Islands of exile: Ideological motivation in maritime migration

One of the enduring questions about maritime migration is what impels it. Answers are not likely to be simple or cast only in material terms. This paper considers the importance of exile. It is shown as a major factor in maritime migration to islands historically, and as important also in traditions of island colonization. One area of migratory seafaring in which exile was probably manifested is religious exile. Variation in the distribution of ceremonial architecture between east and south Polynesia is considered in that light, and it is concluded that systematic research might disclose the relevance of the ritual landscape to our understanding of the origins of maritime migration.