Polynesian outliers are a number of culturally
PolynesianPolynesian culture refers to the indigenous peoples' culture of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. Chronologically, the development of Polynesian culture can be divided into four different historical eras:...
islands which lie in geographic or political
MelanesiaMelanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
and
MicronesiaMicronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising hundreds of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines and Indonesia lie to the west....
. Based on
archaeologicalArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
and
linguisticLinguistics is the scientific study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of meaning...
analysis, these islands are believed to have been colonized by seafaring
PolynesiaPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean.-Definition:...
ns, mostly from the area of
TongaTonga , officially the Kingdom of Tonga , an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprises 169 islands, 36 of which are inhabited, and stretches over a distance of about 800 kilometres in a north-south line...
,
SamoaSamoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa , is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and Savai'i...
and
TuvaluTuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...
.
Polynesian outlier cultures are scattered across five countries of the Pacific: in the
Federated States of MicronesiaThe Federated States of Micronesia is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, north of New Guinea. It is a sovereign state in free association with the United States. The Federated States of Micronesia were formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, a United Nations Trust...
, in
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, in the
Solomon IslandsThe Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. Together they cover a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres . The capital is Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal.The Solomon Islands are believed to have been...
, in
VanuatuVanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean...
, and in
New CaledoniaNew Caledonia , is a "sui generis collectivity" of France located in the region of Melanesia in the southwest Pacific. It comprises a main island , the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands...
.
The Federated States of Micronesia has two outlier cultures, namely
KapingamarangiKapingamarangi is an atoll and a municipality in the state of Pohnpei of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is by far the most southerly atoll or island of the country and of the Caroline Islands, 300 km south of the next southerly atoll, Nukuoro, and 740 km southwest of the main island of...
and
NukuoroNukuoro is an atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia.It is a municipality of the state of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Except for Kapingamarangi, it is the southermost atoll of the country. Nukuoro has a population of 372 , though several hundred Nukuorans live on Pohnpei...
.
Polynesian outliers are a number of culturally
PolynesianPolynesian culture refers to the indigenous peoples' culture of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. Chronologically, the development of Polynesian culture can be divided into four different historical eras:...
islands which lie in geographic or political
MelanesiaMelanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
and
MicronesiaMicronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising hundreds of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines and Indonesia lie to the west....
. Based on
archaeologicalArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
and
linguisticLinguistics is the scientific study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of meaning...
analysis, these islands are believed to have been colonized by seafaring
PolynesiaPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean.-Definition:...
ns, mostly from the area of
TongaTonga , officially the Kingdom of Tonga , an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprises 169 islands, 36 of which are inhabited, and stretches over a distance of about 800 kilometres in a north-south line...
,
SamoaSamoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa , is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and Savai'i...
and
TuvaluTuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...
.
Geography
Polynesian outlier cultures are scattered across five countries of the Pacific: in the
Federated States of MicronesiaThe Federated States of Micronesia is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, north of New Guinea. It is a sovereign state in free association with the United States. The Federated States of Micronesia were formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, a United Nations Trust...
, in
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, in the
Solomon IslandsThe Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. Together they cover a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres . The capital is Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal.The Solomon Islands are believed to have been...
, in
VanuatuVanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean...
, and in
New CaledoniaNew Caledonia , is a "sui generis collectivity" of France located in the region of Melanesia in the southwest Pacific. It comprises a main island , the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands...
.
The Federated States of Micronesia has two outlier cultures, namely
KapingamarangiKapingamarangi is an atoll and a municipality in the state of Pohnpei of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is by far the most southerly atoll or island of the country and of the Caroline Islands, 300 km south of the next southerly atoll, Nukuoro, and 740 km southwest of the main island of...
and
NukuoroNukuoro is an atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia.It is a municipality of the state of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Except for Kapingamarangi, it is the southermost atoll of the country. Nukuoro has a population of 372 , though several hundred Nukuorans live on Pohnpei...
. Papua New Guinea has three outlier cultures,
NuguriaNuguria or the Nuguria Islands are a Polynesian outlier and islands of Papua New Guinea. They are located nearly 200 km northeast of New Ireland and consist of two closely spaced atoll formations.-External links:*...
, Nukumanu, and
TakuuTakuu is a small, isolated atoll off the east coast of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.-Geography:...
. The country with the most outlier cultures is the Solomon Islands, with eight:
AnutaAnuta is a small high island in the southeastern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu, "the smallest permanently inhabited isolatedPolynesian island."-Description:...
