First Polynesians

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2024

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In small wooden canoes and with just the stars for navigation, how did the first Polynesians conquer the largest ocean on earth? For centuries this has perplexed scholars and anthropologists. The Polynesian Triangle is drawn by connecting the points of Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island and encompasses countries like Samoa, Tonga and Tahiti with each island connected to the others by common traditions of sea-faring, celestial navigation and mythology, all passed down the generations through stories and song.

To unravel the mystery, Dan is joined by Opetaia Foa’i, the award-winning composer and singer who wrote the Polynesian music in Moana and whose band Te Vaka had sung the stories of their ancestors on some of the world's biggest stages for years. They're also joined by Christina Thompson, author of 'Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia' whose encyclopaedic knowledge on this fascinating subject fills in all the blanks. Together Dan, Opetaia and Christina weave music and history in this episode to unravel Polynesia's past.

Music courtesy of Spirit of Play Productions, with thanks to Julie Foa'i.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Dan Snow's History Hit to listen to all of our episodes ad free, get bonus content
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0:16.5	within the Apple app.
0:17.8	This episode is brought to you by Masters of the Air on Apple TV Plus, from the executive producers behind Band of Brothers and The Pacific, and starring Academy Award nominee Austin Butler, Kalam Turner and Barry Keegan,
0:36.0	Masters of the Air is an authentic and action-packed World War II drama told over nine
0:42.1	gripping one- hour episodes. We'll follow the men of the
0:45.6	hundredth bomb group, the bloody hundredth, as they conduct perilous bombing raids
0:50.0	over Nazi Germany and grapple with the sheer terror of combat at 25,000 feet in the air.
0:57.4	Some were shot down and captured, others were wounded or killed, and others were lucky enough to make it home.
1:05.0	Masters of the Earth's surface.
1:25.0	A small fleet of hand-crafted canoes with their sails bellowing in the wind, head north, east, and south into the boundless horizon,
1:37.4	searching for new land.
1:39.4	Their voyages will change the world and the shape of human history.
1:45.0	They are the first Polynesians. Knee all the old They are excellent mariners.
2:10.0	They know how to read the stars and
2:14.2	celestial markers in a desert of water. Their canoes are meticulously crafted from
2:20.9	wood and woven fibers. They are the lifeline for these bold pioneers.
2:27.0	They're able to traverse vast vast distances, even in turbulent waters, and carrying with them the aspirations and dreams of their people.
2:38.1	They make landfall on several islands, lush, wild, often hostile. They build homes and communities, adapting to the challenges the
	...

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