Marquesans

## Country of Origin

Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia): 9,400

## Related Ethnic Groups

Polynesians Austronesians

The **Marquesans** (/mɑːrˈkeɪ:sans/; Marquesan: '**ʻEnana'** (North Marquesan) '**ʻEnata'** (South Marquesan), are a Polynesian people living on the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean.

Archaeological research suggests the islands were colonized in the 10th century AD by indigenous voyagers from West Polynesia. Over the centuries that followed, the islands have maintained a remarkably uniform culture, biology and language.

The Marquesas lost more people to death from these diseases than any other island group in Polynesia. The population shrank from over 78,000 inhabitants in the 18th century to about 20,000 by the middle of the 19th century, and to just over 4,000 by the beginning of the 20th century, reaching a nadir of 2,255 in 1926. After that, the population started to increase, reaching 8,548 by the time of the November 2002 census (not including the Marquesan community residing in Tahiti), and 9,346 by the time of the August 2017 census.

## Etymology

The Marquesas were named after the 16th century Spanish Viceroy of Peru, the Marquis of Cañete (Spanish: Marqués de Cañete) by navigator Álvaro de Mendaña, who visited them in 1595. 'Enana or 'Enata, the Marquesans name for themselves simply means "people".

## History (Haka'ite)

The first recorded settlers of the Marquesas were Polynesians who arrived from West Polynesia. Early attempts to carbon-date evidence from the site suggested they arrived before AD 100 , but several more recent independent studies suggest that they arrived more recently.

For example, a 2010 study that applied higher-precision radiocarbon dating methods to more reliable samples suggests that the earliest colonisation of eastern Polynesia took place much later, within a shorter time period, and in two waves: The first was a migration into the Society Islands between about 1025 and 1120 AD (four centuries later than had previously been thought); the second, between 70 and 265 years later, was a dispersal of migrants into to all the remaining Marquesas islands between about 1190 and 1290 AD. This relatively rapid colonisation is believed to account for the "remarkable uniformity of East Polynesia culture, biology and language."

A different study, published in 2014, suggested that the date of first settlement in the Marquesas was somewhat earlier: between around 900 and 1000 AD.

The richness of the natural resources in the islands has historically supported a large population. The inhabitants historically made a living by fishing, collecting shellfish, hunting birds, and gardening. They relied heavily on breadfruit but raised at least 32 other introduced crops. Hard evidence of significant pre-European interarchipelago trade has been found in basalt from the Marquesan quarry island of Eiao. It is known to have been distributed via sailing canoes over distances of more than 2500 km to provide adze heads to Mo'orea (Society Islands), Mangareva (Gambier Islands), Tubuai (Austral Islands), Rarotonga (Cook Islands), and Tabuaeran (Northern Line Islands).

Residents of the Marquesas have chafed at Tahiti's overwhelming dominance, complaining of neglect by politicians based in Tahiti, and leaders have suggested developing a direct relationship with the metropole, the government in Paris, instead of depending on Papeete. As sentiment was rising in Tahiti in the 21st century for independence from France, several prominent Marquesan political leaders in 2007 floated the idea of the Marquesas Islands separating from French Polynesia but remaining within the French Republic. This has generated controversy in Tahiti, where pro-independence Tahitian leaders have accused the French central government of encouraging the separation of the Marquesas Islands from French Polynesia.

## Religion (Ha'ati'a)

Most of the population of the Marquesas Islands is Christian as a consequence of the missionary activity of the Catholic Church, and various Protestant Christian groups. The main church in the area is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Taiohae (*Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Taiohae*) seat of the Catholic Diocese of Taiohae (*Dioecesis Taiohaënus seu Humanae Telluris*).

According to 2017 data 90.1% of the population of the Marquesas Islands is affiliated with the Catholic Church an increase from 1950 when 87.3% of Catholics were recorded on the islands.

## Language ('Eo)

French and Tahitian are the official languages of all of French Polynesia, but the Marquesan languages, in their various forms, remain the primary means of communication among residents within this archipelago, although knowledge of French is now almost universal among residents of the Marquesas Islands (see census data below).

Marquesan is a collection of East-Central Polynesian language dialects, of the Marquesic group, spoken in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. They are usually classified into two groups, North Marquesan and South Marquesan, corresponding roughly along geographic lines.

The North Marquesan dialects are spoken on the islands of Ua Pu and Nuku Hiva, and South Marquesan dialects on the islands of Hiva ʻOa, Tahuata and Fatu Hiva. The dialects of Ua Huka are often incorrectly classified as North Marquesan; they are instead transitional. While the island is in the northern Marquesas group, the dialects show more morphological and phonological affinities with South Marquesan. The North Marquesan dialects are sometimes considered to be two separate languages: North Marquesan and Tai Pi Marquesan, the latter being spoken in the valleys of the eastern third of the island of Nuku Hiva, in the ancient province of Tai Pi.

The most striking feature of the Marquesan languages is their almost universal replacement of the /r/ or /l/ of other Polynesian languages by a /ʔ/ (glottal stop).

Like other Polynesian languages, the phonology of Marquesan languages is characterised by a paucity of consonants and a comparative abundance of vowels.

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