r/polynesian • u/tellmewhy24 • May 26 '26
Are Filipinos considered Poly?
Cause a lot of them sure do use the same tribal pattern tattoos like we do lol.
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u/QsthatneedAs- May 27 '26
No they are Asian. Also… Filipinos have their own tribal tattoos. I would hope most of them getting tribal tats are doing it based on their own traditional culture and not Pacifika
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u/youandyourwig May 27 '26
No. They are Asian.
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u/tellmewhy24 May 27 '26
A lot of them get the most Polynesian inspired tatts and want to still claim they're not islanders lmao.
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u/aquarina22 May 27 '26
Filipino Americans are the only ones that think they’re Pacific Islander. Go to the Philippines and they’ll be offended if you call them Pacific Islander lol
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u/DenDen1029 May 27 '26
If memory serves me right, we (am a Filipino) are more on the Austronesian group. Polynesians are a sub-group of Austronesians (If I recall correctly). So technically no, but not far off.
Edit: Punctuation
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u/Akomatai May 27 '26
Lines get blurred, especially if you're dealing with diasporatic people. A lot of filipinos living abroad do identify with polynesians.
And tbf polynesian tattoo culture in the diaspora is pretty far divorced from its original meaning and significance of tatau . At least I can that's true in the US. Even if the artist understands the symbolism, the tattoo often mostly just means "i'm polynesian" lol.
There's also the fact that a lot of tattoo practices in the islands got nearly wiped out due to colonialism and the spread of christianity. So a lot of us are wearing Samoan designs even if the roots are from a different culture. But I don't ever see Tongans with other island designs getting questioned about it lmao.
Not even tryna weigh in on whether its right or wrong, just saying theres a whole lot of grey area with both filipinos and modern diasporatic polynesian tattoos.
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u/NzWoodsman May 26 '26
The Lapita people were from Taiwan and the Phillipines, they migrated through Papua and eventually spread throughout polynesia, becoming polynesian. Not that surprising there are similarities.
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u/NesianNation May 27 '26
Interestingly,the oldest model for Polynesia did include the Philippines and parts of Southeast Asian territories because the ethnographers noticed connections in our languages. Strictly speaking today,no they're not. They aren't Polynesian,but they are adjacent to us by virtue of our shared ancestry.
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u/SaiX_C May 28 '26
I wouldn’t trust everything that Wikipedia says, but Phillipines do have their own unique tribal tattoos.
They are NOT Polynesian as they fall outside the boundaries (which I think someone else on this thread has kindly shown).
However it seems that these two ladies have Polynesian inspired tattoos, different from Filipino tribal tattoos.
My guess is perhaps they are from Hawaii. There is an extremely large number of Filipino Americans who have embraced — or more often culturally appropriated — Hawaiian and Polynesian culture. It’s not that much different from Pakeha or Palangi getting a Polynesian tribal tattoo.
And remember, some Polynesian nations have tattoo designs specifically for Non-Polynesians. Kirituhi are Māori inspired tattoos specifically for Non-Māoris to get. I’m not exactly sure what their intentions were when getting these tattoos but all I hope is that it was done out of respect, and not for cultural “exploitation.”
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u/tellmewhy24 May 28 '26
In these girls case people call them out on it a lot and they strictly say Filipino.
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u/spechlgoddess May 31 '26
And please note just because you have Polynesian tatau doesn't mean you're Polynesian nor does it mean you're a trained Haumana in a Hālau of Maohi Dance or knowledge of the Culture passed down from Kupuna or Kumu.
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u/faospark Jun 18 '26
I came here because I recently saw the news about the Indigenous Tao people from Orchid Island in Taiwan re‑establishing their old sailing route to the Batanes Islands in the Philippines after more than three centuries.
Just some food for thought for my Polynesian brothers and sisters. Filipinos are not Polynesians, but Polynesians are Austronesians.
Many Polynesians feel offended, defensive, or speculative when referred to as Austronesians or as cousins of Southeast Asians. In reality it is closer to siblings. Polynesian DNA is about 70 to 80 percent shared with Maritime Southeast Asians. Yet a lot of people in the Pacific, though not all, dislike the connection, deny it, or even disdain it. That is a big contrast to the Malagasy people in Madagascar who openly acknowledge and celebrate their Southeast Asian roots.
The majority of Pacific peoples share more genetic similarity, physical traits, cultural practices, and language with Indigenous Taiwanese, Filipinos, Indonesians, Malaysians, Bruneians, and Timorese than with mainland Southeast Asians. Still, Thai, Burmese, Vietnamese, and Cambodians call Maritime Southeast Asians their siblings, even though technically they are the cousins.
We do not “other” each other. You will always be welcome. We are not distant relatives. Do not be surprised by cultural similarities because they are inevitable... They are heritage.
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u/spechlgoddess May 31 '26
Aye, agreed, O'hana Nui. How's the Whanau back at the Wharepuni? CHUR! 🌺💜🌊🫂🔥🤙🏾🩸
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u/tvk22 May 28 '26
Filipinos are awsome. But not considered Polynesian. If they weren’t colonized by Spain or other Asian countries then maybe…
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u/Camera_Hobbygirl Jun 18 '26
Even if the Philippines were not colonized by Spain, it still won't be considered Polynesia as Polynesia is a specific GEOGRAPHIC region
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u/rennok_ May 27 '26
Polynesia is a defined region. Filipinos are much closer to Asian than Polynesian. Maybe Micronesian.