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Could Taiwan Be the Original Home of Polynesians?

Recent research carried by Geoffrey Chambers in New Zealand appears to suggest that Taiwan might have been the point from which Polynesians started their migration across the Pacific. This page will look at possible arguments in favour of this theory, as well as looking at other ideas for the origination of Polynesians. Please remember that ideas discussed are not proven and that it is simply a discussion of practices that we are aware of.

If you have any observations associated either with this theory or any other please feel free to send them for inclusion.

Taiwan: It's Chinese Isn't It?

Whilst Taiwan (previously called Formosa) is an island off the coast of China inhabited mainly be Chinese, it has not always been so. In fact even today roughly 2% of the inhabitants are what is refered to as indigenous aborigines. These people have a culture that is as different to the Chinese as the North American Indians is to most of the inhabitants of the United States. It is thought that they moved to Taiwan about 6000 years ago, possibly from the Malay Archipelago, whereas the Chinese colonised Taiwan just 400 years ago.

The Linguistic Evidence.

The Polynesian languages are part of a larger group of languages called the Austronesian family. The indigenous languages of Taiwan are also members of this family. The bulk of them however form a group called the Formosan languages which have very little in common with languages spoken anywhere outside of Taiwan. However one language, Yami, is part of the Western-Malayo-Polynesian group, and is very closely related to languages in the Philippines.

Throughout Polynesia there was a belief in a mythical homeland called Hawaiki. This name crops up in various forms, Hawaii, Savai'i, Tahiti. Perhaps it is possible that Taiwan is yet another corruption of this place name.

As yet we have been unable to track down very much about the languages. But we have come across the Yami phrase for "the heavens" - "mata-no-angit" which translates as "eyes of the firmament". The Samoan word for eyes is 'mata' and for sky 'lagi'.

Paul J.K. Li of Academia Sinica in Taiwan has sent us numbers in Yami and Atayal

Yami (Imorod dialect) : 1 asa, 2 dowa, 3 a-tlo, 4 apat, 5 lima, 6 anem, 7 pito, 8 wawo, 9 siam, 10 poho
Atayal (Mayrinax dialect): 1 qutux, 2 rusa', 3 tuu', 4 sepat, 5 ima-gal, 6 ma-tuu', 7 pitu', 8 ma-spat, 9 ma-qisu', 10 ma-galpug

The following list of Yami numbers was extracted from the document accessible through this link.

1 asa, 2 rowa/dowa, 3 atlo, 4 apat, 5 lima, 8 wawo, 9 siyam, 10 amnateng

The problem with looking at the languages is that they can change significantly over time, and even disappear. In a region that possessed no written languages until the arrival of the Europeans it is very difficult determine exactly which language a particular language is derived from.

Cultural Evidence.

Like most of the Polynesian islands it appears to be the case that the indigenous aborigines have little or no history of the manufacture of pottery, with the expception of the Amis. Whilst there is evidence of pottery in Polynesia it seems that it's production failed to take hold.

Some of the Taiwanese cultures have a history of building complex canoes capable of making long ocean going voyages. It may be that this is where the navigation skills originated. The Yami traditional stories tell of voyages to southern islands and battles with the inhabitants.

The Yami traditional religous beliefs speak of the cosmos being arranged into eight levels, just as the traditional belief system of Samoa had eight heavens.

Some of the tribes in Taiwan used to practice tattooing but it has been outlawed since the Japanese occupation at the end of the last century.

Cultural exchange can be a two way process and it is possible that the Taiwanese picked up various skills from contact with other Pacific Islanders rather than actually taking the skills with them as they migrated.

The Genetic Evidence: What Does It Mean?

The scientists in New Zealand were studying mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA). The mitochondria are a part of every human cell. They are unusual in that only DNA from the mother is found in them. In theory, this means that if the human race started from a single female everyone's mtDNA would be the same. In practice, this is not the case because occaisional errors occur in the replication process. These mutations will be passed from mother to daughter and as time passes the number of mutations increases. Different populations will experience different mutations, but they will carry changes that occured in preceeding generations. It is therefore possible to trace back ancestory by investigating people in different locations and seeing how much mtDNA they have in common.

Perhaps the one flaw with the method being used by Geoffrey Chambers is the fact that he was concentrating on a small part of the mtDNA, rather than looking at the differences within a larger section of the 16,500 base-pairs that go to make up mtDNA.

Another possible flaw relates to the particular tribe that the genetic material comes from. The Yami, that we mention in the linguistics section, appear to have migrated to Taiwan about 800 years ago, from the Batan Archipelago in the Philipines. Genetic material from the Philipines would represent a side branch of the original Malayo-Polynesian migration that is the currently held theory.

Anecdotal Evidence

We have a Samoan friend living over here in the UK who spent a year studying Chinese in Taiwan. Whilst looking for more information about Polynesian links with Taiwan I asked her what she knew. Unfortunately she did not know very much about the indigenous aborigines. She explained that the Taiwanese, in general, do not appear to be interested in the culture or language of these people and so she wasn't in a position to learn very much. However she did say that it was not unusual for her to be mistaken for an indigenous aborigine.

Other Theories

Indo-Malayan Origin: This is not really at odds with the Taiwanese theory since it is believed that the early Formosan settlers had passed through the Malayan Peninsular. However it is thought that they went through the Melanesian countries before heading east. One of the central observations, is the fact that the further east through Melanesia and polynesia you travel the less apparent the use of pottery becomes.

South American Origin: Thor Heyerdahl believe that it was not possible to sail east in the Pacific because of prevailing ocean currents. He thought colonisation had been achieved through westward migration from South America. He constructed a raft from balsa wood, and although nearly killing the crew of the vessel, successfully sailed to Polynesia. We have a friend who took part in a journey by ocean going canoe from the Cook Islands to the Marquesas and then on to Hawaii, helping to disprove Thor Heyerdahl assertion that eastward navigation is not possible.

However Geoffrey Chambers research has shown some sort of link between mtDNA of Polynesians and that of South American Indians.

African Origin of Fijians: Following the publication of an article about the similarity of some place names in east Africa and Fiji, a theory arose that the Fiji had originated in Tanzania or along the Nile River. This theory is still being espoused by some tour guides in Fiji.

Date Created: 16th August 1998
Date Last Edited: 18th August 1998
Last Edited By: Tim Sansom
Status: Still in development
Addition: 18th August added numbers provided by Paul J.K. Li
Addition: 17th August added Yami numbers and date of Yami migration