Polynesian
South Seas heritage
Polynesian refers to the peoples, cultures, and languages of Polynesia—a vast triangle of Pacific islands stretching from Hawaii to New Zealand to Easter Island.
As a noun, a Polynesian is a person from this region: Polynesians were master navigators who crossed thousands of miles of open ocean.
The adjective describes things relating to these islands and their inhabitants: Polynesian dance, Polynesian mythology.
Gestural Polynesian dance
- luauTraditional island celebration
- poiMashed taro root
- kavaSedative Pacific Island drink
- alohaHawaiian multipurpose greeting
tattoo · lei · ukulele · tapa · mana · tapu · wayfinding · navigation
Earth's vastest ocean
- islandsLand surrounded by water
- archipelagoChain of scattered islands
- atollRing-shaped reef island
- lagoonSheltered coastal shallows
Hawaii · Samoa · Tonga · Tahiti · Fiji · Marquesas · Cook Islands · Easter Island
Slender paddled vessel
- voyagingTraveling long distances
- navigationDetermining position and course
- wayfindingNavigating through physical spaces
- outriggerBoat-balancing lateral float
catamaran · stars · currents · swells · migration · settlement · explorer · paddle
Study of family descent
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- whakapapaMāori ancestral lineage system
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
kinship · ancestors · forebears · progenitors · clan · tribe · roots · family
Hawaiian island, tourist hotspot
- TikiPolynesian deity name
- demigodPartly divine being
- creationMaking something exist
- legendUnverified traditional tale
deity · spirit · ancestor · volcano goddess · trickster · shapeshifter · underworld · cosmology
hula
Gestural Polynesian dance
aloha · tattoo · lei · ukulele · tapa · mana · tapu · wayfinding · navigation · carving
Pacific
Earth's vastest ocean
- islandsLand surrounded by water
- archipelagoChain of scattered islands
- atollRing-shaped reef island
lagoon · Hawaii · Samoa · Tonga · Tahiti · Fiji · Marquesas · Cook Islands · Easter Island · New Zealand
canoe
Slender paddled vessel
- voyagingTraveling long distances
- navigationDetermining position and course
- wayfindingNavigating through physical spaces
outrigger · catamaran · stars · currents · swells · migration · settlement · explorer · paddle · sail
genealogy
Study of family descent
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- whakapapaMāori ancestral lineage system
bloodline · kinship · ancestors · forebears · progenitors · clan · tribe · roots · family · descent
Maui
Hawaiian island, tourist hotspot
legend · deity · spirit · ancestor · volcano goddess · trickster · shapeshifter · underworld · cosmology · oral tradition
- Seafaring culturesHawaiian, Maori, Viking, Greek, Phoenician
- Pacific languagesSamoan, Hawaiian, Maori, Fijian, Tongan
- Geographic AdjectivesAmerican, Asian, African, European, Australian
- Islandersislander, Hawaiians, Hawaiian, Fijians, Jamaican
- World FlavorsItalian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, French
- AustronesianMelanesian, Maori, Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian
PolynesianMelanesian
Southwest Pacific indigenous person
Micronesian · Fijian · Indonesian · Filipino
Polynesiancontinental
Of a continent
mainland · European · Asian · African · landlocked
- French PolynesiaPacific overseas territory
- Polynesian islandsPacific Ocean island groups
- Polynesian culturePacific islanders' shared heritage
- Polynesian tattoosIndigenous Pacific body art
- Polynesian cuisineFood of Pacific islanders