100-678: Ratu ( [ˈrɑːtu] ) is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, adi (pronounced [ˈandi] ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language , the title ratu is also the traditional honorific title to refer to the ruling king or queen in Javanese culture (though it has since been used in modern contexts to refer to both queen regnant and queen consort of any nation, e.g. "Ratu Elizabeth II " and "Ratu Camilla "). Thus in Java ,
200-476: A "subrace" of the "Malay" race) were also now being treated as a separate "Ethiopian" race by authors like Georges Cuvier , Conrad Malte-Brun (who first coined the term " Oceania " as Océanique ), Julien-Joseph Virey , and René Lesson . The British naturalist James Cowles Prichard originally followed Blumenbach by treating Papuans and Indigenous Australians as being descendants of the same stock as Austronesians. But by his third edition of Researches into
300-643: A Voyage round the World (1778), he posited that the ultimate origins of the Polynesians might have been the lowland regions of the Philippines and proposed that they arrived to the islands via long-distance voyaging. The Spanish philologist Lorenzo Hervás later devoted a large part of his Idea dell'universo (1778–1787) to the establishment of a language family linking the Malay Peninsula ,
400-549: A family that has traditionally ruled a certain area. The chiefs are of differing rank, with some chiefs traditionally subordinate to other chiefs. The Vusaratu clan is regarded as the highest chiefly clan, with regards to the people of Bau until the rise of the Tui Kaba clan leader, who exiled all Vusaratu members. They are the heirs of Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau , the Vunivalu of Bau or Tui Levuka (Paramount Chief of Bau, on
500-725: A minority of authors. Notable proponents include William Meacham , Stephen Oppenheimer , and Wilhelm Solheim . For various reasons, they have proposed that the homelands of Austronesians were within Island Southeast Asia (ISEA), particularly in the Sundaland landmass drowned during the end of the Last Glacial Period by rising sea levels. Proponents of these hypotheses point to the ancient origins of mtDNA in Southeast Asian populations, pre-dating
600-571: A name rather than a title.) It has been affixed to the names of Tana and Cakobau by later Fijians, retroactively. The Cakobau Memorial Church on Bau Island is now referred to as the Ratu Cakobau Church. Ratu may also be used as a personal first name or second name. The title may be acquired as part of a chiefly name, by a namesake. In such cases, it does not imply chiefly status. Adi is the female equivalent, sometimes heard as Yadi in Lau. Ra
700-461: A royal palace is called " keraton ", constructed from the circumfix ke- -an and Ratu , to describe the residence of the ratu. Ratu: A chiefly title for men used alone as a form of address, or in front of the chief's name, only in certain places The source of the Fijian title is Verata, and it has spread throughout Fiji during the past century, now applied to many local, minor chiefs as well as
800-586: Is a prefix in many titles ( ramasi, ramalo, rasau, ravunisa, ratu ), and tu means simply "chief". The formal use of "ratu" as a title in a name (as in "Sir" in British tradition) was not introduced until after the cession of 1874 . Until then, a chief would be known only by his birth name and his area-specific traditional title. Regional variations include ro in Rewa and parts of Naitasiri and Tailevu , roko in parts of Naitasiri , Rewa and Lau (particularly
900-650: Is also another explanation for the correspondences that do not require a genetic relationship. In relation to Sino-Austronesian models and the Longshan interaction sphere, Roger Blench (2014) suggests that the single migration model for the spread of the Neolithic into Taiwan is problematic, pointing out the genetic and linguistic inconsistencies between different Taiwanese Austronesian groups. The surviving Austronesian populations in Taiwan should rather be considered as
1000-571: Is also popularly used for the Indonesian islands. Austronesian regions are almost exclusively islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans, with predominantly tropical or subtropical climates with considerable seasonal rainfall. Inhabitants of these regions include Taiwanese indigenous peoples , most ethnic groups in Brunei , East Timor , Indonesia , Madagascar , Malaysia , Micronesia ,
1100-403: Is also problematic, particularly erroneous reconstructions among some Chinese archaeologists of non-Sinitic sites as Han . Some authors, favoring the "Out of Sundaland" model, like William Meacham , reject the southern Chinese mainland origin of pre-Austronesians entirely. Nevertheless, based on linguistic, archaeological, and genetic evidence, Austronesians are most strongly associated with
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#17327762474551200-494: Is based on sound correspondences in basic vocabulary and morphological parallels. Sagart places special significance in shared vocabulary on cereal crops, citing them as evidence of shared linguistic origin. However, this has largely been rejected by other linguists. The sound correspondences between Old Chinese and Proto-Austronesian can also be explained as a result of the Longshan interaction sphere , when pre-Austronesians from
1300-667: Is derived from a composite protoform *Cau ma-qata, combining "Tau" and "Qata" and indicative of the mixing of the two ancestral population types in these regions. The broad consensus on the Urheimat (homeland) of Austronesian languages as well as the Neolithic early Austronesian peoples is accepted to be Taiwan , as well as the Penghu Islands . They are believed to have descended from ancestral populations in coastal mainland southern China, which are generally referred to as
