Polynesia is a region of the Pacific Ocean consisting of over 1,000 islands. The area is known for its tropical climate, breathtaking scenery, and vibrant indigenous cultures. Polynesia’s long and intriguing history has given rise to many mysteries, myths, and riddles that continue to captivate people today.
In this article, we have gathered 55 riddles about Polynesia ranging from brainteasers about its geography and wildlife to puzzles drawn from Polynesian legends and lore. Each riddle is followed by its answer to test your knowledge about this fascinating part of the world.
Riddles about Polynesian Geography and Landmarks
1. What island group is named after British explorer Samuel Wallis?
Answer: The Samoan Islands
2. Which Polynesian island group was once known as the Sandwich Islands?
Answer: Hawaii
3. I’m an archipelago made up of over 500 islands and atolls. Captain James Cook named me the Friendly Islands in the 1700s. What am I?
Answer: Tonga
4. Which of the following islands is NOT considered part of Polynesia? Fiji, Pohnpei, Tahiti, or Rapa Nui.
Answer: Pohnpei
5. The only royal palace in the United States can be found on which Polynesian island?
Answer: Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands
Riddles about Polynesian Flora and Fauna
6. I am a plant that Polynesians brought with them when they voyaged across the Pacific. All parts of me are used for food or medicine. I can grow over 20 feet tall. What am I?
Answer: Taro
7. We are large reptiles native to Komodo Island in Indonesia. We were brought to some Polynesian islands like the Cook Islands and Vanuatu to start new populations. What are we?
Answer: Komodo dragons
8. I am a tree that grows in Polynesia, especially in Tonga and Samoa. My bark is used to make cloth and the wood is good for building canoes. What kind of tree am I?
Answer: Paper mulberry/wauke
9. In Samoan myth, I am a goddess of war who could take the form of a flying bat. According to legend, I fought battles by throwing coconuts that became stone. What is my name?
Answer: Nafanua
10. Which of these animals is NOT native to Polynesia? Moa, kiwi, llama, or tui.
Answer: Llama
Riddles about Polynesian History and Culture
11. I am a ceremonial drink made from the root of a Polynesian plant. Important guests are served me as a sign of honor and respect. What am I?
Answer: Kava
12. In the 1930s, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl sailed this small boat made of balsa logs across the Pacific Ocean to prove Polynesia could have been settled by Native Americans. What was the name of Heyerdahl’s boat?
Answer: The Kon-Tiki
13. The indigenous language of New Zealand is this Polynesian language currently spoken by about 700,000 people worldwide. What is it called?
Answer: Te Reo Māori
14. Italian explorer Fillippo de Filippi is credited with discovering this Polynesian island in the 1870s where he found giant stone statues created by the early Rapanui people. What is the island called?
Answer: Rapa Nui/Easter Island
15. About 2000 years ago, Polynesians developed a unique style of body ink made from candle nut soot. This ink was used in tattoos that told the personal history of the wearer. What is this tattooing method called?
Answer: Tā moko
Riddles about Polynesian Myths and Legends
16. In Hawaiian myth, I am the goddess of volcanoes and the wife of Wakea, the sky father. According to the legend, I gave birth to the Hawaiian Islands. What is my name?
Answer: Pele
17. In Māori legend, the demigod Māui fished up which island nation from his canoe when he was out fishing with his brothers?
Answer: New Zealand’s North Island, known in Māori as Te Ika-a-Māui or “the fish of Māui”
18. In many Polynesian creation stories, the world starts as an endless sea. The first land emerges when a god uses a fishhook or spear to pull islands up from the watery abyss below. What is this sea called?
Answer: Te Moana Nui a Kiwa or The Great Ocean of Kiwa
19. The son of a deity and a mortal woman, this strong Polynesian hero was said to have lassoed the sun to slow it down so his mother had more daylight hours to dry her tapa cloth. What was his name?
Answer: Maui
20. This is the realm of departed souls in traditional Hawaiian belief. Souls journey here after death to await reincarnation or commune with ancestral spirits. What is it called?
Answer: Pō
Riddles about Polynesian Arts and Crafts
21. I am made from the inner wood of a tree and carved with intricate patterns and figures. Polynesians beat drums like me to make music for dances and rituals. What am I?
