polynesia

​"The subject of the direction from which the Polynesian ancestors came is fascinating. The traditional narratives contain frequent references to voyages toward the rising sun, and myths state that after death the spirit of man turns toward the setting sun to retrace the long journey to the ancient homeland in the west. A frequent objection raised against the early voyages from west to east is that the Polynesian voyaging canoes could not have overcome the insuperable barrier presented by the prevailing trade winds, which blew from the general direction of east. However, it is well known that westerly winds prevail for certain parts of the year, and there are recorded instances of canoes and ships traveling hundreds of miles to the east on westerly winds. Thus, in the early voyages from west to east through Polynesia, adventurous explorers could have sailed east on the westerly winds and returned home on the trade winds to report their discoveries. The fact that the traditions of the inhabitants of Hawaii and New Zealand trace the origin of both peoples to the Society Islands, is ample proof that the Polynesian voyagers were capable of working their way north and south. Thus, when the belated European explorers made their way into the Pacific, they found every habitable island within the Polynesian triangle occupied by the descendants of an earlier race of deep-sea navigators."

Te Rangi Hiroa, An Introduction to Polynesian anthropology, Honolulu, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, 1945, p. 10.
​[Part of: Tidal Pools: Digitized Texts from Oceania for Samoan and Pacific Studies] 
​http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BucIntr-t1-front-d3.html