1400-635: Is genetic evidence that at least in western Island Southeast Asia , there had been earlier Neolithic overland migrations (pre-4,000 BP) by Austroasiatic-speaking peoples into what is now the Greater Sunda Islands when the sea levels were lower, in the early Holocene . These peoples were assimilated linguistically and culturally by incoming Austronesian peoples in what is now modern-day Indonesia and Malaysia. Several authors have also proposed that Kra-Dai speakers may actually be an ancient daughter subgroup of Austronesians that migrated back to
1500-455: Is in fact no "apical" ancestor of Austronesian in the sense that there was no true single Proto-Austronesian language that gave rise to present-day Austronesian languages. Instead, multiple migrations of various pre-Austronesian peoples and languages from the Chinese mainland that were related but distinct came together to form what we now know as Austronesian in Taiwan. Hence, Blench considers
1600-449: Is sometimes referred to as "Austronesia". Other geographic names for various subregions include Malay Peninsula , Greater Sunda Islands , Lesser Sunda Islands , Island Melanesia , Island Southeast Asia , Malay Archipelago , Maritime Southeast Asia , Melanesia , Micronesia , Near Oceania , Oceania , Pacific Islands , Remote Oceania , Polynesia , and Wallacea . In Indonesia, the nationalistic term Nusantara , from Old Javanese ,
1700-435: Is the "Out of Taiwan" model first proposed by Peter Bellwood . But there are multiple rival models that create a sort of "pseudo-competition" among their supporters due to narrow focus on data from limited geographic areas or disciplines. The most notable of which is the "Out of Sundaland" (or "Out of Island Southeast Asia") model. Austronesians were the first humans with seafaring vessels that could cross large distances on
1800-710: The Cham areas in Vietnam , Cambodia , and Hainan ; and the Mergui Archipelago of Myanmar. Additionally, modern-era migration has brought Austronesian-speaking people to the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK, mainland Europe , Cocos (Keeling) Islands , South Africa, Sri Lanka , Suriname , Hong Kong , Macau , and West Asian countries . Some authors also propose further settlements and contacts in
1900-853: The Comoros , and the Torres Strait Islands . The nations and territories predominantly populated by Austronesian-speaking peoples are sometimes known collectively as Austronesia. They originated from a prehistoric seaborne migration , known as the Austronesian expansion, from Taiwan , circa 3000 to 1500 BCE. Austronesians reached the northernmost Philippines, specifically the Batanes Islands , by around 2200 BCE. They used sails some time before 2000 BCE. In conjunction with their use of other maritime technologies (notably catamarans , outrigger boats , lashed-lug boats , and
2000-696: The Great Council of Chiefs often stepped in to provide leadership when the modern political institutions have broken down. Austronesian peoples The Austronesian peoples , sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples , are a large group of peoples in Taiwan , Maritime Southeast Asia , parts of Mainland Southeast Asia , Micronesia , coastal New Guinea , Island Melanesia , Polynesia , and Madagascar that speak Austronesian languages . They also include indigenous ethnic minorities in Vietnam , Cambodia , Myanmar , Thailand , Hainan ,
2100-563: The Hayato people , the Kumaso , and the Azumi were of Austronesian origin. Until today, local traditions and festivals show similarities to Malayo-Polynesian culture. The Sino-Austronesian hypothesis , on the other hand, is a relatively new hypothesis by Laurent Sagart , first proposed in 1990. It argues for a north–south linguistic genetic relationship between Chinese and Austronesian. This
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#17327762474552200-704: The Maldives , Madagascar, Indonesia ( Sunda Islands and Moluccas ), the Philippines , and the Pacific Islands eastward to Easter Island . Multiple other authors corroborated this classification (except for the erroneous inclusion of Maldivian ), and the language family came to be known as "Malayo-Polynesian", first coined by the German linguist Franz Bopp in 1841 ( German : malayisch-polynesisch ). The connections between Southeast Asia, Madagascar, and
2300-732: The Moala group), ra in parts of Vanua Levu , particularly the province of Bua . In all those places, it is used as a title preceding the person's name, much like "prince", "duke", "earl", "baron" or "lord". The semantics, however, are a little different in Fijian although the name and title are usually reversed, for example: In English, one would say His Royal Highness (Styling) Prince (address/title) Andrew (name), Duke of York (noble title). In Fijian, one would say, Gone Turaga Na (Styling) Roko Tui Bau (noble title), Ratu (address/title) Joni Madraiwiwi (name). The Fijian nobility consists of about seventy chiefs, each of whom descends from
2400-1052: The Pacific coast of the Americas, Japan, the Yaeyama Islands , the Australian coast, Sri Lanka and coastal South Asia , the Persian Gulf , some Indian Ocean islands, East Africa , South Africa, and West Africa . Austronesian peoples include the following groupings by name and geographic location (incomplete): The broad consensus on Austronesian origins is the "two-layer model", where an original Paleolithic indigenous population in Island Southeast Asia were assimilated to varying degrees by incoming migrations of Neolithic Austronesian-speaking peoples from Taiwan and Fujian , in southern China, from around 4,000 BP . Austronesians also mixed with other preexisting populations as well as later migrant populations among
