Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania located northeast of Australia and includes several islands that are in the Pacific Ocean. The name of this area, which includes Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia, was coined by the French explorer Jules Dumont D'Urville in the 19th century..
It is given the category of subregion since its inhabitants have characteristics similar to each other, but different from those of the rest of the populations that are around them, such as Australia and New Zealand, Polynesia or Micronesia.
The word Melanesia has its roots in Greek melas, a word whose meaning is "black". In the same language those translates as "islands". That is, they are the black islands. Its inhabitants stand out for a phenotypic characteristic very common among the population: despite having dark skin, many have blonde hair.
In their religion the gods are rather spirits that interact with humans, as well as with objects and with nature, depending on their origin and essence and the rituals through which they are invoked..
Article index
The countries that are officially framed within the zone of influence that Melanesia covers are: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, the dependency of France known as New Caledonia and the independence movement of West Papua.
This region is located in the Pacific Ocean. It is made up of a large number of islands and archipelagos that are located in the northeast of Australia. Some of the territories that are within the sub-zone that includes Melanesia are:
- Luisiadas Archipelago, south of Papua New Guinea.
- Bismark Archipelago, east of Papua New Guinea.
- Santa Cruz Islands, south east of the Solomon Islands.
- Vanuatu, and its territory known as the New Hebrides.
- New Caledonia.
- Fiji.
The borders in Melanesia are diffuse, since the same island can be divided between two nations. In addition, archipelagos can also be shared. Its geography contains in the same way atoles and atolls.
Among those territories are:
- Amphlett Islands, like the D'Entrecasteaux Islands which are part of Papua New Guinea.
- Norfolk Island, Australia (geographically, but not culturally integrated).
- Raja Ampat Islands, West Papua.
- Aru Islands, Maluku.
- Schouten Islands.
- Torres Strait Islands, divided between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
It is difficult to establish ethnic boundaries between the cultures of Melanesia, since the mixture that occurred within this geographic space is very rich. However, very curious characteristics are observed, such as the appearance of genes from ancient species such as the Denisovan hominid and also the Neanderthal..
Regarding language, there are two large groups: those whose language descends from Papuan, the linguistic roots of Papuan, and also the oceanic languages, which they share with Polynesians, Micronesians and Australians..
In addition, in certain Melanesian populations a very particular mutation related to chromosome 9 is observed, in which individuals, despite having dark pigmentation on the skin, have a blonde tone in their hair, similar to that of the European Nordics.
Regarding their pre-colonial organization, the peoples of Melanesia created groups in which order was imposed by kinship and marriages were essential to maintain hierarchy and control among members of society..
In some of these societies the forms of organization were given by the father, in others by the mother; They could also be mixed or clans could be created ensuring that the closeness came from an old kinship.
The religious sphere in the life of the Melanesians was very intimate, since it was firmly related to the ancestors and spirits, who constantly coexisted with living humans, and manifested themselves through actions on objects or meteorological phenomena.
So, for the inhabitants of Melanesia, religion used to be part of daily life, since the actions of spirits and magic, which was invoked by those priests who served as contact between the supernatural and the human world, was part of the day to day.
The priests should not live a reserved life or especially different from that of any other member of the community, they simply had to know the rituals and have a kind of facility to communicate between the living and the spirits.
The Melanesians did not have a clear distinction between the religious and the magical, since both were related in their traditions. One of the most used concepts was that of manna, which was related to a meaning similar to that of efficacy. That was tied to what a spirit could do or grant.
Meanwhile, the taboo it was considered something forbidden, because it was too sacred to be within the reach of humans.
Despite seeing magic as something positive, the same did not happen with witchcraft, which was associated with death and dark things.
From the beginning of the Melanesian civilizations, agriculture was one of the main economic supports, pig farming was also added later. In addition, there was hunting, fishing and gathering, although the latter to a lesser extent.
The coastal areas carried out exchanges with the interior of the country. The fruits of the sea and salt were highly coveted goods by the Melanesians who lived inland, and which they owned to offer to the people of the coast..
Artifacts such as wood for boats or handicraft items began to be coveted, especially by the smaller islands. Some populations positioned themselves solely as commercial intermediaries between remote populations.
Items that were related to their traditional ceremonies were also of high value to all Melanesians.
In 1986, an organization named Grupo Melanesio Punta de Lanza (Melanesian Spearhead Group, MSG). This group includes Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands, later joined by Fiji and New Caledonia..
Yet No Comments