POLYNESIA 



POLYPODIUM 



301 



brown peoples speak idioms derived from a com- 

 mon stock ; and Mr Codrington has even shown 

 that the Melanesian are of a more archaic type 

 than the Polynesian tongues. Perhaps this is the 

 most inexplicable of all the problems presented by 

 the Oceanic peoples, for here anthropology and 

 philology are found to be in direct antagonism. 

 At first sight it would appear as if the lower had 

 imposed its speech on the higher race, by whom 

 it became profoundly modified both in its phonetic 

 system and grammatical structure. But the re- 

 verse and less violent process is conceivable, and it 

 may be assumed that during their endless migra- 

 tions over the Pacific the more enterprising and 

 intelligent Polynesians transmitted their speech to 

 the more passive Melanesians at a very remote 

 period, the former afterwards modifying it in the 

 direction of greater simplicity and harmony, the 

 latter preserving it in its more pristine inflectional 

 form. 



For over a century the Oceanic peoples have been 

 in contact with Europeans, and nearly all the 

 Polynesians, as well as many of the Melanesians, 

 profess some form of Christianity the first mis- 

 sion established being that to Tahiti in 1797 by 

 the London Missionary Society. But as western 

 influences increase the races themselves appear to 

 decrease. Thus, the population of Hawaii had 

 fallen from about 300,000 at the time of Cook's 

 visit ( 1778) to 40,000 in 1884 ; the Maoris of New 

 Zealand, who numbered probably 400,000 in 1769 

 (Cook's first visit), were reduced to 42,000, includ- 

 ing half-castes, in 1886, and the Tahitians from 

 240,000 in 1776 to less than 10,000 in 1888. Here 

 and there the returns show an apparent increase, 

 as in some of the Elliot; and Marshall islands, but 

 only amongst the half-castes. Everywhere the 

 pure Polynesian race seems to be rapidly disappear- 

 ing, a phenomenon attributed partly to the intro- 

 duction of alcoholic drinks, partly to the abrupt 

 change of habits, dress, diet, .Vc. enforced or 

 encouraged by the missionaries, but mainly to the 

 ravages of leprosy, smallpox, syphilis, measles, 

 and especially pulmonary affections, by which 

 whole communities have been decimated. 



Formerly the political organisation was based on 

 a distinction between two classes, the nobles and 

 the common people. The Maoris had developed a 

 ort of democracy ; but elsewhere the archipelagoes 

 constituted one or more monarchies of a somewhat 

 feudal character, with powerful hereditary rulers 

 under a king, whose authority had been much 

 reduced in Samoa, the Marquesas, and some other 

 groups. Their subjects were a gay, pleasure-loving 

 people, engaged chiefly in fishing, agriculture, and 

 navigation. Their diet was largely vegetarian 

 (yams, tarn, batatas, bananas, cocoa-nuts, &c.), 

 varied with fish, pork, poultry, and, in some places, 

 human flesh. Human victims were also offered on 

 solemn occasions, and a prominent feature of the 

 primitive religion was the so-called Tabu (q.v.), 

 in virtue of which certain persons and objects 

 acquired a sacred character. But there was no- 

 where a distinct sacerdotal class, and most of the 

 old beliefs had resolved themselves into a system of 

 ancestor-worship. Other distinctive institutions 

 were certain orders of knighthood, secret societies 

 with peculiar semi-religious rites, and tattooing, 

 which, especially in Micronesia, acquired the char- 

 acter of a fine art, rivalling the Burmese and 

 Japanese systems in its elaborate designs and 

 skilful execution. Few other arts were practised, 

 ami letters were unknown, although a national 

 folklore, tolerably rich in historic legends and 

 myths, was orally preserved, and has now been 

 mostly committed to writing by European scholars. 