2500-527: The Pearl River Delta from Taiwan and/or Luzon , shortly after the Austronesian expansion, later migrating further westwards to Hainan, Mainland Southeast Asia , and Northeast India . They propose that the distinctiveness of Kra-Dai (it is tonal and monosyllabic ) was the result of linguistic restructuring due to contact with Hmong-Mien and Sinitic cultures. Aside from linguistic evidence, Roger Blench has also noted cultural similarities between
2600-712: The Philippines , and Polynesia . Also included are the Malays of Singapore ; the Polynesians of New Zealand , Hawaii , and Chile ; the Torres Strait Islanders of Australia; the non- Papuan peoples of Melanesia and coastal New Guinea ; the Shibushi speakers of the Comoros , and the Malagasy and Shibushi speakers of Réunion . Austronesians are also found in the regions of Southern Thailand ;
2700-1198: The Pitcairns , the Kermadec Islands , and the Norfolk Islands were also formerly settled by Austronesians but later abandoned. There is also putative evidence, based in the spread of the sweet potato , that Austronesians may have reached South America from Polynesia, where they might have traded with the Indigenous peoples of the Americas . In the Indian Ocean, Austronesians in Maritime Southeast Asia established trade links with South Asia . They also established early long-distance contacts with Africa, possibly as early as before 500 BCE, based on archaeological evidence like banana phytoliths in Cameroon and Uganda and remains of Neolithic chicken bones in Zanzibar . By
2800-604: The Pleistocene made some of the modern-day islands of Sundaland accessible via land bridges. However, the spread of humans across the Wallace line and into Sahul necessitated crossing bodies of water. Remains of stone tools and marine shells in Liang Sarru, Salibabu Island , North Sulawesi, dated to 32,000–35,000 years ago, is possible evidence for the longest sea voyage by Paleolithic humans ever recorded. The island
2900-644: The Wallacea obsidian network ( Timor , Atauro , Kisar , Alor , ca.22,000 BP). However, the method of crossing remains unknown and could have ranged from simple rafts to dugout canoes by the terminal Pleistocene. These early settlers are generally historically referred to as " Australo-Melanesians ", though the terminology is problematic, as they are genetically diverse, and most groups within Austronesia have significant Austronesian admixture and culture. The unmixed descendants of these groups today include
3000-536: The crab claw sail ), this enabled phases of rapid dispersal into the islands of the Indo-Pacific , culminating in the settlement of New Zealand c. 1250 CE . During the initial part of the migrations, they encountered and assimilated (or were assimilated by) the Paleolithic populations that had migrated earlier into Maritime Southeast Asia and New Guinea . They reached as far as Easter Island to
3100-577: The foxtail millet -cultivating Longshan culture of Shandong (with Longshan-type cultures found in southern Taiwan), the fishing-based Dapenkeng culture of coastal Fujian, and the Yuanshan culture of northernmost Taiwan, which Blench suggests may have originated from the coast of Guangdong . Based on geography and cultural vocabulary, Blench believes that the Yuanshan people may have spoken Northeast Formosan languages . Thus, Blench believes that there
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3200-724: The vice-president , and 14 of the 32 senators , members of Parliament's "upper house", which has a veto over most legislation. The 18 other senators are appointed by the Prime Minister (9), the Leader of the Opposition (8), and the Council of Rotuma (1); these appointees may, or may not, be of chiefly rank also. (The Senate was modelled on Britain's House of Lords , which consists of both hereditary and life peers .) The presidency, vice-presidency, and fourteen senators are
3300-466: The "people from the southern world". In the third edition, published in 1795, he named Austronesians the " Malay race ", or the " brown race ", after correspondence with Joseph Banks , who was part of the first voyage of James Cook . Blumenbach used the term "Malay" due to his belief that most Austronesians spoke the "Malay idiom" (i.e., the Austronesian languages ), though he inadvertently caused
3400-547: The "pre‑Austronesians". Through these pre-Austronesians, Austronesians may also share a common ancestry with neighboring groups in Neolithic southern China. These Neolithic pre-Austronesians from the coast of southeastern China are believed to have migrated to Taiwan between approximately 10,000 and 6000 BCE. Other research has suggested that, according to radiocarbon dates, Austronesians may have migrated from mainland China to Taiwan as late as 4000 BCE ( Dapenkeng culture ). They continued to maintain regular contact with
3500-552: The 5th to 7th centuries CE. It is likely that the Austronesians that settled Madagascar followed a coastal route through South Asia and East Africa, rather than directly across the Indian Ocean. Genetic evidence suggests that some individuals of Austronesian descent reached Africa and the Arabian Peninsula . A competing hypothesis to the "Out of Taiwan" model is the "Out of Sundaland " hypothesis, favored by
3600-553: The Austronesian expansion (estimated to have started at around 500 BCE) also resulted in gradual population turnover. These secondary migrations were incremental and happened gradually enough that the culture and language of these groups remained Austronesian, even though in modern times, they are genetically more Papuan. In the vast majority of cases, the language and material culture of Austronesian-speaking groups descend directly through generational continuity, especially in islands that were previously uninhabited. Serious research into
3700-546: The Austronesian expansion was largely peaceful. Rather than violent displacement, the settlers and the indigenous groups absorbed each other. It is believed that in some cases, like in the Toalean culture of Sulawesi (c. 8,000–1,500 BP), it is even more accurate to say that the densely populated indigenous hunter-gatherer groups absorbed the incoming Austronesian farmers, rather than the other way around. Mahdi (2016) further asserts that Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau-mata ("person")
