Ethno-cultural definition of Melanesia.

Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas in the Pacific Ocean.

Geographic definition of Melanesia, surrounded by a pink line.

Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia. The name Melanesia (from Greek: μέλας black; νῆσος, islands) was first used by Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1832 to denote an ethnic and geographical grouping of islands distinct from Polynesia and Micronesia.

Definition[link]

The term Melanesia has "fuzzy edges" ^[1] and can be used in either an anthropological or a geographical context. In the former, the term refers to one of the three regions of Oceania whose pre-colonial population generally belongs to one ethno-cultural family as a result of centuries of maritime migrations. The geographic conception of Melanesia is used as a reference to the area where political, ethnic, and linguistic distinctions are not relevant.^[2]

The term is also present in geopolitics, where the Melanesian Spearhead Group Preferential Trade Agreement is a regional trade treaty involving the states of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

People[link]

The original inhabitants of the group of islands now named Melanesia were likely the ancestors of the present-day Papuan-speaking people. They appear to have occupied these islands as far east as the main islands in the Solomon Islands, including Makira and possibly the smaller islands farther to the east.^[3]

It was particularly along the north coast of New Guinea and in the islands north and east of New Guinea that the Austronesian people came into contact with these preexisting populations of Papuan-speaking peoples, probably around 4,000 years ago. There was probably a long period of interaction that resulted in many complex changes in genetics, languages, and culture.^[4] It is possible that from this area a very small group of people (speaking an Austronesian language) departed to the east to become the forebears of the Polynesian people.^[5] This finding is, however, contradicted by a study published by Temple University finding that Polynesians and Micronesians have little genetic relation to Melanesians; instead, they found significant distinctions between groups living within the Melanesian islands.^[6] Genome scans show Polynesians have little genetic relationship to Melanesians.^[7]

Melanesians, together with Papuan people and Australian Aborigines, are the only known modern humans whose prehistoric ancestors interbred with the Denisova hominin, sharing 4%–6% of their genome with this ancient human species.^[8]

Languages[link]

Most of the languages of Melanesia are members of the Austronesian or Papuan language families. By one count, there are 1,319 languages in Melanesia, scattered across a small amount of land. The proportion of 716 sq. kilometers per language is by far the most dense rate of languages in relation to land mass in the earth, almost three times as dense as in Nigeria, a country famous for its high number of languages in a compact area.^[9]

In addition to this large number of indigenous languages, there are also a number of pidgins and creoles. Most notable among these are Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Solomon Islands Pijin, Bislama, and Papuan Malay.

Government[link]

Formerly, in most parts of the area, leaders were chosen not through inheritance, but based on their personality. Key qualities were the candidates' power of persuasion, choosing high-placed women as sexual partners, and other physical qualities such as combat skills.^[10]

Today, however, because of the Western influences of colonisation, the island countries of the southwest Pacific have similar, European-style governments, and leadership is thus taken up by democratically elected officials. Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea are constitutional monarchies. Parliaments in the region use English or French, a legacy of colonial rule. Traditional leaders in some islands still have considerable social power.

Associated islands[link]

The following islands and groups of islands since the 19th century have been considered part of Melanesia:

• Amphlett Islands, Papua New Guinea
• Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
• d'Entrecasteaux Islands, Papua New Guinea
• Fiji
• Louisiade Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
• Maluku Islands, Indonesia^[11]
• New Caledonia, France
• New Guinea, politically divided between independent Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua
• Norfolk Island, Australia (geographically only)
• Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia
• Rotuma, Fiji
• Schouten Islands, Indonesia
• Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
• Solomon Islands, politically divided between Papua New Guinea and independent Solomon Islands
• Torres Strait Islands, politically divided between Australia and Papua New Guinea
• Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea
• Vanuatu
• Woodlark Island, Papua New Guinea

Norfolk Island, listed above, has archaeological evidence of East Polynesian rather than Melanesian settlement. Rotuma in Fiji has strong affinities culturally and ethnologically to Polynesia.

Based on ethnological factors, some of the islands to the west of the Moluccas, such as Flores, Sumba, Timor, Halmahera, Alor, and Pantar can also be considered to be part of Melanesia, although most people in this area do not make use of the term.

