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Austronesians
An Atayal tribal woman from Taiwan with tattoo on her face as a symbol of maturity, which was a tradition for both males and females. The custom was prohibited during the Japanese rule.
Total population
380,000,000+
Regions with significant populations
Indonesia: 222,781,000 (2005) Philippines: 87,857,473 (2005) Malaysia: 12,290,000 (2006) [1] Madagascar: over 5 million (1998) [2] East Timor: 947,000 (2004) New Zealand: 855,000 (2006) [3] [4] Singapore: over 600,000[1] Solomon Islands: 478,000 (2005) Taiwan: 480,000 (2006) Fiji: 456,000 (2005) [5] including other countries
Language(s)
Austronesian languages
Religion(s)
Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Native religions
Related ethnic groups
other Southeast Asians

The Austronesian people or Austronesian-speaking people, are a population group present in Oceania and Southeast Asia who speak, or had ancestors who spoke, one of the Austronesian languages. They form a diverse group of peoples stretching 57% around the globe west-to-east, ranging 206° from 44°E in Madagascar to 110° W on Easter Island. The territories settled primarily by Austronesian peoples are known collectively as Austronesia.

The first Austronesian speakers are believed to have originated on the island of Taiwan following the migration of a group, or groups, of Pre-Austronesian speaking peoples from continental Asia approximately 10,000-6000 B.C. Due to a lengthy split from the Pre-Austronesian populations, the Proto-Austronesian language and cultures emerged on Taiwan (Blust,1988).

Beginning around 5000-2500 B.C., the large scale Austronesian expansion began. Population growth primarily fueled this expansion. A society that gives prestige and a higher status to the descendants of a community's founder added more incentive to settle new lands.

These first settlers landed in northern Luzon in the Philippines. Over the next thousand years up until 1500 B.C., their descendants started to spread south to the rest of the Philippine islands, Celebes (modern-day Sulawesi), northern Borneo, Moluccas (modern-day Maluku), and Java.

The settlers in Moluccas sailed eastward and began to spread to the islands of Melanesia and Micronesia between 1200 B.C. and 500 B.C. repectively. Those that spread westward reached Sumatra, the Malay peninsula and southern Vietnam by 500 B.C.

The oceanic Austronesians had reached Remote Polynesia by 1000 B.C and spread to its three extremities Hawaii by 400 A.D. New Zealand by 1300 A.D. and Easter Island between 300 A.D. In the Indian Ocean they reached Madagascar.

Trade with India and China flourished within the first millennia A.D., which allowed the creation of Indianized states. Muslim traders began arriving during the 10th century and brought with them Islam as well as the sultanates.

Europeans in search of spices later colonized most of Austronesia, starting from the 16th century, with British and Portuguese colonization of Malaysia, Portuguese and the Dutch colonization of Indonesia and East Timor, and the Spanish colonization and, later, the American governance of the Philippines. Meanwhile, the British, Germans, French, Americans, and Japanese began establishing spheres of influence within the Pacific Islands during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Japanese later invaded during World War II. The latter half of the 20th century initiated independence of modern day Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and many of the Pacific Island nations.

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines enjoyed a high rate of economic growth but the authoritarian rule of Suharto and Marcos were later established years after the independence of Indonesia and the Philippines, resulting in stagnation. Marcos' regime was toppled in 1986 and Suharto's rule ended in 1998 and the economies of the two countries are finally recovering but problems and challenges remain.

The Asian financial crisis in the mid-to-late 1990s largely devastated the economies of the Austronesian nations in Southeast Asia. Most economic indicators are back to pre-crisis levels as of 2006.

The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake hit Indonesia in 2004, killing 130,000 individuals there and producing a worldwide total of 230,000 casualties; it also displaced at least a million people.

Map showing the distribution of the Austronesian language family (light pink). It roughly corresponds to the distribution of the Austronesian people.

Austronesian peoples consist of the following groupings by name and geographic location.

• Formosan: Taiwan. ex. Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Paiwan.
• Malayo-Polynesian groups

• • Borneo Groups, Kadazan, Iban, Murut,
  • Central Filipino: Central and Southeastern Luzon. ex. Tagalog, Bicolano
  • Chamic group: Cambodia, Hainan, Vietnam. ex. Chams, Jarai, Utsuls.
  • Igorot: Cordilleras. ex. Balangao, Ibaloi, Isneg, Kankanaey.
  • Lumad: Mindanao. ex. Kamayo, Manobo, Tasaday, T'boli.
  • Malagasy: Madagascar. ex. Betsileo, Merina, Sakalava, Tsimihety.
  • Malays: Malaysia, Brunei, Pattani, Singapore, Sumatra.
  • Melanesians: Melanesia. ex. Kanak, Ni-Vanuatu.
  • Micronesians: Micronesia. ex. Carolinian, Chamorros, Palauan.
  • Moken: Myanmar, Thailand.
  • Moro: Bangsamoro (Mindanao, Sulu archipelago). ex. Maguindanao, Maranao, Tausug.
  • Northern Filipino: Northern Luzon. ex. Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan
  • Polynesians: Polynesia. Fijians, Māori, Native Hawaiians, Samoans.
  • Visayans: Visayas. ex. Aklanon, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray.

