Austronesian peoples

Hello! We are the Austronesian peoples. A very long time ago, our families lived on an island called Taiwan. We were brave explorers! We looked out at the big, blue water and wanted to see what was there. We decided to go on a great adventure to find new homes.

To travel, we built special boats. They were called outrigger canoes. These canoes had special supports on the side to help them stay steady on the waves. Our boats were strong and helped keep us safe on our big adventure. We sailed and sailed across the giant ocean, looking for new islands to call home.

Our boats were full of important things for our new homes. We packed seeds for yummy plants to grow in our gardens. We also brought friendly pigs and chickens with us on our canoes. Having plants and animals meant our families would always have food to eat.

Our journey took us to so many new places! We found beautiful islands all across the water. Today, our big family lives all around the world. You can find our communities in places like the Philippines and Hawaii. Some of our families sailed all the way to an island near Africa called Madagascar!

We are a big family of sailors and explorers. Our great journey across the water helped us find new homes and share our way of life. Our story is a story of adventure on the ocean, and it continues with our families today.