The Carolinian people (endonym: Refaluwasch) are a Micronesian ethnic group who originated in the Caroline Islands, with a total population of over 8,500 people in the Northern Mariana Islands. They are also known as Remathau in Yap's outer islands. Refaluwasch means "People of the Deep Sea." It is thought that their ancestors may have originally migrated from Asia and Melanesia to Micronesia around 2,000 years ago. Their primary language is Carolinian, called Refaluwasch by native speakers, which has a total of about 5,700 speakers. The Refaluwasch traditionally have a matriarchal society. Most Refaluwasch are of the Roman Catholic faith.
The emigration of Refaluwasch to Saipan began in the early 19th century, after the Spanish reduced the local population of Chamorro natives to just 3,700. They began to emigrate, sailing in small canoes from the Carolines, which had been devastated by typhoons. Being indigenous to a more southern archipelago than the Marianas, they generally have a darker complexion than the native Chamorros.