See also[link]

	Geography portal
	Oceania portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Melanesia

• Bishop of Melanesia
• Denisova hominin
• Island Melanesia
• Melanesian Brotherhood
• Melanesians
• Micronesia
• Negrito
• Papuan peoples
• Polynesia
• Wallacea

References[link]

v t e Countries and territories of Oceania Sovereign states Australia Chile Easter Island Juan Fernández Islands East Timor (Timor-Leste) Fiji Indonesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Japan Bonin Islands Nauru New Zealand Cook Islands Niue Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu United States Hawaii Palmyra Atoll Vanuatu Dependencies and other territories Australia Ashmore and Cartier Islands Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Coral Sea Islands Territory Norfolk Island France Clipperton Island French Polynesia New Caledonia Wallis and Futuna New Zealand Cook Islands Niue Tokelau United Kingdom Pitcairn Islands United States American Samoa Baker Island Guam Howland Island Jarvis Island Johnston Atoll Kingman Reef Midway Atoll Northern Mariana Islands Wake Island

v t e Regions of the World Africa Northern Middle East Sub-Saharan Central Southern Western Eastern Oceania Australasia Australia Zealandia Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia America North Northern Middle Central Caribbean South Southern Northern Western Guianan States Anglo Latin (Hispanic) Polar regions Arctic Antarctic Asia Central Eastern Northeastern Northern Southeastern Mainland Maritime Southern Indian subcontinent Western Middle East Oceans World Arctic Atlantic Indian Pacific Southern Europe Central Eastern Northern Southeastern Middle East Southern Western Seas List of seas Related Continents of the world List of seas Physical Earth

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Melanesia

• Polynesian origins: Insights from the Y chromosome
• Independent Histories of Human Y Chromosomes from Melanesia and Australia
• A site about West Melanesia
• Bird checklists for Melanesian islands
• New Guinea: Crossing Boundaries and History - a general history of New Guinea
• Anglican historical texts related to Melanesia
• Ancient humans, dubbed 'Denisovans', interbred with us BBC News online (2010-12-22) report (with video) on study that shows that Denisovans interbred with the ancestors of the present day people of the Melanesian region north and north-east of Australia. Melanesian DNA comprises between 4% and 6% Denisovan DNA.

Distribution of Melanesians

It was particularly along the north coast of New Guinea and in the islands north and east of New Guinea that the Austronesian people came into contact with these preexisting populations of Papuan-speaking peoples, probably around 4,000 years ago. There was probably a long period of interaction that resulted in many complex changes in genetics, languages, and culture.^[2]

Boy from Vanuatu

It was once postulated that from this area a very small group of people (speaking an Austronesian language) departed to the east to become the forebears of the Polynesian people.^[3] This theory was, however, contradicted by a study published by Temple University finding that Polynesians and Micronesians have little genetic relation to Melanesians; instead, they found significant distinctions between groups living within the Melanesian islands.^[4] Genome scans show Polynesians have little genetic relationship to Melanesians.^[5]

Some recent studies suggest that all humans outside of Africa have inherited some genes from Neanderthals, and that Melanesians are the only known modern humans whose prehistoric ancestors interbred with the Denisova hominin, sharing 4%–6% of their genome with this ancient cousin of the Neanderthal.^[6]

In the world, blond hair is exceptionally rare among those without European heritage. However, Melanesians of some islands are one of the few non-European peoples and the only dark-skinned group of humans known to have blond hair.

Predominantly Melanesian areas include the Mollucas of Eastern Indonesia, the New Guinea and surrounding islands, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji. The region New Caledonia and nearby Loyalty Islands for most of its history has had a majority Melanesian population, but its proportion has dropped to slightly below half in the face of immigration over the last century to present time. The largest and most populous Melanesian country is Papua New Guinea. The largest city proper in Melanesia is Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. With about 300,000 people mostly of Melanesian ancestry, it may be largest Melanesian city in the world.

See also [link]

• Micronesians
• Polynesians
• Aeta

References [link]

The three major sub-regions of Oceania

Pacific Islander (or Pacific person; pl: Pacific people; also Oceanic person/people(s)^[1] or Oceanians), is a geographic phrase to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.^[2][3]

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands, consist of:

Polynesia: The islands scattered across a triangle covering the east-central region of the Pacific Ocean. The triangle is bounded by the Hawaiian islands in the north, New Zealand in the west, and Easter Island in the east. The rest of Polynesia comprises Samoan islands (American Samoa and Samoa), the Cook Islands, French Polynesia (Tahiti and The Society Islands, Marquesas Islands, Austral Islands, and the Tuamotu Archipelago), Niue Island, Tokelau and Tuvalu, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna, and Pitcairn Island.

