- highlandersResidents of elevated regions
- islandersResidents of surrounded land
- indigenousOriginating in a region
Consisting of dissimilar elements
- variedDiffering in type
- multifacetedHaving many dimensions
- mosaicInlaid pictorial arrangement
- pluralisticAllowing coexisting differences
multicultural · polyglot · patchwork · fragmented · ethnic diversity · genetic diversity
Of a Pacific archipelago
- pidginImprovised contact language
- creoleNativized pidgin tongue
- multilingualKnowing multiple languages
- language familiesGroups with common origin
Papua New Guinea
Southwest Pacific island nation
- FijiPacific island republic
- VanuatuMelanesian archipelago nation
- Solomon IslandsOceanian archipelago nation
New Caledonia · New Britain · Guadalcanal · Coral Sea · archipelago
ancestor worship
Religious honoring of forebears
kinship · matrilineal · cargo cult · bride price · initiation rites · spirit house · storytelling · wood carving · mythology · oral history
Fijian
Of a Pacific archipelago
- DaniShortened given name
- highlandersResidents of elevated regions
- islandersResidents of surrounded land
heterogeneous
Consisting of dissimilar elements
- variedDiffering in type
- multifacetedHaving many dimensions
- mosaicInlaid pictorial arrangement
pluralistic · multicultural · polyglot · patchwork · fragmented · ethnic diversity · genetic diversity
Fijian
Of a Pacific archipelago
- pidginImprovised contact language
- creoleNativized pidgin tongue
- multilingualKnowing multiple languages
- islandsisland, isle, isles, islet, islets
- OceaniaFiji, New Zealand, Australia, Samoa, Tonga
- PacificPacific Ocean, Pacific Rim, Pacific Ring of Fire, Ring of Fire, Oceania
- Pacific OceanMariana Trench, Hawaiian Islands, Challenger Deep, Coral Sea, Bering Sea
- South PacificFiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Polynesia
- World RegionsEurope, Asia, Africa, Australia, Oceania
MelanesiaPolynesia
Eastern Oceania's island groups
Micronesia · Australasia · Southeast Asia · Indonesia · Philippines
MelanesiaScandinavia
Nordic countries collectively
Northern Europe · Arctic · North Atlantic · British Isles · Iceland