194 ETHNOGRAPHY. 



A. Malay race. B. Melanesian race. C. Micronesian race. 



a' Polynesian branch. 



Y 



Banabe (C+B+a") 



Tarawa (C+B+a'+a") 



In this table the Micronesian race is regarded as perfectly distinct 

 from the others, which is not altogether correct ; as it is no where to 

 be found (as far as our information extends) in a pure state, but 

 always with a greater or less mixture of the Malay. Moreover, it 

 must be borne in mind, that the view here given of the composition 

 of the Banabean tongue rests, in part, on a mere assumption, which, 

 though probable, is not to be regarded as proved. 



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ORIGIN OF THE POLYNESIANS. 



That the Polynesians belong to the same race as that which peo- 

 ples the East Indian Islands is, at present, universally admitted. If 

 any doubt had remained on this point, the labors of Wm. Von Hum- 

 boldt and Professor Buschman, would have been sufficient to set it at 

 rest. Having traced all the principal tribes of Polynesia back to the 

 Samoan and Tongan Groups, it next becomes a question of interest, 

 how far the information which we now possess will enable us to 

 verify the supposed emigration of the first settlers in these groups 

 from some point in the Malaisian Archipelago. From the almost 

 total ignorance in which we yet remain of the dialects spoken in the 

 eastern part of this archipelago, our means of forming a judgment are 