3800-638: The Austronesian expansion, as proof that Austronesians originated from within Island Southeast Asia. Vuanirewa The Vuanirewa is the ruling tribe (yavusa) of the Lau Islands , a scattered group of more than a hundred islands (16 inhabited) and reefs along the eastern edge of Fiji . The members of this clan all hail from the village of Tubou on the island of Lakeba and from their original roots in Nayau. The Lakeba faction are
3900-550: The Austronesian languages and its speakers has been ongoing since the 19th century. Modern scholarship on Austronesian dispersion models is generally credited to two influential papers in the late 20th century: The Colonisation of the Pacific: A Genetic Trail ( Hill & Serjeantson , eds., 1989) and The Austronesian Dispersal and the Origin of Languages ( Bellwood , 1991). The topic is particularly interesting to scientists for
4000-538: The Chief of Lakeba. The reply from Nayau was that "Lakeba is full of trickery, if they come they will get killed". So he went himself and asked them to come. "You must come and be our chief because your mother is not from there and I will make you Chief" So his elders came to Lakeba bringing the Tui Nayau title with them. As of today The clan Navutoka also known as Koroicumu, named after Matawalu's gallantry in battle, are
4100-464: The House, which is elected by universal suffrage, were of chiefly rank, but in recent elections, the discrepancy between chiefs and commoners is slowly narrowing, as commoners are becoming better educated and have begun to work their way into the power structure. The chiefs, however, retain enormous respect among the Fijian people. In times of crisis, such as the coups of 1987 and the third coup of 2000 ,
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4200-781: The Malacca peninsula, as well as the Sandwich, the Society, and the Friendly Islanders, and also the Malambi of Madagascar down to the inhabitants of Easter Island, use the Malay idiom. By the 19th century, however, a classification of Austronesians as being a subset of the "Mongolian" race was favoured, as was polygenism . The Australo-Melanesian populations of Southeast Asia and Melanesia (whom Blumenbach initially classified as
4300-637: The Native Australians), and the "Pelagian or Oceanic Negroes" (the Melanesians and western Polynesians). Despite this, he acknowledges that "Malayo-Polynesians" and "Pelagian Negroes" had "remarkable characters in common", particularly in terms of language and craniometry . In linguistics, the Malayo-Polynesian language family also initially excluded Melanesia and Micronesia , due to the perceived physical differences between
4400-472: The Pacific Islands to successfully retain rice cultivation. Palau and Yap were settled by separate voyages by 1000 BCE. Another important migration branch was by the Lapita culture , which rapidly spread into the islands off the coast of northern New Guinea and into the Solomon Islands and other parts of coastal New Guinea and Island Melanesia by 1200 BCE. They reached the islands of Fiji , Samoa , and Tonga by around 900 to 800 BCE. This remained
4500-399: The Pacific Islands were also noted by other European explorers, including the Orientalist William Marsden and the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster . Johann Friedrich Blumenbach added Austronesians as the fifth category to his "varieties" of humans in the second edition of De Generis Humani Varietate Nativa (1781). He initially grouped them by geography and thus called Austronesians
4600-548: The Pacific Islands. Although Blumenbach's work was later used in scientific racism , Blumenbach was a monogenist and did not believe the human "varieties" were inherently inferior to each other. Rather, he believed that the Malay race was a combination of the "Ethiopian" and "Caucasian" varieties. Malay variety. Tawny-coloured; hair black, soft, curly, thick and plentiful; head moderately narrowed; forehead slightly swelling; nose full, rather wide, as it were diffuse, end thick; mouth large, upper jaw somewhat prominent with parts of
4700-407: The Physical History of Man (1836–1847), his work had become more racialized due to the influence of polygenism. He classified the peoples of Austronesia into two groups: the "Malayo-Polynesians" (roughly equivalent to the Austronesian peoples) and the "Kelænonesians" (roughly equivalent to the Australo-Melanesians ). He further subdivided the latter into the "Alfourous" (also "Haraforas" or "Alfoërs",
4800-422: The Yangtze region came into regular contact with Proto-Sinitic speakers in the Shandong Peninsula , around the 4th to 3rd millennia BCE. This corresponded with the widespread introduction of rice cultivation to Proto-Sinitic speakers and conversely, millet cultivation to Pre-Austronesians. An Austronesian substratum in formerly Austronesian territories that have been Sinicized after the Iron Age Han expansion
4900-483: The admixture is around 20 to 30% Papuan and 70 to 80% Austronesian. The Melanesians in Near Oceania are roughly around 20% Austronesian and 80% Papuan, while in the natives of the Lesser Sunda Islands , the admixture is around 50% Austronesian and 50% Papuan. Similarly, in the Philippines, the groups traditionally considered to be "Negrito" vary between 30 and 50% Austronesian. The high degree of assimilation among Austronesian, Negrito, and Papuan groups indicates that
5000-431: The archipelago of the Philippines, intermingling with the earlier Australo-Melanesian population who had inhabited the islands since about 23,000 years earlier. Over the next thousand years, Austronesian peoples migrated southeast to the rest of the Philippines, and into the islands of the Celebes Sea and Borneo. From southwestern Borneo, Austronesians spread further west in a single migration event to both Sumatra and
