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MYSTERIOUS: Polynesia - What They Never Told You

Long before GPS, Polynesian sailors crossed the Pacific by reading stars, waves, winds, birds and clouds

Centuries before GPS satellites, magnetic compasses and detailed nautical charts transformed sea travel, Polynesian navigators were already mastering one of the world's greatest navigational challenges: the immense Pacific Ocean. In double-hulled canoes, they sailed thousands of kilometres between tiny, isolated islands spread across waters covering almost one-third of Earth's surface.…

The Times of India

The real mystery behind Moana: after 1,700 years, why did Polynesians suddenly sail east?

The same question drives both the plot of Moana and decades of archaeological research: why, after centuries of relative stability, did Polynesian voyagers suddenly begin settling islands thousands of kilometres away across the Pacific?

The Conversation

The long half-life of France’s nuclear tests in Polynesia

Thirty years ago this week, on an island in the South Pacific, France conducted its final nuclear test – ending a programme that exposed thousands of people to radiation over decades. The islands of French Polynesia are still living with the fallout.

Radio France Internationale

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Why it’s worth taking a wider look at biarchal cultures

Letter: In places such as Canada, the US, parts of Africa, southern India and Polynesia, biarchal traditions are almost within living memory, says Simon Dawson

The Guardian - UK

The health impact of nuclear tests in French Polynesia – archive, 1981

France spent €90,000 countering research into the effects of its Pacific nuclear tests in the 1960s and 70s. Learn how the Guardian reported early accounts of sickness and contamination

The Guardian - UK

Dwayne Johnson welcomes the 'global embrace of Polynesian culture'

Dwayne Johnson has explained why he feels particularly proud of the 'Moana' movies.

BANG Premier

In Disney’s ‘Moana,’ the characters navigate using the stars, just like real Polynesian explorers − an astronomer explains how these methods work

If you have visited an island like one of the Hawaiian Islands, Tahiti or Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, you may have noticed how small these land masses appear against the vast Pacific Ocean. If you’re on Hawaii, the nearest island to you is more than 1,000 miles…

The Conversation

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Who really was Māui, the demigod portrayed in Moana? And did Disney get him right?

I enjoyed Disney’s 2016 film Moana. My relatives and I attended the Reo Māori release here in Aotearoa, in a packed theatre of Māori language supporters. Watching the film in our own language was emotional and powerful.

The Conversation

In French Polynesia, Boom In Whale-based Tourism Sparks Concern

A giant whale stole the show at the Summer Olympic Games, shooting out of the water as athletes competed in women's surfing semi-finals on the French Pacific island of Tahiti last month.

International Business Times

Why the Olympic surfing venue is 16,000km away from Paris

Teahupo’o, Polynesia, is home to ‘the heaviest’, ‘most perfect’ waves in the world. But what’s it got to do with Paris?

Al Jazeera

French Polynesia's pro-independence party obtains majority in elections

Pro-independence forces won elections on France's Pacific territory of French Polynesia, giving them control of affairs on the archipelagos for the next five years and opening the way to a possible referendum on their status, according to results published Monday.

Radio France Internationale

We can’t let Joshua Reynolds’ magnificent Portrait of Omai leave the UK

This breathtaking 7ft-high portrait of a Polynesian visitor to London in the 18th century captures a complex cultural encounter and showcases the genius of Reynolds

The Guardian - UK

Polynesian pride: Three-day canoe voyage in mid-Pacific

A daunting canoe voyage — covering almost 500 kilometers, or about 300 miles across a stretch of the Pacific Ocean — is underway

The Independent UK

France struggled to relinquish Algeria as a nuclear test site, archives reveal

Top French officials, including French President Charles de Gaulle, sought to conduct atmospheric nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara following the former French colony’s independence in 1962. These plans, described in recently declassified French documents, never came to fruition. If they had, they would have violated a request made several…

The Conversation

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Tribune News Service

Family travel 5: Give stand-up paddleboarding a shot at 1 of these scenic destinations

Stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) is considered an ancient form of surfing, traced to early days in Polynesia. More recently, in the 1940s, surf instructors on a Waikiki beach in Hawaii are said to have used the skill to allow them a better view of their students. Today, families can indulge in…

The Guardian - UK

Mark of prestige: exhibition to explore culture and history of tattoos

Barcelona exhibition to showcase tattoo art from Japan and Polynesia to Thailand and Los Angeles

The Guardian - AU

Private paradise: The French Polynesian island locking locals out of beaches

A huge tourist boom on Mo’orea Island has seen privatisation of coastline, with just three public beaches left

The Independent UK

Britney Spears says she’s planning on ‘having babies’ in Polynesia

The singer and performer is currently on holiday with her fiance Sam Asghari

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