ThePolynesian Triangle is a region of thePacific Ocean with three island groups at its corners:Hawaii (Hawaiʻi),Easter Island (Rapa Nui) andNew Zealand (Aotearoa). This is often used as a simple way to definePolynesia.
Outside the triangle, there are traces of Polynesian settlement as far north asNecker Island (Mokumanamana), as far east asSalas y Gómez Island (Motu Motiro Hiva), and as far south asEnderby Island (Motu Maha). Also, there have once been Polynesian settlements onNorfolk Island and theKermadec Islands (Rangitahua). By the time the Europeans first arrived, these islands were all uninhabited.
Today, the most numerousPolynesian peoples are theMāori,Hawaiians (Kanaka Maoli),Tongans,Samoans,Niueans andTahitians. The native languages of this vast triangle arePolynesian languages, which are classified by linguists as part of theOceanic subgroup ofMalayo-Polynesian. They ultimately derive from theproto-Austronesian language spoken inSoutheast Asia 5,000 years ago. There are also numerousPolynesian outlier islands outside the triangle in neighboringMelanesia andMicronesia.
Anthropologists believe that all modernPolynesian cultures descend from a singleprotoculture established in the South Pacific by migrant Malayo-Polynesian people (see alsoLapita culture). There is also some evidence that Polynesians ventured as far east asSalas and Gómez Island and as far south as thesub-Antarctic islands to the south ofNew 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 onEnderby Island in theAuckland Islands.[1][2][3][4] A shard of pottery was also recorded to have been found in theAntipodes Islands, but theTe Papa museum inWellington 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 onRa'iātea (French Polynesia) and tentacles spread out across the Pacific.[5][6] In Polynesian oral tradition the octopus is known by various names such asTaumata-Fe'e-Fa'atupu-Hau (Grand Octopus of Prosperity),Tumu-Ra'i-Fenua (Beginning-of-Heaven-and-Earth) andTe Wheke-a-Muturangi (The Octopus ofMuturangi).
