Indigenous ethnic groups speak of native ways that is like no other. Nowadays, there are about 370 million indigenous people in the world, belonging to 5,000 different groups in 90 countries worldwide, according to an organisation called Cultural Survival. In Oceania, the Pacific Islands remained to be the home to the world’s most diverse indigenous cultures. Because of being isolated from the rest of the world surrounded by vast oceans, ancestral culture had remained strong and hailed.
Fewer than an estimate of 6.5 million people in Oceania possess rich traditional culture and ecological adaptations. Papua New Guinea alone own a third of the world’s languages. But though diverse, they are close to getting forgotten and nearly considered negligible because of how the rest of the world remains ignorant about them.
Indigenous people, also known as first people, aboriginal people or native people, are ethnic groups who are the original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently. – Wikipedia
Honestly, I was one of them. Until I got to know my better half for the first time. He asked me if I was from Polynesia gauged from my naturally athletic built more than a decades ago. And here I was turning to my friend, secretly asking where is Polynesia? My friend said, “in Hawaii??”, with his shoulders and arms raised on a I’m-not-sure-stance. I just recovered the conversation to cover up my ignorance with, “I am pure Filipino.”
He married me 6 years after. And watching this TED talk reminds me of that distinct uniqueness I loved about Polynesians. Watch this!
One thing I love about Polynesians is how funny they are. The gentle giants as how I jokingly address my family. Meanwhile, they keep their culture and they are very proud of it. Genetically, my pheromones sensed its match, its virility and strength at will. Probably that’s why I ended up with one. And as I get knowledgeable more and more about my husband’s origin to aid in my daughter’s learning, I was so happy to come across this presentation of Kap Te’o Tafiti at TED talk.
