Polynesian

Polynesian is an umbrella term for the peoples, languages, and cultures of the Polynesian subregion of the Pacific Ocean. It refers to inhabitants and their descendants across the Polynesian Triangle, which includes Hawaii, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Easter Island, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, and the Cook Islands, along with many other island groups in between. The term also covers the Polynesian language family, spoken across these communities.

Languages in the Polynesian group form a branch of the larger Austronesian language family. They share historical roots and various similarities in vocabulary and grammar, though mutual intelligibility among languages such as Māori, Samoan, Tongan, Tahitian, Hawaiian, and Rapa Nui is limited. Notable characteristics include relatively small phoneme inventories and distinctive pronoun systems that reflect social relations.

Cultural and historical aspects center on a seafaring heritage. Polynesian societies developed advanced navigation and canoe-building techniques that enabled long-distance voyaging and settlement across vast ocean distances over centuries. Traditional arts include tattooing, carving, weaving, and expressive dance and song. Social organization often features customary chiefly systems and strong kinship ties, with land rights and titles playing important roles in community life. Since contact with Europeans beginning in the early modern period, Polynesian communities have undergone substantial social, religious, and political changes, while maintaining distinct cultural identities. Today, Polynesian populations exist both within national borders across the Pacific and in diasporic communities in countries such as the United States, New Zealand, and Australia.