See CORAL, and the articles on the several Polynesian 

 ' i or groups ft islands ; and for the first navigators 



in Polynesia, see GEOGRAPHY, PACIFIC OCEAN in this 

 work. See also Ellis, Polynesian Researches (1829); 

 Keybaud, La Polynesie (1843); Sir George Grey, Poly- 

 nesian Mythology (1855); De Quatrefages, Les Poly- 

 nesians tt leurs Migrations ( 1866 ) ; Pritchard, Polynesian 

 Reminiscences (1866) Angus, Polynesia, or the 'islands 

 of the Pacific, <tc. (1867); Waitz-Gerland, Anthro- 

 poloyie der NaturvUlker, vol. vi. ( 1872 ) ; Moresby, New 

 Guinea and Polynesia (1877); Fornander, An Account 

 of the Polynesian Race, <tr. (1878-86); Gill, Histor- 

 ical Sketches of fiavaye Life in Polynesia ( 1880 ) ; Lesson, 

 Les Ptilyndiens, <tc. (1880-87); Keane, Inter-Oceanic 

 Races and Languages (1880); JVovara and Challenger 

 Reports ; R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians ( 1891) ; and 

 Guillemard on Malaysia and the Pacific Archipelagoes 

 (1895) in the new edition of 'Stanford's Compendium.' 



Polyp, a name usually applied to an animal 

 like the fresh-water Hydra or like the Sea-anemone, 

 having a tubular body and a wreath of many 

 tentacles around the mouth. The name is equally 

 applicable to an isolated individual or to a mem- 

 ber (ztMiid or 'person') of a colony. Thus, the 

 individuals which make up a zoophyte or a coral 

 colony are called polyps, and the term is seldom 

 used except in reference to Ccelenterate animals. 

 But the history of the word has been strange. In 

 Greek and Latin works on natural history the 

 term polypous or polypus is usually applied to the 

 octopus (poulpe), or some other cuttle-fish, though 

 sometimes to the many-footed wood-louse, Oniscus. 

 Reaumur and Jussieu were the first to apply the 

 word to zoophytes and the like ; Lamarck used it 

 more loosely, but gradually it has been narrowed 

 to the signification al>ove noted. See ANEMONE, 



CffiLENTERATA, CORAL, HYDRA, HYDROZOA, &C. ; 



and POLYPUS, for the surgical use of the term. 



Polyphemus, in the Homeric mythology, 

 the son of Poseidon and the nymph Thoosa, the 

 most celebrated of the fabulous Cyclopes (q.v.), 

 who inhabited the island of Sicily. He was of im- 

 mense size, anil had only one eve. When Ulysses 

 landed on that island he entered the cave of Poly- 

 phemus with twelve companions, of which number 

 this tremendous cannibal ate six. The others stood 

 expecting the same fate, but their cunning leader 

 made Polyphemus drunk, then burned out his 

 single eye with a burning pole, and so escaped, 

 leaving the blinded monster to grope about in the 

 darkness. 



Polyphonic (Gr. polys, 'many,' and phone, 

 'voice ). When a musical composition consists of 

 two or more parts, each of which has an independ- 

 ent melody of its own, it is said to be polyphonic, 

 in opposition to a homopbonic composition, consist- 

 ing of a principal part with a leading idea, and 

 accessory parts employed to strengthen it. Each 

 part of a polyphonic composition aims at melodic 

 perfection, and, while supporting the other, hag 

 an equal share in the entire effect. A Fugue 

 (q.v.) is the most perfect example of polyphonic 

 composition. 



Polypodilim (the Greek name, as old as 

 Theophrastus, waxpolypodion, from polys, 'many,' 

 and podion, ' a little foot 'indicating the foot- 

 like appendage of the rhizome, not the leaf), a 

 genus of Ferns, with spore-cases on the back of 

 the frond, distinct, ring-shaped, in roundish sori, 

 destitute of indiisimm. It is the largest genus of 

 the Filices, comprising over 450 species ; and 

 amongst them are plants of different modes of 

 growth, of different venation, and from almost 

 all climates. Several species, differing very 

 considerably in appearance, are natives of 

 Britain, where no fern is more common than 

 P. vvlgare. It grows on rocks, trees, dry banks, 

 &c. , and has fronds 2 to 18 inches long, deeply 

 pinnatifid, with large sori. P. dryopteris, with 

 delicate ternate bipinnate fronds, is a fine orna- 