Answer: A slit drum or log drum
22. Polynesians weave beautiful blankets and clothing from the fibers of this plant. Its name means “a small bush that grows in old lava flows” in Hawaiian. What is it?
Answer: Olonā
23. Early European explorers called this long, open building a “house of spirits” when they saw it in Polynesian villages. It was used for community meetings and sacred ceremonies. What is it really called?
Answer: A Māori wharenui or Hawaiian hale pili.
24. These carved items are exchanged during weddings, political events, and other ceremonies throughout Polynesia. They can be weapons, tools, jewelry, or staffs decorated with glyphs symbolizing the family histories of their owners. What are they?
Answer: Lei haumea or mauli/godsticks
25. I’m a ceremonial headdress made from the yellow feathers of a bird in the honeyeater family. Early Hawaiian chiefs and high ranking people wore helmets and cloaks decorated with my feathers. What am I?
Answer: Ō’ō feathers
Riddles about Polynesian Food and Cooking
26. This starchy Polynesian staple is made by scraping, pounding, and drying the root vegetable manioc. It was easy for voyagers to store and transport on long canoe journeys across the Pacific. What is it called?
Answer: Poi
27. This sweet treat is made from a small Polynesian fruit that looks like a cherry with yellow-orange flesh inside. Early visitors called it the “love apple.” What is its real name?
Answer: Pōpoki, also known as Polynesian golden apple or mapelo
28. This dish combines raw fish that has been salted and fermented for months until it develops a very pungent aroma. It is considered a delicacy in many parts of Polynesia. What is it called?
Answer: Palusami
29. These little cookies from New Zealand have a soft, chewy texture. Traditional versions combine cornflakes, coconut, cocoa powder chocolate chips or raisins. What are they called?
Answer: ANZAC biscuits
30. This staple Polynesian crop was one of the canoe plants ancient voyagers carried with them to colonize the Pacific Islands. All parts can be eaten, brewed, pounded into cloth, or used as medicine. Name this plant.
Answer: Taro
Riddles about Polynesian Sports and Games
31. My name comes from the Hawaiian word for “to roll stone.” I evolved from an ancient Polynesian game called ulu maika where warriors hurled disc-shaped stones as far as possible. What sport am I?
Answer: Lawn bowling
32. These colorful balls carved from a very hard wood were used recreationally and ceremonially throughout ancient Polynesia. People still play cultural games with them today using their hands, paddles, or sticks to toss and catch them. What are they called?
Answer: Ulu maika stones
33. This game from Mangareva Island challenges players to flick small pyramid-shaped shells across a tabletop into a tiny goal. According to one legend, people who mastered this game were said to gain the protection of the gods. What is it called?
Answer: Tiotio
34. Sailors and fishermen from this Polynesian island are known for practicing a dangerous form of wave riding using only their hands and feet as flotation devices. What is this extreme sport called?
Answer: He’e nalu, a precursor to modern surfing that originated in ancient Hawaii
35. My name comes from the Māori words for “haka group.” I’m New Zealand’s famous all-male rugby team and we perform a traditional war cry dance called the haka before our matches. What am I?
Answer: The All Blacks
Riddles about Polynesian Architecture and Infrastructure
36. My name means “raised bowl” in Hawaiian. I was built in a place known as Kealakekua (“Pathway of the Gods”) along the slope of Mauna Loa volcano. What famous Polynesian landmark am I?
Answer: Pu’uhonua O Hōnaunau, the historic City of Refuge on Hawaii’s Big Island
37. This ceremonial complex on Rapa Nui Island contains a large collection of nearly 1,000 sacred moai statues, most of which were carved from solidified volcanic ash during the 10th to 16th centuries CE. What is it called?
Answer: Ahu Tongariki
38. This temple near Neiafu on Vava’u Island contains a detailed stone carving depicting the god Tu’i Tonga as well as the islands and reefs of Tonga. What is it called?
Answer: Ha’amonga ‘a Maui (Burden of Maui)
39. The name of this province in Samoa literally translates to “Sacred Center.” It’s home to star shaped tombs where chiefs were buried in ancient times, volcanoes, rainforests, waterfalls, and popular surf breaks. What is it called?