According to a recent Stanford University study, there is wide variety of paternal ancestry among the Austronesian peoples. Aside from few European introgression found in the Malay Archipelago (especially in Borneo and the Philippines) as well as in French Polynesia, the vast majority of Austronesian peoples are of autochthonous descent.

They constitute the dominant ethnic group in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, the Pattani region of Thailand, and East Timor inside the Malay Archipelago, in Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia inside Oceania, in Madagascar, and in the Cham areas of Vietnam, Cambodia, and China (the remnants of the Champa kingdom which covered central and southern Vietnam).

An estimated 380,000,000 people around the world are thought of to be of Austronesian descent.

A Tagalog couple of the Maharlika nobility caste depicted in the Boxer Codex of the 16th Century.

The culture of Austronesia has been influenced by a variety of different nations, particularly that of India, China, and the Western world.

Many countries have been Westernized to varying degrees. The cultures of the Philippines, Palau, Northern Marianas Islands, and Guam have been largely affected by Hispanicization and Americanization. That of French Polynesia have been affected by Francization. Austronesians living in Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor, Micronesia, Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Western Samoa have also undergone Westernisation, although to a lesser degree.

The early Austronesian peoples considered the sea as their basic tenet of their life. From their diaspora to Southeast Asia and Oceania, they used ships to migrate to other islands. Boats of different sizes and shapes have been found in every Austronesian culture, from Madagascar to Polynesia, and have different names.

In Southeast Asia, head-hunting was particularly restricted to the highlands, while in Oceania, head-hunting was\s virtually widespread, both as a ritual method as a result of warfare and as a source of food. Cannibalism was also practiced in the southern fringes of Oceania, especially in New Guinea and Vanuatu, while it is very uncommon in Southeast Asia. Mummification is only found among the highland Austronesian Filipinos and in some Indonesian groups in Celebes and Sumatra.

Further information: Austronesian languages

Petroglyph on western coast of Hawaii

Baybayin

Writing among pre-modern Austronesians were limited to the Indianized states and sultanates in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. However, prehistoric petroglyphs like the Rongorongo and Angono Petroglyphs may suggest otherwise.

Writing systems include abugidas from the Brahmic family, such as Baybayin, the Javanese script, and Old Kawi. Other writing systems include Jawi, an abjad derived from the Arabic script, as well as the modern alphabets derived from the Latin alphabet (ex. Hawaiian alphabet, Tagalog alphabet).

Indigenous religions were initially predominant. Mythologies vary by culture and geographical location, but are generally bound by the belief in an all-powerful Divine being. Other beliefs such as Ancestor Worship, Animism, and Shamanism are also practiced. Currently, many of these beliefs have gradually been replaced. Examples of native religions include: Anito, Gabâ, Kejawen, and the Māori religion. The moai of the Rapa Nui is another example since they are built to represent deceased ancestors.

Southeast Asian contact with India and China allowed the introduction of Hinduism and Buddhism^{[citation needed]}. Later, Muslim traders introduced the Islamic faith during the 12th century. The European Age of Discovery brought Christianity to various parts of the region. Currently, the dominant religions are Christianity (East Timor, Madagascar, Pacific Islands, Philippines), Islam (Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei), and Hinduism (Indonesia and Fiji).

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A young Bontok man from the Philippines with tattoos present on chest and arms (circa 1908)

Body art among Austronesian groups is common, especially tattooing. It is particularly prominent in Polynesian cultures, from where the word 'tattoo' derives. One such example is the moko of New Zealand Māori, but tattooing is also prominent among Austronesian speaking groups in Indonesia and the Philippines. Decorated jars and other forms of pottery are also common.

Peoples closer to the Asian mainland are largely influenced by the Chinese, Indian and Islamic forms, and much modern Austronesian art is influenced to some extent by Western forms or by the use of Western tools. Some elaborate landscaping has been produced, such as the Banaue Rice Terraces of the Philippines. Similar terraced forms exist elsewhere in the region, for crop-growing and defensive purposes.

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• Austronesia
• Austronesian languages
• List of Austronesian countries by linguality
• Micronesia
• Polynesia
• Melanesia
• Malay race
• Pacific Islanders
• Easter Island

1. Cristian Capelli et al. (2001). "A Predominantly Indigenous Paternal Heritage for the Austronesian-Speaking Peoples of Insular Southeast Asia and Oceania". American Journal of Human Genetics 68: 432–443. 
2. This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

• Books, some online, on Austronesian subjects by the Australian National University