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The latest Pacific Conversations virtual talk show is now available on the Kaʻiwakīloumoku website. This month’s episode traces Hawai‘i’s ancient maritime and linguistic heritage to Taiwan.

Indigenous Taiwan: Birthplace of Polynesian language and pacific navigation

Feb. 24, 2021

Contributed by KS Hoʻokahua Cultural Vibrancy Group

A new episode of Pacific Conversations is now available on the Kaʻiwakīloumoku website. Pacific Conversations is a monthly virtual talk show hosted by KS Cultural Consultant Snowbird Bento KSK’93 and Cultural Specialist Lāiana Kanoa-Wong. It celebrates indigenous peoples and places throughout Monananuiākea – the Great Pacific.

This month’s show, entitled “Indigenous Taiwan: Birthplace of Polynesian Language and Pacific Navigation,” traces Hawai‘i’s ancient maritime and linguistic heritage to Taiwan.

About Hawai‘i’s deep connection to Taiwan

The Austronesian language family, to which Hawaiian and many Pacific languages belong, has its roots in what is called Taiwan today.

Early Austronesian speakers developed maritime technology that facilitated migration as far west as Madagascar, down through Island Southeast Asia, into parts of Melanesia and Micronesia, as well as Western and Eastern Polynesia in the central and northern Pacific – and ultimately to Hawai‘i. As they voyaged, they left genetic, botanical, cultural, and linguistic imprints forming a 6,000 year-old genealogical road map.

In this Pacific Conversations episode, Anthropology Professor Dr. Yuan-chao Maeva Tung of National Taiwan University, Taipei, talks about her work with the Kaviyangan Paiwan Tribe. Also featured are declaration signing ceremonies and traditional rituals performed via Zoom to ratify Taiwan-Hawaiʻi partnerships sponsored by Kamehameha Schools, the Polynesian Voyaging Society, Bishop Museum and the University of Hawaiʻi.


KS Cultural Consultant Snowbird Bento KSK’93 and Cultural Specialist Lāiana Kanoa-Wong host the monthly Pacific Conversations virtual talk show which celebrates indigenous peoples and places throughout Monananuiākea – the Great Pacific.



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