Polynesians

Polynesians
Total population
c. 3,200,000
Regions with significant populations
New Zealand1,157,478[1]
United States988,519[2]
Australia409,805
French Polynesiac. 215,000[3]
Samoa192,342
Tonga103,036
Cook Islands17,683
Canada10,760[4]
Tuvalu10,645[5]
Chile9,399[6]
Languages
Polynesian languages (Hawaiian, Māori, Rapa Nui, Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, Tuvaluan and others), English, French and Spanish
Religion
Christianity (96.1%)[7] and Polynesian mythology[8]
Related ethnic groups
other Austronesian peoples, Euronesians

Polynesians are an ethnolinguistic group comprising closely related ethnic groups native to Polynesia, which encompasses the islands within the Polynesian Triangle in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Southeast Asia and are part of the larger Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, with an Urheimat in Taiwan. They speak the Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic subfamily within the Austronesian language family. The Indigenous Māori people form the largest Polynesian population,[9] followed by Samoans, Native Hawaiians, Tahitians, Tongans, and Cook Islands Māori.[citation needed]

As of 2012, there were an estimated 2 million ethnic Polynesians (both full and part) worldwide. The vast majority either inhabit independent Polynesian nation-states (Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu) or form minorities in countries such as Australia, Chile (Easter Island), New Zealand, France (French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna), and the United States (Hawaii and American Samoa), as well as in the British Overseas Territory of the Pitcairn Islands. New Zealand had the highest population of Polynesians, estimated at 110,000 in the 18th century.[10]

Polynesians have acquired a reputation as great navigators, with their canoes reaching the most remote corners of the Pacific and allowing the settlement of islands as far apart as Hawaii, Rapanui (Easter Island), and Aotearoa (New Zealand).[11] The people of Polynesia accomplished this voyaging using ancient navigation skills, including reading stars, currents, clouds, and bird movements—skills that have been passed down through successive generations to the present day.[12]

  1. ^ Population Movement in the Pacific: A Perspective on Future Prospects. Wellington: New Zealand Department of Labour Archived 7 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Chuukese and Papua New Guinean Populations Fastest Growing Pacific Islander Groups in 2020".
  3. ^ Landfalls of Paradise: Cruising Guide to the Pacific Islands, Earl R. Hinz & Jim Howard, University of Hawaii Press, 2006, page 80.
  4. ^ "Census Profile, 2016 Census". 8 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Population of communities in Tuvalu". world-statistics.org. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  6. ^ "Síntesis de Resultados Censo 2017" (PDF). Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas, Santiago de Chile. p. 16.
  7. ^ Christianity in its Global Context, 1970–2020 Society, Religion, and Mission, Center for the Study of Global Christianity
  8. ^ Wellington, Victoria University of (1 December 2017). "Arts, humanities and social sciences". victoria.ac.nz. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Māori population estimates: At 30 June 2022". www.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  10. ^ King, Michael (2003). The Penguin History of New Zealand. London: Penguin. p. 91.
  11. ^ Wilmshurst, Janet M.; Hunt, Terry L.; Lipo, Carl P.; Anderson, Atholl (1 February 2011). "High-precision radiocarbon dating shows recent and rapid initial human colonization of East Polynesia". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (5): 1815–1820. doi:10.1073/pnas.1015876108. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3033267. PMID 21187404.
  12. ^ DOUCLEFF, MICHAELEEN (23 January 2013). "How The Sweet Potato Crossed The Pacific Way Before The Europeans Did". NPR. Retrieved 25 January 2020.