Pulotu
Database of Austronesian Religions
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Austronesian population | Absent: No evidence of human occupation prior to Austronesian settlement | Bellwood 1995: 109 |
| Christian influence on supernatural belief | No evidence of influence but in a region where contact is likely (No evidence of Christian influence on supernatural belief, but culture is known to have had (or is likely to have had) contact with Christian societies at or prior to the time focus in question.) | Howe 1977: 13 |
| Hindu / Buddhist influence on supernatural belief | No evidence of influence and not in region of known contact (No evidence of Hindu / Buddhist influence on supernatural belief, and culture is unlikely to have had contact with Hindu or Buddhist societies at or prior to to the time focus in question.) | Cribb 2000: Map 2.21 |
| (Low) contact with other societies (SCCS v 787) | Frequent, through trade, warfare, travel, etc. (e.g. yearly or most years) | Howe 1977: 6 |
| Islamic influence on supernatural belief | No evidence of influence and not in region of known contact (No evidence of Islamic influence on supernatural belief, and culture is unlikely to have had contact with Islamic societies at or prior to the time focus in question.) | Cribb 2000: Map 2.23 |
| Distance to closest landmass inhabited by a different culture (km) | 47.6 | Calculator 2014 |
| Distance to nearest continent (km) | 1515 | Calculator 2014 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Longitude of culture’s location (°) | 167.2 | 2014 |
| Latitude of culture’s location (°) | -21 | 2014 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Number of islands inhabited by culture | One | 2014; Ray 1917 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Island type (island with largest culture population or largest island if unknown) | Atoll (an oceanic low island of coral origin, e.g. Ulithi) | Howe 1977: 3 |
| Maximum elevation (meters) | 85 | Clark 2008 |
| Island Size (km²) | 1150 | Clark 2008: 65 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Estimate of culture population size at relevant time focus | 6000 | Howe 1977: 155-158 |
| Importance of Matrilateral descent (V.2) | Low (Matrilateral descent plays little or no role in determining social status and / or group membership.) | Howe 1977: 9-10 |
| Importance of Patrilateral descent (V.2) | High (Patrilateral descent plays an important role in determining social status and / or group membership, and is more important than any other form of descent.) | Howe 1977: 9-10 |
| Polygamy (SCCS 861) | Full polygyny (20% or more of married males) | Ray 1917: 287 |
| Marital residence (SCCS 69) | Neolocal - separate from kin | Ray 1917: 286 |
| Estimated population of largest political community | 1,000-9,999 | Howe 1977: 35, 155-158 |
| Political Authority | Supralocal (encompasses multiple local groups) | Guiart 1963: 351-345 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| (No) conflict (social or political) within the local community (SCCS v 767) | Moderate (Conflict occurs frequently but is seldom violent, or is violent but occurs only occasionally.) | Howe 1974 |
| (No) internal warfare (between communities of the same society) (SCCS v 773) | Frequent, occurring at least yearly | Howe 1974; Ray 1917 |
| (No) external warfare (with other societies) (SCCS v 774) | Rare or never | Ray 1917 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Metalworking | Absent | Hadfield 1920: 67-103 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Animal husbandry as a source of food | Minor | Ray 1917 |
| Land-based hunting performed by individuals | Minor | Ray 1917 |
| Land-based gathering | Medium | Hadfield 1920: 48-50 |
| Land-based hunting performed by one or more groups | Minor | Ray 1917 |
| Agriculture / Horticulture | Principal (more important than any other source of food) | Ray 1917 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Water-based gathering | Medium | Ray 1917 |
| Fishing and water-based hunting performed by one or more groups | Medium | Ray 1917 |
| Fishing and water-based hunting performed by individuals | Medium | Ray 1917 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Trade / wage labour as a source of food | Medium | Hadfield 1920: 67-103 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Was a foreign religion adopted through a top-down (those high in the social hierarchy converted first, followed by the general population) or a bottom-up (the general population converted first, followed by those high in the social hierarchy) process? | Primarily a top-down process. | Howe 1977: 36-45 |
| Use of force in conversion | Low (most communities adopted the new religion either voluntarily or due to pressure from other communities of the same culture) | Howe 1977: 36-45 |
| Adoption of a world religion | Present and predominant (At one time or another during the post-contact period, at least 75% of the indigenous population practiced a world religion.) | Howe 1977: 44-45 |
| Resident missionary involvement in conversion process | Present, and from Austronesian societies only (Resident foreign missionaries played an important role in the conversion process, but these missionaries were from other Austronesian societies only.) | Howe 1977: 35-45 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Syncretic religious movements | Absent | Howe 1977: 39-45; Paini 1998: 171-206 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Replacement-level immigration | Absent (Replacement-level immigration did not occur – an immigrant culture was never present in the area, or was present but had a population size less than 10% of that of the indigenous culture.) | Haberkorn 2008: 122 |
| Language shift | Medium (The indigenous language remained an important means of communication for the duration of the post-contact period, but at one time or another the indigenous population used a non-indigenous language to roughly the same extent.) | Eberhard et al. (eds.) 2020 |
| Foreign education systems | High (At one time or another during the post-contact period over 75% of children received some at least a basic non-indigenous education.) | Logan and Cole 2001: 40 |
| Foreign government systems | Present, and of high importance (At one time or another during the post-contact period the culture was subject to a foreign government system that controlled most important decisions.) | Howe 1977: 62 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Changes in means of subsistence | High (No indigenous means of subsistence has remained major or principal.) | Ember (eds.) 2001: 1583-1589 |
| Exportation of goods to other cultures | Present and substantial (At one time or another during the post-contact period, exports were a primary focus of economic activity for over 10% of the population.) | Islands 2013 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicles and roads | Present and widely used (At one time or another during the post-contact period, motor vehicles were used by a substantial proportion of the population.) | Logan and Cole 2001: 228 |
| Air travel | Present, local only (At no time during the post-contact period did most members of the culture have access to international air travel, but at one time or another most members of the culture had access to domestic air travel.) | Stanley 2007: 874 |
| Sea port | Present (At one time or another during the post-contact period most members of the culture had access to a sea port.) | Logan and Cole 2001: 228 |
| Question | Response | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Loss of autonomy during postcontact period | High (On at least one occasion during the post-contact period, the culture came under the political dominance of a foreign power, and this event resulted in considerable loss of autonomy.) | Agency 2013; Howe 1977: 62; Shineberg and Foster 2020 |
| Nature of loss of autonomy – voluntary vs. forced | Partly voluntary (e.g. Autonomy was ceded voluntarily but under duress; some communities ceded their autonomy voluntarily but others were forced to do so by an foreign power.) | Howe 1977: 57-59 |