Austronesian Evidences in Moana

ALCAPARAZ, Rocelle D.
RPH
BAC 1-2 Ms. Bernadette dela Rosa
Austronesian Evidences found in the movie “Moana”
The animated Disney film “Moana” tells a story of a young girl who yearns to explore the
world outside her island, more specifically the sea beyond their island’s reef. Then later on engaged
in a journey across the sea to save both her people and the world when her island got struck by a
life-killing darkness, as chosen by the ocean to return the heart of Te Fiti stolen by the demigod,
Maui. One thing that I have really noticed while watching the film is its relation to the ancient
group of Southeast Asian people called the Austronesians. They are a large group of people who
settled in Southeast Asian islands.
With that, here are a few references
from the movie “Moana” that is
closely related to the culture of the
Austronesians.
The first thing that I have noticed that is very similar to the Austronesian culture in the
movie is their lifestyle. Moana’s Island, Motonui, is the people’s primary source for food and
materials. According to Resture, Austronesians make their living through agriculture which
include domesticated animals like the pig and chickens and plants like yam, taro, sugarcane, and
tree crops like bananas, breadfruit, and coconut. During the song intermission in the film (see
above for a photo from that scene) entitled “Where You Are”, the people of Motonui showed how
they use each part of the coconut as their main source with their everyday needs. They make their
nets from the fibers, leaves to build fires, cook the meat and drink the water found inside the
coconut. This lifestyle reflects the way Austronesians used to live back then with the resources
that they have within their place of living.
Another thing that I have noticed are the body arts which adorned the people of Motonui.
As you can see at the picture above, it shows the tattoos the villagers have on their body. According
to Strumfels, having body arts, specifically tattoos, are also a culture of the Austronesian people.
Tattoos had various functions among the people. For men, they are symbols of their victory in
battles and were part of initiation rites into adulthood. For them, their tattoos are closely associated
to them. In a scene in the movie where Moana’s grandmother, Tala, explained the story behind her
stingray tattoo as she wants to be one of them after her death. Maui’s tattoos also have a
resemblance to Austronesian culture as each tattoo he has resembles his victories and events that
happened in his life.
In the movie, Moana has
two sidekicks, Pua and Heihei.
Pua is a pig while Heihei is a
chicken. These two animals being
presents proves the resemblance
of Moana’s tribe to the Austronesians. According to Chang et. al, when the Austronesians
expanded to Oceania, a number of animals, (e.g, chicken, pigs, rats, and dogs) either domesticated
or managed, were introduced from different regions. These species represents legacies of the
Austronesian people. Other than that is Heihei himself. According to the study of Thomas et. al.
entitled “Using ancient DNA to study the origins and dispersal of ancestral Polynesian chickens
across the Pacific”, the genetics of a Polynesian chicken can be rooted in the Philippines, which
is where the Austronesians also had a settlement. Also, from the name of Heihei, you can see its
relation to the Austronesian language. According to Lande, reduplication is one of the most
prominent features of Austronesian languages. The meaning of Heihei in Maori, a Polynesian
language, is chicken.
It was revealed in the film that
Moana’s tribe were descendants of
voyagers. According to Meacham,
the Austronesian people were first to
sail the seas as they travel with their canoes through it and find new islands. In Austronesian
culture, the people considered the sea as the basic feature of their life. They build their boats in
various sizes which are capable of crossing vast distances of water. This enabled them to colonize
the Indo-Pacific during their time. Like in the Austronesian culture, the film showed how native
people navigate their way through the sea by the art of sailing. In a scene in the movie, Maui taught
Moana how to sail using wayfinding techniques. This includes measuring the stars, currency of
the water, direction of the wind, and other signs that came from the sky and the ocean. Maui also
said that in wayfinding, it is seeing where you are going in your mind. In order to reach your
destination, you should know where you are by knowing where you have been. All of these were
also practiced by the Austronesian people as well.
In conclusion, I hope that the legacy that this film, Moana, will leave is a better appreciation
for our native culture. Due to Western colonization, we have forgotten our true origin and pre-
colonial culture. We have learned to neglect what we once used to be. With the film and its relation
to the Austronesian people, we should continue to educate ourselves with this matter and relive
our once prosperous culture from the Austronesians.

References
Chang, C-S., et. al. (2015). A holistic picture of Austronesian migrations revealed by
phylogeography of Pacific paper mulberry. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
of the USA. 112(44):13537-13542.
Lande, Yury A. (2003). Nominal reduplication in Indonesian challenging the theory of
grammatical change. International Symposium on Malay/Indonesian Linguistics. Nijmegen,
The Netherlands.
Meacham, S. (2008). Austronesians were first to sail the seas. Retrieved on September 25, 2019,
from https://www.sms.com.au/entertainment/austronesians-were-first-to-sail-the-seas-
20081211-gdt65p.html
Resture, J. (2011). Austronesian people. Retrieved on September 25, 2019, from
http://www.ourpacificocean.com/austronesian_people/
Strumfels, D. (2018). Austronesian peoples. Retrieved on September 25, 2019, from
http://amedleyofpotpourri.blogspot.com/2018/08/austronesian-peoples.html?m=1
Thomson VA, Lebrasseur O, Austin JJ, et al. (2014a). Using ancient DNA to study the origins and
dispersal of ancestral Polynesian chickens across the Pacific. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences 111: 4826– 4831.

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ALCAPARAZ, Rocelle D.

BAC 1-2 Ms. Bernadette dela Rosa

Austronesian Evidences found in the movie “Moana”

settled in Southeast Asian islands.

With that, here are a few references

from the movie “Moana” that is

closely related to the culture of the

that they have within their place of living.

happened in his life.

In the movie, Moana has

two sidekicks, Pua and Heihei.

Pua is a pig while Heihei is a

chicken. These two animals being

presents proves the resemblance

prominent features of Austronesian languages. The meaning of Heihei in Maori, a Polynesian

It was revealed in the film that

Moana’s tribe were descendants of

voyagers. According to Meacham,

the Austronesian people were first to

also practiced by the Austronesian people as well.

our once prosperous culture from the Austronesians.

phylogeography of Pacific paper mulberry. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

of the USA. 112(44):13537-13542.

Lande, Yury A. (2003). Nominal reduplication in Indonesian challenging the theory of

grammatical change. International Symposium on Malay/Indonesian Linguistics. Nijmegen,

Resture, J. (2011). Austronesian people. Retrieved on September 25, 2019, from

Strumfels, D. (2018). Austronesian peoples. Retrieved on September 25, 2019, from

Academy of Sciences 111: 4826– 4831.

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