Austronesians

Natives of Mu and Southeast Asia

History

Austronesians are one of the three major groups, which populate Mu. Apart from them there are the Paleo-Magellanians and the Cipanguans . The Austronesian people originate on the island of Taiwan/Formosa and spread from there onwards over insular South East Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia and the double continent of Mu. Their ultimate origin lies most likely on the asian mainland. External relations to the Kra-Dai and Japonic languages are also under debate. Most primary groups of Austronesians remained on Taiwan, while a singular group left the island and spread over half the globe. The initial migration out of Taiwan happened around six to five thousand years ago. These peoples settled on the Phillippines, aswell as the Carolinas, Marianas and Palau. From there on their ways split until they would meet again on the continent of Mu.
The first group, which migrated eastward settled the remote islands of Micronesia until they reached the continent of Mu around four thousand years ago. The second group settled on the Phillippines and spread from there on trough Indonesia. At around the same time as the first Austronesians settled on Mu, Austronesian peoples reached Melanesia. From there on two groups migrated east towards Mu. One of them settled on the western coast, which came to be known as Chaluma, while the other stayed maritime and settled along the coasts. On Mu they met their long lost brethen. To conclude their history of settlement. The earliest group of Austronesians is called the Artemisian-Elizabethian group. They originate from Micronesia and are distantly related to the peoples of Palau and Guam. The later groups are of Oceanic descend, they are Chalumic-Biloan group and the Magellanesian group. The Chalumic-Bilaoan group became sedentary on the continent of Magellania, while the Magellanesian group remained maritime travelers and spread along the shores of both continents.

Real World Analogues

The Austronesians of Mu are of course mostly the same austronesian people as those of our world. There are however a few differences. Due to settling on a continent, which does not exist in our world, the patter of migration and expansion is different to the real Austronesians. Furthermore on their travels, they encountered different peoples from whom they took differing influences. While the languages and peoples have the same origin, their development differed at a certain point and changed gradually. While some may seem familiar, others have become a completely different people. The Magellanesian people for example are very close to the Polynesian people of our world, while the Artemisian people are entirely fictional.

Related Locations

• Cipangu
• Magellania
• Mu