5100-583: The coastal regions between the Yangtze River delta and the Min River delta. Based on linguistic evidence, there have been proposals linking Austronesians with other linguistic families into linguistic macrofamilies that are relevant to the identity of the pre-Austronesian populations. The most notable are the connections of Austronesians to the neighboring Austroasiatic , Kra-Dai , and Sinitic peoples (as Austric , Austro-Tai , and Sino-Austronesian , respectively). These are still not widely accepted, as evidence of these relationships are still tenuous, and
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#17327762474555200-423: The coastal regions of southern Vietnam, becoming the ancestors of the speakers of the Malayic and Chamic branches of the Austronesian language family. Soon after reaching the Philippines, Austronesians colonized the Northern Mariana Islands by 1500 BCE or even earlier, becoming the first humans to reach Remote Oceania . The Chamorro migration was also unique in that it was the only Austronesian migration to
5300-410: The colonial rule (1874–1970), the British kept Fiji's traditional chiefly structure and worked through it. They established what was to become the Great Council of Chiefs , originally an advisory body, but it grew into a powerful constitutional institution. Constitutionally, it functions as an electoral college to choose Fiji's president (a largely honorary position modelled on the British monarchy),
5400-428: The descendants of Kalouyalewa whom now form four noble households that make up the tribe. These four noble households are Matailakeba , Vatuwaqa , Koroicumu and Naivi and all claim descent from the first High Chief of the dynasty, Niumataiwalu , a grandson of Kalouyalewa. Naivi is traditionally the eldest of the households; however due to historic power struggles, Naivi and Koroicumu were subdued in battle by
5500-492: The early farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin that domesticated rice from around 13,500 to 8,200 BP . They display typical Austronesian technological hallmarks, including tooth removal , teeth blackening , jade carving, tattooing, stilt houses , advanced boatbuilding, aquaculture , wetland agriculture , and the domestication of dogs, pigs, and chickens. These include the Kuahuqiao , Hemudu , Majiabang , Songze , Liangzhu , and Dapenkeng cultures that occupied
5600-459: The east, Madagascar to the west, and New Zealand to the south. At the furthest extent, they might have also reached the Americas . Aside from language, Austronesian peoples widely share cultural characteristics, including such traditions and traditional technologies as tattooing , stilt houses , jade carving, wetland agriculture , and various rock art motifs. They also share domesticated plants and animals that were carried along with
5700-460: The eastern side of Viti Levu , Fiji's most populous island), He proclaimed himself " Tui Viti/King of Fiji " in 1871. (He was only recognised by the British and a few provinces of Viti Levu) He along with 12 high Chiefs subsequently ceded the islands to the United Kingdom in 1874. Other prominent chiefly clans include the Vuanirewa (the traditional rulers of the Lau Islands ) and the Ai So'ula (the traditional rulers of Vanua Levu ). During
5800-510: The end of the first millennium BCE, Austronesians were already sailing maritime trade routes linking the Han dynasty of China with the western Indian Ocean trade in India, the Roman Empire , and Africa. An Austronesian group, originally from the Makassar Strait region around Kalimantan and Sulawesi , eventually settled Madagascar , either directly from Southeast Asia or from preexisting mixed Austronesian- Bantu populations from East Africa . Estimates for when this occurred vary, from
5900-433: The exclusion of Melanesian and Micronesian languages. This was adopted by Ray, who defined the "Oceanic" language family as encompassing the languages of Southeast Asia and Madagascar, Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. In 1899, the Austrian linguist and ethnologist Wilhelm Schmidt coined the term "Austronesian" (German: austronesisch , from Latin auster , "south wind"; and Greek νῆσος , "island") to refer to
6000-409: The face when seen in profile, sufficiently prominent and distinct from each other. This last variety includes the islanders of the Pacific Ocean, together with the inhabitants of the Marianas, the Philippine, the Molucca and the Sunda Islands, and of the Malayan peninsula. I wish to call it the Malay, because the majority of the men of this variety, especially those who inhabit the Indian islands close to
6100-512: The furthest extent of the Austronesian expansion into Polynesia until around 700 CE, when there was another surge of island colonization. It reached the Cook Islands , Tahiti , and the Marquesas by 700 CE; Hawaii by 900 CE; Rapa Nui by 1000 CE; and New Zealand by 1200 CE. For a few centuries, the Polynesian islands were connected by bidirectional long-distance sailing, with the exception of Rapa Nui, which had limited further contact due to its isolated geographical location. Island groups like
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#17327762474556200-443: The general consensus is that the archeological, cultural, genetic, and especially linguistic evidence all separately indicate varying degrees of shared ancestry among Austronesian-speaking peoples that justifies their treatment as a " phylogenetic unit". This has led to the use of the term "Austronesian" in academic literature to refer not only to the Austronesian languages but also the Austronesian-speaking peoples, their societies, and