Answer: Atua
40. Early Spanish sailors called this archaeological site the “Venice of the Stone Age” when they discovered the manmade islets and walkways built across Tahitian marshlands around 1200 CE. What is it?
Answer: Mahaiatea marae
Riddles about Famous Explorers in Polynesia
41. In 1722, Dutch seafarer Jacob Roggeveen landed at Rapa Nui on Easter Sunday becoming the first European to visit the remote island. What did he rename the Polynesian island after the holiday?
Answer: Easter Island
42. British explorer Captain Samuel Wallis is credited with discovering this archipelago in 1767, although Polynesians had lived there for centuries. What island group got renamed after him?
Answer: The Samoan Islands, formerly known as the Navigator Islands
43. In 1767, this British naval officer landed at Matavai Bay becoming the first European to reach Tahiti. Islanders thought he was the god Lono because of a coincidence involving the annual harvest festival. Name him.
Answer: Captain James Cook
44. In 1777, this French explorer introduced breadfruit and other Polynesian plants to the Caribbean on behalf of King Louis XVI. His three ships all famously sank on the return voyage. Who was he?
Answer: Louis Antoine de Bougainville
45. This British missionary and linguist published the first Tahitian dictionary in 1851 and later translated the entire Bible into the island’s native language. What was his name?
Answer: Rev. John Davies
Riddles about Contemporary Polynesia
46. I’m an international beauty pageant held every year featuring contestants from Hawaii, French Polynesia, New Zealand, Tonga, and other island nations across Oceania. What event am I?
Answer: Miss Pacific Islands
47. This island country is the only sovereign nation in the world to be located completely south of the equator. European explorers originally named it after the Dutch province of Zeeland. What is this country’s current name?
Answer: New Zealand
48. This airline is the flagship carrier and largest international air service in New Zealand. The name means “to soar” in Māori and their jets feature a fern motif icon on the tail. What is it called?
Answer: Air New Zealand
49. Hawaii was the first Polynesian state or nation to formally recognize which minority group by legalizing same-sex unions in 2020 and gay marriage in 2015?
Answer: The LGBTQ+ community
50. This famous Polynesian navigator was commissioned by Disney to captain the Hokule’a, a replica voyaging canoe, from Hawaii to the Magic Kingdom for the grand opening of the Enchanted Tiki Room in 1963. What was his full name?
Answer: Timi “Tiny” Tikaramu
Riddles about Famous Polynesians
51. My ancestor James Hector brought the first New Zealand rugby team to tour the British Isles in 1905, helping spread the sport’s popularity internationally. I played professional rugby league before being elected Prime Minister of New Zealand in 2017. Who am I?
Answer: Jacinda Ardern
52. I am New Zealand’s most internationally recognized filmmaker. My 2009 vampire mockumentary set in Wellington and 2014 comedy focusing on the undead both became cult classics. Kia ora! What’s my name?
Answer: Taika Waititi
53. I was the first non-European and person of color to win a Nobel Prize when I received the Peace Medal in 1917 for my work to ban chemical weapons through the Red Cross. I was the queen of which Pacific island kingdom?
Answer: Liliʻuokalani, Hawaii’s last monarch and only reigning queen.
54. A fierce warrior in life, I inspired the payback character Utu in New Zealand’s first homegrown feature film. My life story did not end after British troops killed me in battle, however. According to spiritual custom, my head still lives on displayed in a national museum today. Who am I?
Answer: Te Kooti, the Ringatū prophet warrior who led guerilla raids against colonial forces in the late 1860s. His preserved head resides in the New Zealand Museum Te Papa Tongarewa.
55. I am a Hawaiian singer and musical anthropologist famous for reviving ancient chants, songs, and hula. The Smithsonian Folkways label called me “the songbird of Hawaii” and featured my music on Queen Lili’uokalani’s classic album. What is my name?
Answer: Emma Kaʻilikapuolono Sharp
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed this collection of riddles highlighting the rich culture, vivid history, and natural splendor of Polynesia. From brainteasers about Pacific exploration to puzzles drawn from indigenous myths, these island-inspired questions and curiosities are sure to challenge anyone’s mental voyage around Oceania! Let us know in the comments if you have any other favorite riddles about Hawaii, Easter Island, New Zealand, or other parts of this unique South Seas paradise.
