MICRONESIAN JOURNAL OF THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Vol. 5, nº 1/2 Combined Issue November 2006

MICRONESIAN VIEWPOINT

RESTORING TRADITIONAL SEAFARING AND NAVIGATION IN GUAM by

Lawrence J. Cunningham, Ward Kranz, and Manny Sikau University of Guam Traditional Seafaring Society, Guam

Chamorro sailing vessels impressed early visi- makers, but also were spontaneous, gleeful, and tors to the Mariana Islands more than any playful. other aspect of the Chamorro culture. Hun- The typical outrigger canoe was 26 to 28 dreds of proas came out to greet and trade with feet long and less than two feet wide. The larg- the foreign explorers. These famous European est proa recorded in the early historical record navigators consistently described the was 42 feet in length. The long, deep, and rela- Chamorro proa as the best canoe of its type in tively narrow hull served as a keel. The average the world. They called it the “flying proa.” The size proa had a crew of five to seven men or ancient Chamorros had several names for their women. The smaller canoe hulls were made proas. The largest was the sakman and the out of the trunk of a breadfruit tree. Dokdok or slightly smaller proa a lelek. Medium-sized seeded breadfruit trees were preferred to the proas were dudings. The smallest proa with a sail lemmai or seedless breadfruit trees. Neverthe- was the duduli. Any canoe ready to carry a sail less, in the details about one large proa the became ladjak (sail). The same-sized craft with- craftsmen constructed the entire hull out of out a sail was a panga. An even smaller reef ca- da’ok (Calophyllum inophyllum). In the Carolines, noe was a galaide’. this wood is sometimes used for the keel, when The ancient Chamorro outrigger canoe had the proa must be frequently pulled over the a very sophisticated design, and the ancient rocky reef onto a sandy beach. Da’ok is also Chamorros had a successful navigation system, used for the struts between the outrigger float too. Laura Thompson, an anthropologist who and the outrigger arms. Carolinians also use studied Chamorro culture, claimed the outrig- da’ok for the end seats of the canoe, because ger canoe best expressed the spirit and cre- this wood has the strength to withstand the ativity of the Chamorros. She felt the “flying stress on the lines attached to them. Usually proa” demonstrated that the ancient Chamor- the Chamorros started with a single dugout ros were not just gatherers, farmers, and tool- tree trunk and built up the sides with planks. They split tree trunks and adzed them into