6300-431: The geographic area of Austronesia . Some Austronesian-speaking groups are not direct descendants of Austronesians and acquired their languages through language shift , but this is believed to have happened only in a few instances, since the Austronesian expansion was too rapid for language shifts to have occurred fast enough. In parts of Island Melanesia , migrations and paternal admixture from Papuan groups after
6400-439: The global population), making it the fifth-largest language family by number of speakers. Major Austronesian languages include Malay (around 250–270 million in Indonesia alone in its own literary standard, named Indonesian ), Javanese , and Filipino ( Tagalog ). The family contains 1,257 languages, the second-largest number of any language family. The geographic region that encompasses native Austronesian-speaking populations
6500-421: The indigenous Aslians still speak Austroasiatic languages. However, some of the languages in the region show signs of underlying Austroasiatic substrates. According to Juha Janhunen and Ann Kumar, Austronesians may have also settled parts of southern Japan, especially on the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku , and influenced or created the Japanese hierarchical society. It is suggested that Japanese tribes like
6600-418: The inhabitants of these regions from Malayo-Polynesian speakers. However, there was growing evidence of their linguistic relationship to Malayo-Polynesian languages, notably from studies on the Melanesian languages by Georg von der Gabelentz , Robert Henry Codrington , and Sidney Herbert Ray . Codrington coined and used the term "Ocean" language family rather than "Malayo-Polynesian" in 1891, in opposition to
6700-646: The interior Papuans and Indigenous Australians . In modern literature, descendants of these groups, located in Island Southeast Asia west of Halmahera , are usually collectively referred to as " Negritos ", while descendants of these groups east of Halmahera (excluding Indigenous Australians ) are referred to as " Papuans ". They can also be divided into two broad groups based on Denisovan admixture . Philippine Negritos , Papuans, Melanesians , and Indigenous Australians display Denisovan admixture, while Malaysian and western Indonesian Negritos ( Orang Asli ) and Andamanese islanders do not. Mahdi (2017) also uses
6800-412: The islands they settled, resulting in further genetic input. The most notable are the Austroasiatic -speaking peoples in western Island Southeast Asia ( peninsular Malaysia , Sumatra , Borneo , and Java ); the Bantu peoples in Madagascar and the Comoros ; as well as Japanese , Persian , Indian , Arab , and Han Chinese traders and migrants in more recent centuries. Island Southeast Asia
6900-499: The language family. Schmidt had the same motivations as Codrington: he proposed the term as a replacement to "Malayo-Polynesian", because he also opposed the implied exclusion of the languages of Melanesia and Micronesia in the latter name. It became the accepted name for the language family, with Oceanic and Malayo-Polynesian languages being retained as names for subgroups. The term "Austronesian", or more accurately "Austronesian-speaking peoples", came to refer to people who speak
7000-549: The languages of the Austronesian language family. Some authors, however, object to the use of the term to refer to people, as they question whether there really is any biological or cultural shared ancestry between all Austronesian-speaking groups. This is especially true for authors who reject the prevailing "Out of Taiwan" hypothesis and instead offer scenarios where the Austronesian languages spread among preexisting static populations through borrowing or convergence, with little or no population movements. Despite these objections,
7100-419: The later confusion of his racial category with the Malay ethnic group . The other varieties Blumenbach identified were the "Caucasians" (white), "Mongolians" (yellow), "Ethiopians" (black), and "Americans" (red). Blumenbach's definition of the "Malay" race is largely identical to the modern distribution of the Austronesian peoples, including not only Islander Southeast Asians but also the people of Madagascar and
7200-649: The mainland until 1500 BCE. The identity of the Neolithic pre-Austronesian cultures in China is contentious. Tracing Austronesian prehistory in Fujian and Taiwan has been difficult due to the southward expansion of the Han dynasty (2nd century BCE) and the recent Qing dynasty annexation of Taiwan (1683 CE). Today, the only Austronesian language in southern China is Tsat , spoken in Hainan . The politicization of archaeology
7300-524: The major ones. The concept of his type of title is from Tonga. Strictly speaking, the title belongs only in Verata. In their time, Cakobau or Tanoa, his father, never themselves used the title of Ratu. It does not appear with Cakobau's name or any other chief's name in the Deed of Cession of 1874. (Exceptionally, in the 1850s, Ratu Mara Kapaiwai was one of the few who did use the word Ratu, though that may have been
7400-623: The methods used are highly contentious. In support of both the Austric and Austro-Tai hypothesis, Robert Blust connects the lower Yangtze Neolithic Austro-Tai entity with the rice-cultivating Austroasiatic cultures, assuming the center of East Asian rice domestication, and putative Austric homeland, to be located in the Yunnan/Burma border area, instead of the Yangtze River basin, as is currently accepted. Under that view, there
7500-434: The migrations, including rice , bananas, coconuts, breadfruit , Dioscorea yams , taro , paper mulberry , chickens, pigs, and dogs . The linguistic connections between Madagascar , Polynesia , and Southeast Asia , particularly the similarities between Malagasy , Malay , and Polynesian numerals , were recognized early in the colonial era by European authors. The first formal publication on these relationships
