Page 308 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

The Migration Map of Proto-Austronesian language Ancestors.

AUSTRONESIA
Taiwan
5.000 yrs Marianas Hawaii Is.
Guam 4.000 yrs 1.600 yrs
Philippines
Palau
Nauru Kiribati
Sumatra 3.500 yrs
4.000 yrs
Java Samoa
MELANESIA Society Is. Marquesas Is.
2.000 yrs Tonga
Madagascar 1.200 Easter I.
yrs 1.600 yrs
Papua-Newguinea
1.000 yrs N
Chatham I.
0 5.000 km New Zealand
HJW
Melanesian Oral Traditions
This part focuses on the networking part of the Melanesian population studied from the
frame of oral tradition. The overview of the language aspects has provided meaning and
significance of the memory which had disseminated by people embracing the Proto-
Austronesian language family. The question is whether the people who are related in the
context of language, are also related in a particular race?
Bellwood et al. (1995) say that many different people speak Austronesian languages,
but does this linguistic fact explain the origins of the cultural and biological as well as
the overall history of the same population? Moreover, Austronesian language speakers
nowadays have different social behavior or appearance, not only as individuals, but also
as nations. Relying only on appearance, anyone will have little trouble differentiating
among a random mixture of the Austronesian-speaking people of Punan (Kalimantan),
and Agta (Luzon), a native of Fiji and Tahiti. Similarly, the case is also true for the groups
of people around the Punan forest, the Muslim Malay population of urban areas in Kuala
Lumpur, and the inhabitants of Coral Island of Micronesia. All attest to similarities in terms
of social, economic, and religious aspects. Culture and physical appearance have been
used as an indicator of ethnic identity in modern society, but this is weak and crude. Even
casual observation on society in today’s world would leave little doubt that in general,
people, or most of them, can get married with people from different biological and cultural
backgrounds, and change their languages, or even adopt the culture and lifestyle when the
situation allows (Bellwood et al., 1995).

308 Chapter 8

MELANESIA BOOK FA LAYOUT 051216.indd 308 2/10/17 2:11 PM