Polynesia
The islands of the eastern Pacific are known as Polynesia, from
the Greek for ‘many islands’. They lie across a vast stretch
of ocean from Hawaii in the north, to New Zealand in the south and
Easter Island in the east. The western Polynesian islands of
Fiji and Tonga were settled approximately 3,000 years ago, whilst
New Zealand was settled as recently as AD1200.
In the past, Polynesians were skilled navigators and canoe
builders, creating double-hulled vessels capable of travelling
great distances. Their societies were hierarchical, with the
highest ranking people tracing their descent directly from the
gods. These gods were all powerful and present in the
world. Images of them were created in wood, feathers, fibre
and stone. One of the most important items in the Museum’s
collections is a carved wood figure of the Hawaiian god,
Ku-ka’ilimoko, which stands over two and a half metres tall.
Today, Polynesian culture continues to develop and change,
partly in response to colonialism. Whilst traditional methods
and techniques continue to be employed by skilled carvers and
weavers, other artists have achieved international success in new
media.
The Polynesian collections at the Museum date back to the
earliest contact with European explorers and missionaries.
The Museum’s Enlightenment Gallery displays many objects collected
in this period, including intricately carved jade ornaments from
New Zealand and wooden and whalebone clubs from Tonga.
Image caption: Figure of the war god
Ku-ka'ili-moku
Hawai'i, probably AD 1790-1810