It’s a hint: a group from the Society Islands (9)
I believe the answer is:
tahitians
'the society islands' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are plural nouns, I don't see how they can define each other.
'it's a hint a group' is the wordplay.
'it's a hint a' can be anagrammed to 'TAHITIANS'.
Though, I'm unsure how this is indicated.
'from' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tahitians that I've seen before include "Islanders in the 1 ac" , "race on island" , "some 16 [ISLANDER] s" , "Polynesian types" , "some painted by Gauguin" .)