people speaking Polynesian languages (see MALAYO-POLYNESIAN LANGUAGES,) and inhabiting a widely scattered group of islands, collectively known as Polynesia, in the South Pacific Ocean. Polynesians constitute one of the tallest and most robust races of humankind. The Polynesians are brown or olive in complexion; their faces have a distinct Caucasian cast; and they have wavy black or brown hair (see RACES, CLASSIFICATION OF,). The largest number of Polynesians displaying these typical characteristics are found in Hawaii, New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, and the Marquesas Islands. Other Polynesians appear to have mixed with neighboring peoples such as those of Melanesia and Papua. The Polynesians are not indigenous to Polynesia; ethnologists differ as to their origin, but the most accepted view is that they were established in the Malay Archipelago about the 2d century bc, when they were driven eastward by Malayan invaders. By the 13th and 14th centuries ad they occupied the territory they now inhabit.

Early Polynesian economy was based on cultivation of taro and yams, gathering of fruit and coconuts, fishing, and rearing of pigs. Polynesians were expert in canoe building and navigation. They used wood and plant fibers to make fishing nets, ropes, and cloth for clothing. Their houses, built of hardwood posts, were walled with lengths of bamboo and plaited palm leaves and roofed with reed thatch. Metal was unknown, but, in New Zealand especially, stone was used for utensils and carved into axes, lance points, and religious figures. Wood carving in intricate geometrical patterns was highly developed on many of the islands.

The religion of the Polynesians, still practiced, is a form of animism—worship of animals and natural objects believed to possess supernatural powers. A supreme deity, Io, is also revered. The practice of religion as a moral code is largely conditioned by the system of taboo. Cannibalism was once almost universal as a ceremonial rite. In areas where the original social structure is maintained, organization is on the basis of the family, with an active head chosen by the elders through a system of mixed heredity and adoption. The family is patriarchal and polygamous.

For further information on this topic, see the Bibliography, section 1250. Southwest Pacific area.