Vikings of the Pacific

Despite its rather romantic title, this is a serious study of the diffusion of Polynesian settlement in the Pacific, and an important contrast to the theories of Heyerdahl (Kon-Tiki). My impression is that most specialists come closer to agreeing with Buck, though there is much more recent work

“Faith in the Divine breeds confidence and dissipates fear, which after all is what man needs when facing the unknown. The Europeans applied his faith to guiding him into a safe haven in the journey after death, but the Polynesian applied his faith to inspire confidence in this life to voyage into unknown seas.” (page 22)

“The early missionaries labored to destroy belief in the Polynesian concepts of the world and the origin and power of the local gods. In this they were helped by the natives themselves who, eager to accept and adopt new ideas, broke almost completely with their old religion… Priests and scholars who had accepted the new teaching refused to pass on the concepts and the legends of their old cult. Thus the show more continuity of oral transmission was broken.” (page 169)

“In central and eastern Polynesia, the marae, because it carried a religious as well as a secular function, was dismantled and abandoned on conversion to Christianity; but in New Zealand, the marae still functions as the social center of the people… May the marae long continue to function, for so soon as it is abandoned, so soon will the maori lose his individuality.” (page 290)

Amazing adventure story of island life in ancient Polynesia. Legendary heroes, myths, gods, influence of Christianity, changing times, firsthand accounts from locals. All told by traveler, military leader, doctor, anthropologist etc… Sir Peter Buck. Half Maori, half Irish, he interprets culture of Polynesia with English; forming a descriptive, real, wondrous book. show less