This contribution is not peer-reviewed. © Micronesian Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences ISSN 1449-7336 HeritageFutures™ International, PO Box 3440, Albury NSW 2640, Australia 314 Persistent identifier: http://www.nla.gov.au/nla.arc-65664 Restoring Traditional Seafaring and Navigation in the Marianas 315 smooth planks. Most proas were three to five Nevertheless, early drawings of Chamorro ca- feet deep. The thickness of the hull was about noes depict undecorated ends of the canoes. one inch at the gunwales and up to two inches The proas were either red, black, or white. thick at the keel. Da’ok hulls were no more They made the white paint from a mixture of than a finger width thick because this wood is coconut oil and quicklime. The red paint got heavier and stronger than the breadfruit wood. the color from red clay. Soot and charcoal The craftsmen lashed the planks together with from burnt coconut husks provided pigment coconut fiber rope and caulked these sewn for the black paint. Paint could also be made seams. They used a coarse braid of coconut fi- with lemmai sap. Both of these types of paint ber rope covered with putty made of powdered were very shiny and had a varnished look. They quicklime and coconut oil or heated breadfruit used a pounded section of a coconut husk for a sap for the caulking. This sap is a natural vege- paintbrush. table gum. The outrigger and its float kept the proa Master canoe builders used two dugout from turning over easily and served as a weight breadfruit tree trunks sewn together end to end to counterbalance the canoe against the force for vessels more than 18 feet in length. The sail of the wind on the sails. The ancient Chamor- yard and boom were probably made of pågu ros suspended the float from the ends of the (Hibiscus tiliaceus) or perhaps bamboo. The mast outrigger arms. When sailing, the outrigger and outrigger arms were likely made of any one arms and attached float must remain on the of several Marianas hardwoods. The mast had windward side of the canoe. They built a plat- to be strong, and as light as practical. Carolin- form for passengers and cargo over the outrig- ians frequently carve masts from drift-logs and ger frame. It is not clear in the historical record use the heavier wei wood for the outrigger if the ancient Chamorros had a lee platform arms. The ancient Chamorros shaped the out- like that of the Carolinian canoes still used to- rigger float out of breadfruit wood and at- day. Nevertheless, since they had contact with tached it to the outrigger arms by wood rods. the Carolines and the lee platform is so useful, These struts extended from the float to the it seems likely that the Chamorros had them, outrigger arms in a V-shape. It seems likely that too. the Chamorros used da’ok for these rods. The The “flying proa” has a single lateen (trian- float was about one-third to one-half the length gular) sail. The Chamorro proas, so impressed of the canoe. The canoe builder secured the Magellan, that he named Guam and the nearby outrigger arms through both sides of the ca- islands, Islas de los Latinas (The Islands of the noe. The mast in the illustration would lean Lateen Sails). Unfortunately, he later changed forward when under sail. Also, there was a the name to Islas de los Ladrones (The Islands deck built on the outrigger arms. It was likely of Thieves) because a group of Chamorros made of paipai (Guamia mariannae). took one of his small boats. Although the ends of the hull were the The lateen sail stretched between an upper same, the sides of the hull were different. The yard and a lower boom. The uppermost yard outrigger side of the hull was more rounded. fitted into a socket at the bow. The mast served The lee side opposite the outrigger was nearly to hold the yard and sail aloft. The mast leaned flat to offer resistance to leeward drift. This toward the bow. The bottom end of the mast asymmetrical hull counteracted the drag of the fitted into a socket at the middle of the length outrigger float. of the canoe just a little off center, favoring the The ends of the proa curved upward. outrigger side of the hull. The mast did not go Thomas Cavendish, who visited the Marianas to the bottom of the hull. It rested over the Islands in 1588, reported that there were outrigger side of the hull. Chamorros called the figureheads on the ends of the proas. The rigging lines, talin gapu. wooden busts had hair tied in one or two knots Women wove the pandanus sails called gua- at the crown and resembled the Chamorros. fak ladjak. During rainy weather, the sailors lowered and covered the sail. If the sail became 316 Restoring Traditional Seafaring and Navigation in the Marianas wet it was too heavy to use and would tear four or five. Boys, 14 years old, knew how to apart. A triangular-shaped sail allows a boat to sail. By the age of 16 or 18, young men set out sail close to the wind. This means that the to sea alone. In the Carolines, navigators with- sailor will have to tack less when sailing to a out male offspring, sometimes taught their windward destination. The narrow hull, more daughters to sail and navigate so that when rounded to the windward, and nearly flat to the they have sons, this knowledge can be passed lee side, also helped the ancient Chamorros sail on to the navigator’s grandsons. Some early fast and close to the wind without drifting off explorers described the ancient Chamorros as course. the best seamen yet discovered. Chamorros steered their small sailing ca- The people, we have come to call Chamor- noes with a hand held paddle. Carolinians use ros, were among the first to settle the open- Neisosperma oppositifolia wood to make paddles. ocean islands of Micronesia. Radio-carbon dat- In Chamorro this wood is called fagot. It seems ing and analysis of core soil samples suggest likely that the ancient Chamorros used this that they settled the Mariana Islands prior to hard, light wood, too. Along the reef they 2000 BC. This precedes the earliest dates for sometimes poled the canoe along. They steered settlement in Polynesia, too. The earliest set- larger proas with a staff attached to the upper tlement in Polynesia is generally thought to be end of a long board. This served as a rudder. in Tonga about 1100 BC. Care had to be taken to keep the outrigger to- The “flying proas” were very fast. One ac- ward the wind. The pressure of the wind on count estimated their speed at an unbelievable the sail tended to raise the float out of the 20 miles per hour. A four-day voyage to Manila water. If the outrigger was to leeward, the float is on record where the sailors averaged an in- would be driven under the water. This caused credible 12.5 knots. the canoe to capsize. The sails, when trimmed perfectly, allowed the outrigger float to skim along the surface of