View source for Polynesian Triangle

{{Short description|Core area of Polynesia}}

[[Image:Polynesia-triangle.png|thumb|300px|The Polynesian Triangle is a geographical region of the Pacific Ocean with [[Hawaii]] (''Hawaiʻi'') (1), [[New Zealand]] ({{lang|mi|Aotearoa}}) (2) and [[Easter Island]] (''Rapa Nui'') (3) at its corners, but excluding [[Fiji]] on its western side. At the center is [[Tahiti]] (5), with [[Samoa]] (4) to the west.]]

The '''Polynesian Triangle''' is a region of the [[Pacific Ocean]] with three island groups at its corners: [[Hawaii]] (''Hawaiʻi''), [[Easter Island]] (''Rapa Nui'') and [[New Zealand]] (''Aotearoa''). This is often used as a simple way to define [[Polynesia]].

Outside the triangle, there are traces of Polynesian settlement as far north as [[Necker Island (Hawaii)|Necker Island (''Mokumanamana'')]], as far east as [[Isla Salas y Gómez|Salas y Gómez Island (''Motu Motiro Hiva'')]], and as far south as [[Enderby Island|Enderby Island (''Motu Maha'')]]. Also, there have once been Polynesian settlements on [[Norfolk Island]] and the [[Kermadec Islands|Kermadec Islands (''Rangitahua'')]]. By the time the Europeans first arrived, these islands were all uninhabited.

Today, the most numerous [[Polynesians|Polynesian peoples]] are the [[Māori people|Māori]], [[Native Hawaiians|Hawaiians (Kanaka Maoli)]], [[Tongans]], [[Samoans]], [[Niueans]] and [[Tahitians]]. The native languages of this vast triangle are [[Polynesian languages]], which are classified by linguists as part of the [[Oceanic languages|Oceanic subgroup]] of [[Malayo-Polynesian languages|Malayo-Polynesian]].  They ultimately derive from the [[proto-Austronesian language]] spoken in [[Southeast Asia]] 5,000 years ago. There are also numerous [[Polynesian outliers|Polynesian outlier islands]] outside the triangle in neighboring [[Melanesia]] and [[Micronesia]].

==History==
{{Further|Polynesian navigation|Discovery and settlement of Hawaii}}

Anthropologists believe that all modern [[Polynesian culture]]s descend from a single [[protoculture]] established in the South Pacific by migrant Malayo-Polynesian people (''see also'' [[Lapita culture]]). There is also some evidence that Polynesians ventured as far east as [[Isla Salas y Gómez|Salas and Gómez Island]] and as far south as the [[New Zealand Subantarctic Islands|sub-Antarctic islands]] to the south of [[New Zealand]]. However, none of these islands are considered part of Polynesia proper, as no viable settlements have survived. There are remains of a Polynesian settlement dating back to the 13th century on [[Enderby Island]] in the [[Auckland Islands]].<ref>O'Connor, Tom ''Polynesians in the Southern Ocean: Occupation of the Auckland Islands in Prehistory'' in New Zealand Geographic 69 (September–October 2004): 6–8</ref><ref>[[Atholl Anderson|Anderson, Atholl]], & O'Regan, Gerard R. (2000). "To the Final Shore: Prehistoric Colonisation of the Subantarctic Islands in South Polynesia". In ''Australian Archaeologist: Collected Papers in Honour of Jim Allen''. Canberra: Australian National University. pp. 440–454.</ref><ref>[[Atholl Anderson|Anderson, Atholl]], & O'Regan, Gerard R. (1999). ''The Polynesian Archaeology of the Subantarctic Islands: An Initial Report on Enderby Island''. Southern Margins Project Report. Dunedin: Ngai Tahu Development Report.</ref><ref>[[Atholl Anderson|Anderson, Atholl]] (2005). "Subpolar Settlement in South Polynesia". ''Antiquity'' 79.306: pp. 791–800</ref> A shard of pottery was also recorded to have been found in the  [[Antipodes Islands]], but the [[Te Papa]] museum in [[Wellington]] has stated that they do not possess this shard and that the original description of the find did not say anything about its being Polynesian in origin. 

In contrast to the shape of a triangle, another theory states that the geography of Polynesian society and navigation pathways more accurately resemble the geometric qualities of an octopus with head centred on [[Raiatea|Ra'iātea]] (French Polynesia) and tentacles spread out across the Pacific.<ref>[https://www.tahiti-infos.com/Pourquoi-le-Triangle-polynesien-est-une-pieuvre_a135121.html ''Au gré des vents et des courants'' (Éditions des Mers Australes) 2009], E. Tetahiotupa</ref><ref>[[Te Rangi Hīroa]]: ''[http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BucViki.html Vikings of the sunrise]''; New York 1938, [http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BucViki-t1-body-d1-d8.html#n106 p. 88].</ref> In Polynesian oral tradition the octopus is known by various names such as [[Taumata-Fe'e-Fa'atupu-Hau]] (Grand Octopus of Prosperity), [[Tumu-Ra'i-Fenua]] (Beginning-of-Heaven-and-Earth) and [[Te Wheke-a-Muturangi]] (The Octopus of [[Muturangi]]).

==See also==
{{Portal|Geography|Islands|Oceania}}
* [[Ancient Hawaii]]
* [[Māori people#Origins from Polynesia|Māori people origins]]
* [[Polynesian Leaders Group]]
* [[Te Wheke-a-Muturangi]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.polynesia.com/ Polynesian Cultural Center]
* [http://www.bishopmuseum.org/ Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum]

{{Polynesia}}
{{Regions of Oceania}}

[[Category:Geography of Polynesia]]
[[Category:Pacific Ocean]]