7600-451: The nearby tonal languages of Mainland Southeast Asia and Hainan. Although the populations of the Malay peninsula, Sumatra, Java, and neighboring islands are Austronesian-speaking, they have significantly high admixture from Mainland Southeast Asian populations. These areas were already populated (most probably by speakers of Austroasiatic languages) before they were reached by the Austronesian expansion, roughly 3,000 years ago. Currently, only
7700-414: The only constitutional offices whose appointment is controlled by persons of chiefly rank. Chiefs in post-independence Fiji have always competed for parliamentary seats on an equal footing with commoners. In the years following independence, this favored the chiefly class, as the common people looked to them as their leaders and generally voted for them. For several elections, many ethnic Fijian members of
7800-434: The open ocean; this technology allowed them to colonize a large part of the Indo-Pacific region. Prior to the 16th-century colonial era , the Austronesian language family was the most widespread in the world, spanning half the planet from Easter Island in the eastern Pacific Ocean to Madagascar in the western Indian Ocean . Languages of the Austronesian family are today spoken by about 386 million people (4.9% of
7900-435: The past in areas that are not inhabited by Austronesian speakers today. These range from likely hypotheses to very controversial claims with minimal evidence. In 2009, Roger Blench compiled an expanded map of Austronesia that encompassed these claims based on a variety of evidence, such as historical accounts, loanwords, introduced plants and animals , genetics, archeological sites, and material culture. They include areas like
8000-619: The reign of Uluilakeba I of Naivi the son of Niumataiwalu, a power struggle occurred that resulted in the death of Uluilakeba 1 of Naivi by Codro and his followers. Codro , who had Bauan roots and who now lived in Levuka (a village not far from Tubou), continued to torment and subdue the people of Lakeba. Prior to this though, Rasolo of Matailakeba the brother of Uluilakeba 1 of Naivi, was banished to Nayau since Uluilakeba suspected him of having an affair with his wife and during this time Matawalu of Nayavutoka also brother to Uluilakeba 1 of Naivi,
8100-405: The remarkably unique characteristics of the Austronesian speakers: their extent, diversity, and rapid dispersal. Regardless, certain disagreements still exist among researchers with regards to chronology, origin, dispersal, adaptations to the island environments, interactions with preexisting populations in areas they settled, and cultural developments over time. The mainstream accepted hypothesis
8200-501: The result of various Neolithic migration waves from the mainland and back-migration from the Philippines. These incoming migrants almost certainly spoke languages related to Austronesian or pre-Austronesian, although their phonology and grammar would have been quite diverse. Blench considers the Austronesians in Taiwan to have been a melting pot of immigrants from various parts of the coast of East China that had been migrating to Taiwan by 4000 BP. These immigrants included people from
8300-451: The sea in their canoes and waited there for Matawalu's army to come and get them. As a sealord Codro shouted "Come and get me, I'm in my territory and if you think you're strong enough come and get me". Matawalu's army waited and waited for days, Codro with no food started to eat his own people. So when a particular person knows that his day is coming closer he will jump out and start swimming ashore where Matawalu's army were waiting. Codro
8400-410: The single-migration model into Taiwan by pre-Austronesians to be inconsistent with both the archaeological and linguistic (lexical) evidence. The Austronesian expansion (also called the "Out of Taiwan" model) is a large-scale migration of Austronesians from Taiwan, occurring around 3000 to 1500 BCE. Population growth primarily fueled this migration. These first settlers settled in northern Luzon , in
8500-672: The term "First Sundaland People" in place of "Negrito", as a more accurate name for the original population of Southeast Asia. These populations are genetically distinct from later Austronesians, but through fairly extensive population admixture, most modern Austronesians have varying levels of ancestry from these groups. The same is true for some populations historically considered "non-Austronesians", due to physical differences—like Philippine Negritos, Orang Asli, and Austronesian-speaking Melanesians, all of whom have Austronesian admixture. In Polynesians in Remote Oceania , for example,
8600-479: The term "Qata" (from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qata) to distinguish the indigenous populations of Southeast Asia, versus "Tau" (from Proto-Austronesian *Cau) for the later settlers from Taiwan and mainland China. Both are based on proto-forms for the word "person" in Malayo-Polynesian languages that referred to darker-skinned and lighter-skinned groups, respectively. Jinam et al. (2017) also proposed
8700-562: The title of Tui Nayau is still being performed to this date by the Yavusa Maumi in the village of Narocivo on Nayau island, confirming the origin of the title. Under the subjection and torment of Codro the people of Lakeba continued to live in fear. Codro treated nothing as sacred and claimed anything his eyes would fall upon as his own he would stand and say 'Sikava na waitui' and anyone apposing his claim would be immediately killed and eaten. Tagi valu ko lakeba kina Yavusa Vuanirewa
8800-583: The two groups, like facial tattooing, tooth removal or ablation , teeth blackening, snake (or dragon) cults, and the multiple-tongued jaw harps shared by the indigenous Taiwanese and Kra-Dai-speakers. However, archaeological evidence for this is still sparse. This is believed to be similar to what happened to the Cham people , who were originally Austronesian settlers (likely from Borneo ) to southern Vietnam around 2100–1900 BP and had languages similar to Malay . Their languages underwent several restructuring events to syntax and phonology due to contact with
