Polynesians
Navigators of Oceania
Polynesians are the indigenous peoples of Polynesia, a vast triangle of Pacific islands stretching from Hawaii in the north to New Zealand in the southwest to Easter Island in the southeast.
The term covers diverse but related cultures sharing linguistic and ancestral connections, united by traditions of ocean navigation and voyaging: Polynesians settled remote Pacific islands centuries before European contact.
As an adjective, Polynesian describes anything relating to these peoples, their languages, or cultures.
Navigating through physical spaces
- navigationDetermining position and course
- canoeSlender paddled vessel
- outriggerBoat-balancing lateral float
- catamaranDouble-hulled sailing craft
seafaring · celestial · stars · currents · swells · Pacific · exploration · migration
Gestural Polynesian dance
- tattooPermanent dermal design
- manaSupernatural indwelling power
- tapuSacred restriction, Polynesian
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
kava · poi · luau · aloha · mythology · chants · legends · tiki
Chain of scattered islands
- atollRing-shaped reef island
- lagoonSheltered coastal shallows
- volcanicOf fiery mountain origin
- reefUnderwater rock or coral formation
tropical · Pacific · coral · Hawaiʻi · Samoa · Tonga · Tahiti · Aotearoa
New Zealand's indigenous people
Study of family descent
- whakapapaMāori ancestral lineage system
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
kinship · bloodline · clan · descent · forebears · oral tradition · migration routes · haplogroup
wayfinding
Navigating through physical spaces
- navigationDetermining position and course
- canoeSlender paddled vessel
- outriggerBoat-balancing lateral float
catamaran · seafaring · celestial · stars · currents · swells · Pacific · exploration · migration · settlement
hula
Gestural Polynesian dance
taboo · kava · poi · luau · aloha · mythology · chants · legends · tiki · carvings
archipelago
Chain of scattered islands
reef · tropical · Pacific · coral · Hawaiʻi · Samoa · Tonga · Tahiti · Aotearoa · Easter Island
Maori
New Zealand's indigenous people
genealogy
Study of family descent
- whakapapaMāori ancestral lineage system
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
ancestors · kinship · bloodline · clan · descent · forebears · oral tradition · migration routes · haplogroup · DNA
- Maritime ExplorationColumbus, Magellan, voyage, navigator, Age of Discovery
- Islandersislander, Hawaiians, Hawaiian, Fijians, Jamaican
- peoplesAmericans, British, Chinese, French, Germans
- seafaring peoplessailors, navigators, Vikings, fishermen, Norse
- Ancient ExplorersMarco Polo, Leif Erikson, Erik the Red, Christopher Columbus, Columbus
- ethnic groupsJews, Arabs, Chinese, Irish, Greeks
PolynesiansEuropeans
People from that continent
Africans · Asians · mainlanders · Eurasians · Americans
PolynesiansBritish settlers
Emigrants from England's realm
American missionaries · white settlers · colonial administrators
- French PolynesiaPacific overseas territory
- Polynesian islandsPacific Ocean island groups
- Polynesian culturePacific islanders' shared heritage
- Polynesian tattoosIndigenous Pacific body art
- Polynesian cuisineFood of Pacific islanders