Everything about Kanak totally explained
Kanak (formerly also
Canaque) are the
indigenous Melanesian inhabitants of
New Caledonia in the southwest
Pacific.
Kanaks comprise 45% of the total population of New Caledonia. The word is derived from
kanaka maoli, a
Hawaiian word which was at one time
applied indiscriminately by
European explorers, traders and missionaries in
the region to any non-European Pacific islander. Prior to European contact there was no unified state in New Caledonia, and no single
self-appellation used to refer to its inhabitants.
Other words have
been coined from
Kanak in the past few generations:
Kanaky is an ethno-political name for the island or the entire territory.
Kanéka is a musical genre associated with the Kanak, stylistically a form of
reggae with added flutes, percussion and
harmonies.
Kaneka often has political lyrics and is sung in
Drehu,
Paici or other
Melanesian languages, or in
French.
By contrast, "
Kanakas" were people from various Pacific Islands, who were recruited or
enslaved, to to perform
unfree labour in places such as
Australia,
California,
Canada,
Chile and
Fiji, during the
19th century. The German racial epithet
Kanake — which is now applied to all non-whites, even southern Europeans in some cases — also derives from the same source, and was originally applied to people from
German colonial possessions in Oceania.
Most Kanaks are
Christian, but a few still follow traditional beliefs. Ethnographic research have shown that
Polynesian seafarers have intermarried with the Kanaks over the centuries.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kanak'.
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