8900-424: The water has changed" thinking that it could be raining up in the mountains or people coming back from their farms as they didn't realise that Matawalu and his army had arrived. The very first man to die in this battle was standing behind a banana tree. It is said that when Matawalu swung his 'Wau' (War Club) to kill him it cut through the banana tree and decapitated the guard. The people of Levuka with Codro fled to
9000-545: The younger households of Vatuwaqa and Matailakeba . Therefore, all claims to the title can only be asserted from members of the latter two noble households. The Tui Nayau, or Paramount Chief of the Lau Islands, has traditionally come from the noble house of Matailakeba. The most recent holder of this title was Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara (1920-2004), who was installed in 1969. He belonged to the Matailakeba household and
9100-566: Was settled by modern humans in the Paleolithic following coastal migration routes , presumably starting before 70,000 BP from Africa , long before the development of Austronesian cultures. These populations are typified by having dark skin, curly hair, and short statures, leading Europeans to believe, in the 19th century, that they were related to African Pygmies . However, despite these physical similarities, genetic studies have shown that they are more closely related to other Eurasian populations than to Africans. The lowered sea levels of
9200-418: Was a direct descendant of Roko Rasolo. Roko Rasolo's lineage continued through his son, Roko Josateki Malani I of Matailakeba followed by his son Roko Wiliame Vuetasau, whose sons were Roko Josateki Malani II of Matailakeba, Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba I, and Roko Wilisoni Tuiketei. Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba I's son, Alifereti Ulukalala Finau, had a son, Tevita Uluilakeba II, who was the father of Kamisese Mara. During
9300-446: Was an east–west genetic alignment, resulting from a rice-based population expansion, in the southern part of East Asia: Austroasiatic-Kra-Dai-Austronesian, with unrelated Sino-Tibetan occupying a more northerly tier. Depending on the author, other hypotheses have also included other language families like Hmong-Mien and even Japanese-Ryukyuan into the larger Austric hypothesis. While the Austric hypothesis remains contentious, there
9400-712: Was eventually killed and some of his remaining people fled to Aiwa, an island close by and later some went on to Oneata. They were later brought back to Lakeba and are now in Levuka. The club which Matawalu used during this battle is still to this day with his descendent's the Tokatoka Navutoka in Lakeba. After the slaying of Codro, Matawalu became the Roko Sau in Lakeba. He sent the Katubalevu clan and Nasaqalau people to go to Nayau and bring his elder brother to be
9500-453: Was in Bau but resided in Nayau with Rasolo of Matailakeba. So when Lakebans looked for a leader, they looked to Nayau where the two brothers of Uluilakeba 1 of Naivi were still residing with their uncle, Delailoa . Delailoa was the remaining son of Qoma (elder brother to Delaivugalei who was Niumataiwalu's father) that survived Niumataiwalu slaying all his brothers and father before he himself
9600-573: Was in 1708 by Dutch Orientalist Adriaan Reland , who recognized a "common language" from Madagascar to western Polynesia, although Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman observed linguistic links between Madagascar and the Malay Archipelago a century earlier, in 1603. German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster , who traveled with James Cook on his second voyage , also recognized the similarities of Polynesian languages to those of Island Southeast Asia. In his book Observations Made during
9700-653: Was previously uninhabited by humans or hominins and can only be reached from either Mindanao or the Sangihe Islands by crossing an expanse of water at least 100 km (62 mi) wide, even during the low sea levels of the Pleistocene. Other evidence of early maritime transport are the appearance of obsidian tools with the same source on neighboring islands. These include the Philippine obsidian network ( Mindoro and Palawan , ca.33,000-28,000 BP), and
9800-514: Was slain in Ono. Niumataiwalu, realizing that there was only one close relative alive, Delailoa (since all his brothers and his father were slain by Qoma's children that Niumataiwalu had exacted revenge for), and prior to his slaying in Ono, called Delailoa and sent him to Nayau to retain his name and their position of Tui Nayau. When Matawalu of Nayavutoka returned to Lakeba after the elders asked him to be their chief in Lakeba (after defeating Codro), it
9900-538: Was the cry of the Lakeban People eventually News of this were heard in Bau where Matawalu was staying (this is where the name Matawalu Tikoibau came from). Matawalu came to Lakeba with his Bauan relatives via Nayau and Nasaqalau. He built up his army from there before moving to Levuka where Codro was residing. They came down following the stream causing the women to say " sa vuvu mai na wai" meaning "the colour of
10000-475: Was then decided by the priest at Nayau that the two brothers should jump off a cliff at Delaiwawa, the highest peak near Narocivo village, and that the one that survived would be installed as Sau kei Lakeba. Rasolo jumped and was cushioned by a Rewa tree (from whence the Vuanirewa name came from) and he then was also installed as Tui Nayau and given the household name Matailakeba. The traditional installation of
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