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What motifs were widely shared among Polynesian art traditions?
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Oceanic art and architecture
An Aboriginal Australian decorating a tightly woven dilly bag with white, yellow, and ochre (red) paints, Northern Territory, Australia, 1948.
Polynesian art traditions share a common vocabulary of motifs and artistic principles that appear across various media, including tattoos, bark cloth, and wood carving.1
Widely distributed motifs include:
- Geometric elements: Small decorative patterns such as toothed designs and units of diagonally sloping lines are found in most Polynesian cultures. Other common geometric shapes include triangles, crescents, stars, and cross-hatching.12
- Stylized figures: Anthropomorphic figures and faces are prominent, particularly in eastern Polynesia, where they often feature bulging eyes and protruding tongues. The use of stylized animal and floral elements is also widespread.1
- Shared symbolic forms: Early Polynesian cultures shared a tradition of specific ornaments, such as reel-shaped necklace units and pendants made from whale teeth. The human figure, often represented in stylized forms, remains a central theme across the region's artistic history.34
While each society developed unique regional styles—such as the monumental stone sculptures of Easter Island or the intricate featherwork of Hawaii—these shared motifs reflect a common ancestral artistic heritage.134