,
BellonaBellona may refer to:*The goddess Bellona, the Roman counterpart of the Greek goddess Enyo.*Asteroid 28 Bellona.*Bellona Foundation, a Norwegian Environmental organization.*Bellona Island in the Solomon Islands...
, Ontong Java,
PileniPileni is a culturally important island in the Reef Islands, in the northern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu. Despite its location in Melanesia, the population of the islands is Polynesian. The name of the island, Pileni, has also been given to the Samoic-Outlier language spoken...
, Rennell,
SikaianaSikaiana formerly called Stewart Islands is a small atoll 212 km NE of Malaita. It is almost 14 km in length and its lagoon, known as Te Moana, is totally enclosed by the coral reef. Its total land surface is only 2 km2. There is no safe anchorage close to this atoll,...
,
TaumakoTaumako is the largest of the Duff Islands. This 5.7 km long island has steep sides and rises to a height of 400 m above sea level. It is composed of basaltic lavas and pyroclastics like the other islands in the Duffs ....
, and
TikopiaTikopia is a small and high island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Covering an area of 5 km² , the island is the remnant of an extinct volcano. Its highest point, Mt. Reani, reaches an elevation of 380 m above sea level. Lake Te Roto covers an old volcanic crater which is 80 m...
. Vanuatu has three:
EmaeEmae is an island in the Shepherds Islands, Shefa, Vanuatu. Maunga Lasi is the highest peak in the archipelago, at 644 m. It forms the northern rim of the underwater volcano of Makura, which also covers the nearby islands of Makura and Mataso...
,
MeleMele Island also known as Hideaway Island is a Polynesian outlier and islet in Vanuatu. It is famous for having the world's only underwater post office.
...
, and
FutunaFutuna is an island in the Tafea province of Vanuatu. It is the easternmost island in the country. It was formed by the uplift of an underwater volcano, which last erupted in the Pleistocene, at least 11,000 years ago. It reaches a height of 666 m. It is sometimes called West Futuna to distinguish...
. The sole outlier culture in
New CaledoniaNew Caledonia , is a "sui generis collectivity" of France located in the region of Melanesia in the southwest Pacific. It comprises a main island , the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands...
is on
OuvéaOuvéa is a commune in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The settlement of Fayaoué , on Ouvéa Island, is the administrative centre of the commune of Ouvéa.-Geography:...
in the
Loyalty IslandsThe Loyalty Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific. They are part of the French territory of New Caledonia, whose mainland is away. They form the Loyalty Islands Province , one of the three provinces of New Caledonia....
, where the
Fagauvea languageWest Uvean is the Polynesian language spoken on the Polynesian outlier island of Ouvéa, near New Caledonia. It is known as West Uvean to distinguish it from the related Wallisian language, also known as East Uvean, spoken on Wallis Island .-External links:*...
is spoken.
Language
The outlier groups in Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and the northern Solomon Islands speak
Ellicean languagesThe Ellicean or Ellicean-Outlier languages are a group languages spoken in Polynesian outliers in Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and the northern Solomon Islands, as well as the languages of Tuvalu...
(which also includes
TuvaluanTuvaluan is a Polynesian language of the Ellicean group spoken in Tuvalu. It is more or less distantly related to all other Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian, Māori, Tahitian, Samoan, and Tongan, and most closely related to the languages spoken on the Polynesian Outliers in Micronesia and...
), while those further to the south in the Solomons, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia speak
Futunic languagesThe Futunic languages are a poorly supported group of Polynesian languages spoken on Polynesian outliers in southeast Melanesia.The name comes from two islands called Futuna, both of which host languages included in the family. East Futunan is the only language in the group which is not considered...
(which also includes the language of
Wallis and FutunaWallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands , is a Polynesian French island territory in the South Pacific between Fiji and Samoa...
). These are two of the branches of the Samoic language family, which is sometimes called the Samoan-Outlier language family for this reason. It is a sub-branch of the Nuclear Polynesian languages, which include most of Polynesia.
In some of these islands, the outlier population may also speak the local Melanesian or Micronesian language.
Genetics
A 1983 study analyzing the DNA of 2400 people in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have found markers which clearly distinguish the Polynesian outlier islands of the group. Of the four Polynesian outliers considered, Anuta was the most genetically distinct, followed by Rennell and Bellona. Tikopia showed more influence from the nearby Melanesian population. All indicate traces of interisland population movements, and even sources from Europeans, Africans, and Asians, though the latter were at a low level.
External links