Melanesia: The island of New Guinea, the Bismarck and Louisiade archipelagos, the Admiralty Islands, and Bougainville Island (which make up the independent state of Maluku, Papua New Guinea), the Solomon Islands, the Santa Cruz Islands (part of the Solomon Islands), New Caledonia and Loyalty Islands, Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides), Fiji, Norfolk Island, and various smaller islands.

Micronesia: The islands of Kiribati, Nauru, the Marianas (Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia (Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae, all in the Caroline Islands).

Ethnolinguistically, those Pacific Islanders who reside in Oceania are divided into two different ethnic classifications — those Austronesian peoples who speak the Oceanian languages, numbering about 2.3 million, who occupy Polynesia, Micronesia, and most of the smaller islands of Melanesia; and the Papuan peoples, those who speak the Papuan languages, who number about 7 million, and reside on the island of New Guinea and a few of the smaller islands of Melanesia located off the northeast coast of New Guinea.

Usage of phrase in Australia, New Zealand and United States[link]

In Australia the term South Sea Islander was used in the past to describe Australian descendants of people from the more than 80 islands in the Western Pacific.^[4] In 1901 legislation was enacted to restrict entry of Pacific Islanders to Australia and to facilitate their deportation: Pacific Island Labourers Act 1901. In the legislation Pacific Islanders were defined as:

“Pacific Island Labourer” includes all natives not of European extraction of any island except the islands of New Zealand situated in the Pacific Ocean beyond the Commonwealth [of Australia] as constituted at the commencement of this Act.^[5]

In 2008 a newly announced Pacific Islander guestworker scheme provides visas for workers from Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea to work in Australia.^[6] The pilot scheme includes one country each from Melanesia (Vanuatu), Polynesia (Tonga) and Micronesia (Kiribati): countries which already send workers to New Zealand under its seasonal labour scheme. Australia’s pilot scheme also includes Papua New Guinea.^[7][8]

Local usage in New Zealand uses the term to distinguish those who have emigrated from one of these areas in modern times from the indigenous New Zealand Māori (who are also Polynesian but arrived in New Zealand many centuries earlier), and from other ethnic groups. A stated reason for making the ethnic distinction is that the Pacific peoples suffer from socio-economic disadvantages as a group and benefit from culturally targeted social and health assistance.

In the United States, the geographic location of "Pacific Islander" is the same. Pacific Islanders are defined as a native or inhabitant of any of the Polynesian, Micronesian, or Melanesian islands of Oceania. Some examples of the ethnic groups that would be considered Pacific Islanders are the indigenous peoples of Hawaii, the Marianas, Samoans, Guamanian, Chamoru, Tahitians, Mariana Islander, and Chuukese.^[9][10]

It is unclear whether a Papuan person from New Guinea would be regarded as a "Pacific Islander" in the United States but the issue has not arisen since very few Papuans have migrated out of New Guinea to North America.

Excluded[link]

Inhabitants of the following islands and regions are not considered to be Pacific Islanders: Russia's Kuril Islands, Alaska's Aleutian Islands, Taiwan, Japan, The Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia as they are not located within the three regions of Oceania (Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia).^[11][12]

List of Pacific peoples[link]

This section requires expansion.

• Austronesian-speaking peoples
  • Polynesians
    • Western Polynesian-Melanesian region
    • Samoans
    • Fijians Lauan Group
    • Rotumans
    • Uveans
    • Futunans
    • Tongans
    • Tuvaluans
    • Niueans

• • • Northeast & South Polynesian region
    • Hawaiians
    • Māori
    • Tahitians
    • Tuamotuans
    • Tubuai
      • Rapans
    • Marquesans
    • Gambier Islanders
    • Cook Islanders
      • Rarotongans
    • Rapanui

• • Melanesians
    • Ni-Vanuatu
    • Fijians
  • Micronesians
    • Carolinians
    • Chamorros

• Papuans

See also[link]

• Indigenous peoples of Oceania
• Indigenous Australians
• Australian Aborigines
• Tasmanian Aborigines
• Blackbirding
• Thomas, Nicholas, Islanders: The Pacific in the Age of Empire, Yale University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-12438-5

References[link]

External links[link]

• Asian Pacific Americans in the U.S. Army