Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

—480 AUSTRALASIA.governments have been constituted, and in Gambier a Catholic missionary attemptedto transform the island of Mangareva into a vast monastery. On the other handthe English Protestants in the Cook Islands and for a time even in Tahiti deprivednon-communicants of all civil and political rights, and regulated social customs,attitudes, salutations, and the whole conduct of the natives.In their institutions, myths, religious rites, and many other respects the Polynesiansbetray diverse afhnities to all their western neighbours, Papuans, Indonesians,Malays, and even Japanese. They also present numerous analogies withthe natives of North and South America, and more especially with the Araucauiansof ChiU. It seems therefore possible that the Americans have had their share inFig. 212.Inhabitants of Oceania.Scale 1 : i5ii,i«Hi,i»«j.100" Meridian oF G.-ee...v:ch 180°Malays, Indoaesiang. Australians. British. Papuans. Micronesiana. Polynesians..N .E. .B. .M .HNegritoes. Buru. Baura. Maori. Havaiki._^^^^^^^_ 1,800 Miles.the interminglings that have taken place throughout the eastern archipelagoes, themore so that the normal winds and currents set in the direction from east to west.Recent historical facts show that migrations from the mainland to the islands andfrom one archipelago to another may often take place under certain favourableconditions. Thus in 1832 a Japanese junk with nine fi.shermen drifted for tenmonths with the winds and currents, finally landing at Oahu in Hawaii. Aboutthe same time another Japanese bark was stranded on the American coast, andsimilar unwilling voyages have frequentl}^ been made between the Philippine,Caroline, and Marshall groups. The Tahitians and seafarers returning from theLow Archipelago also speak of numerous migrations made even in the contrarydirection to the normal winds.Similar cases are attested by the unanimous tradi-