Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 9 (Oceanic).djvu/23



HE myths and tales in this volume have been gathered from all parts of Oceania, and it may be wise, therefore, at the outset to indicate just what area is included in our survey; to sketch very briefly the character of the peoples and the environment in which they live; and to state the general plan and purpose of the book.

The use of the term Oceania is, and has been, rather variable. By some it is taken to include only the smaller islands of the Pacific Ocean, comprised for the most part within the limits of Polynesia and Micronesia, while others extend the application of the term so as to include also Melanesia as well as the whole group of the East Indies. In the present case it is this latter usage which is followed, and the great island-continent of Australia, together with its appendage of Tasmania, is further added. Thus by Oceania will be meant all island areas, great or small, from Easter Island to Sumatra and from Hawaii to New Zealand.

This great region may, for our purposes, be conveniently divided into five sections: (1) Polynesia, which may be roughly defined as including all the islands lying east of the 180th meridian, together with New Zealand; (2) Melanesia, comprising the huge island of New Guinea, together with all the islands and archipelagos extending therefrom to the east and southeast as far as Fiji and New Caledonia; (3) Indonesia, which includes all the islands often spoken of as the East Indies, and extends from the Moluccas on the east to Sumatra on the west, and from Java and Timor in the south to the northern extremity of the Philippines; (4) Micronesia, composed, as its name implies, mainly of small islands, and occupying the area