Mata Austronesia: Stories from an Ocean World

Mata Austronesia is a collection of illustrated stories told by Austronesians past and present—an (ethno)graphic novel. Mata, the word for “eye” in numerous Austronesian languages, represents the common origin of the many distinctive Austronesian peoples spread throughout their vast oceanic realm. The tales in this book immerse us in the beauty of this shared heritage, ancestral memory, and cultural legacy.

Millennia before the first Europeans ventured into the Pacific, Austronesian explorer...