Portal:Oceania

The Oceania Portal

An orthographic projection of Oceania

Oceania (UK: /ˌoʊsiˈɑːniə, ˌoʊʃi-, -ˈeɪn-/ OH-s(h)ee-AH-nee-ə, -⁠AY-, US: /ˌoʊʃiˈæniə, -ˈɑːn-/ ^ⓘ OH-shee-A(H)N-ee-ə) is a geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its continental landmass. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, at the centre of the water hemisphere, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of about 9,000,000 square kilometres (3,500,000 sq mi) and a population of around 46.3 million as of 2024. Oceania is the smallest continent in land area and the second-least populated after Antarctica.

Oceania has a diverse mix of economies from the highly developed and globally competitive financial markets of Australia, French Polynesia, Hawaii, New Caledonia, and New Zealand, which rank high in quality of life and Human Development Index, to the much less developed economies of Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Western New Guinea. The largest and most populous country in Oceania is Australia, and the largest city is Sydney. Puncak Jaya in Indonesia is the highest peak in Oceania at 4,884 m (16,024 ft).

The rock art of Aboriginal Australians is the longest continuously practiced artistic tradition in the world. Most Oceanian countries are parliamentary democracies, with tourism serving as a large source of income for the Pacific island nations. (Full article...)

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Map of Savaiʻi

Savaiʻi is the largest and highest island both in Samoa and in the Samoan Islands chain. The island is also the sixth largest in Polynesia, behind the three main islands of New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands of Hawaii and Maui. While it is larger than the second main island, Upolu, it is significantly less populated.

Samoans sometimes refer to the island of Savaiʻi as Salafai: This is its classical Samoan name, and is used in formal oratory and prose. The island is home to 43,958 people (2016 census), and they make up 24% of the population of Samoa. The island's only township and ferry terminal is called Salelologa. It is the main point of entry to the island, and is situated at the east end of Savaiʻi. A tar sealed road serves as the single main highway, connecting most of the villages. Local bus routes also operate, reaching most settlements. (Full article...)

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Tonga College students performing a traditional Kailao dance.

The Tongan archipelago has been inhabited for perhaps 3,000 years, since settlement in late Lapita times. The culture of its inhabitants has surely changed greatly over this long time period. Before the arrival of European explorers in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Tongans were in frequent contact with their nearest Oceanic neighbors, Fiji and Samoa. In the 19th century, with the arrival of Western traders and missionaries, Tongan culture changed dramatically. Some old beliefs and habits were thrown away and others adopted. Some accommodations made in the 19th century and early 20th century are now being challenged by changing Western civilization. Hence Tongan culture is far from a unified or monolithic affair, and Tongans themselves may differ strongly as to what it is "Tongan" to do, or not do. Contemporary Tongans often have strong ties to overseas lands. They may have been migrant workers in New Zealand, or have lived and traveled in New Zealand, Australia, or the United States. Many Tongans now live overseas, in a Tongan diaspora, and send home remittances to family members (often aged) who prefer to remain in Tonga. Tongans themselves often have to operate in two different contexts, which they often call anga fakatonga, the traditional Tongan way, and anga fakapālangi, the Western way. A culturally adept Tongan learns both sets of rules and when to switch between them.

Any description of Tongan culture that limits itself to what Tongans see as anga fakatonga would give a seriously distorted view of what people actually do, in Tonga, or in diaspora, because accommodations are so often made to anga fakapālangi. The following account tries to give both the idealized and the on-the-ground versions of Tongan culture. (Full article...)

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... that Michaela Foster, a New Zealand footballer playing in the 2023 World Cup, is known for her mana?

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The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 2On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii. (from Polynesia)
Image 3Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 4Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 5Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 6King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 7A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 8A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 9Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 10Outline of sovereign (orange) and dependent islands (yellow) (from Melanesia)
Image 11German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 12Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 13Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 14Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 15Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 16Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 17Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 18Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 19German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 20Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 21Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 22Map showing the migration and expansion of the Austronesians which began at about 3000 BC from Taiwan. The Polynesian branch is shown in green. (from Polynesia)
Image 23Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 24Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 25Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 26Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 27An illustration of the Cross Spikes Club of the US Navy on Bikini Atoll, one of several Marshall Islands used for atomic bomb tests. (from Micronesia)
Image 28A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 29Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 30New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 31Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 32Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 33Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 34Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 35Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 36Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 37Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 38Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 39Māori war canoe (waka) drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 40The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 41The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 42Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 43Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 44Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 45Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 46A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 47Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 48Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 49Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)
Image 50Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 51Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)