the ocean. If the wind on the sails raised the float out of the water, the navigator holding the sail by a sheet, let the wind spill out of the sail, or if maximum speed was desired, the crew moved out along the out- rigger arms to counteract the force of the wind. When sailing to windward, a sailor had to be careful. The outrigger must be kept to windward in order to tack, the sail had to be moved to the other end of the canoe. So what had just been the bow became the stern with each tack. This shunting required helmsman to be ready to move to the “new” stern. The helmsmen, with the help of two or three oth- Figure 1. Model of an Ancient Chamorro outrigger ers, moved the sail from end to end. A fifth sailing canoe based on a drawing from the George An- man bailed water out of the hull. An experi- son Expedition in the Marianas Islands in 1742 enced sailor held the sheet to the sail and con- (Photograph courtesy of the Richard Flores Taitano stantly trimmed the sails. In very strong winds Micronesian Area Research Center) the sail could be reefed by brailing up the The ancient Chamorros probably used boom. This reduced the area of the sail ex- something similar to the “flying proa” of the posed to the force of the wind. historical record as a means to colonize the Although families went sailing for pleasure, Mariana Islands. Besides adventuresome mis- there is nothing in the historical record to indi- sions of discovery and subsequent settlement, cate that women regularly sailed proas. Fathers the proas were used for trading, deep-sea fish- began to teach their sons to sail at the age of ing, visiting, and war. The ancient Chamorros Restoring Traditional Seafaring and Navigation in the Marianas 317 also used them for fun. They raced their canoes Soste Emwalu, from Polowat. Chamorro pio- and used them for family outings. neers, Rob Limtiaco and Gary Guerrero, stud- Proas were not docked in the water. Even ied navigation and canoe building in Polowat. though the canoes were painted, the water Under the tutelage of Manny Sikau, young would eventually rot them. Nor could the ca- men and women in Guam are memorizing the noes be left in the sun. The sun would crack stars that make up a star compass. They are the wood and dry out the vegetable gum caulk- learning the location of the islands in the West- ing. When the canoes were not in use, they ern Pacific, and the important sea marks such were beached and covered with coconut leaves, as banks, whirlpools, and sea life that are asso- or placed in a shed, or in large boathouses. ciated with each of them. With the help of Pam Some canoes were stored under the raised Eastlick at the University of Guam’s Planet- floor of latte houses. They even suspended arium, Manny Sikau teaches the directional some canoes under the elevated floor of their stars, and which islands they indicate from canoe houses. various locations throughout a voyage. He teaches novices that in the traditional naviga- NAVIGATION tion system a voyage is divided into segments Sailing was the a dangerous activity for early called etak. Conceptually, the navigator imag- humans. With all their skill in building canoes ines that the islands are moving and not the and developing a trustworthy navigation sys- proa. For each segment of the voyage a refer- tem, they could not always be sure of success. ence island falls under one point on the star Uncontrollable forces, like wind, bad weather, compass to the next. The angles that various currents, and hidden reefs could upset their ocean swells hit the canoe are observed when plans. The ancient Chamorros believed that the proa is on a proper star compass heading. humans could increase their control over these These angles are maintained to keep the proa natural elements and improve their good for- on course, during the daylight hours. The re- tune by trusting their ancestral spirits and fol- flection and refraction of these swells off- lowing spiritual rituals. Many of these rituals islands, flotsam, the cloud formations above have been lost. Other Micronesians’ sailing islands, and the paths of land-roosting birds customs are still practiced. They observe strict help expand the target for the destination measures to insure success. As the canoe is island. built, there are special ceremonies to satisfy With the help of Manny Sikau and the peo- supernatural forces. Besides careful observa- ple of Polowat, the Traditional Seafaring Soci- tion of the signs that predict weather, there are ety of the University of Guam purchased the also religious ceremonies prior to a voyage. QUEST, a 22 foot Carolinian outrigger sailing Carolinians trust the knowledge of their ances- canoe. Two members of the group along with tors and this gives them the courage to voyage nine skilled sailors and navigators from Polo- long distances in the open-ocean. wat sailed to Guam in May of 2001 on the Navigators from Polowat and Satawal in the QUEST and a 30 foot proa, the HALE- Central Carolines have best kept the knowledge METAW. This 505 mile leg of the voyage took of traditional seafaring alive. Today, through seven days with an 18 hour layover on the un- the graciousness of Manny Sikau a master inhabited island of Pilelot. Other members of navigator from Polowat Atoll, in the Federated the Traditional Seafaring Society then sailed States of Micronesia’s Chuuk State, some men from Guam to Saipan in June. The QUEST and women in Guam are learning traditional returned to Guam and the HALEMETAW re- navigation, proa building, and canoe house turned to Polowat from Saipan. In 2002, with construction. He is teaching the Fanurh School modern sailing craft, the Traditional Seafaring of navigation to the University of Guam’s Tra- Society voyaged to Pagan in the Northern ditional Seafaring Society members. Dr. Vi- Marianas. In December of 2002, typhoon cente M. Diaz, and Alberto Lamorena V began Pongsona destroyed the Traditional Seafaring this process in the mid-1990s with the help of Society’s canoe house at the Paseo in Guam 318 Restoring Traditional Seafaring and Navigation in the Marianas and seriously damaged the QUEST. Members or Columbus (AD 1492) sailed the Atlantic, the of the Traditional Seafaring Society spent most Chamorros and other Pacific peoples were sail- of 2003 repairing typhoon damage, so they ing in the open-ocean waters of the Pacific. In could attend the 9th Annual Festival of the Pa- 1742, George Anson, a British commander, cific in July of 2004. They had hoped to build a recognized just what an extraordinary inven- proa in the Marianas and sail it to Palau, but tion the “flying proa” was. He admitted that because of the typhoon, they were not able to any nation, no matter how skillful and intelli- complete that project. Hopefully, a Chamorro gent, would be proud of such a technological “flying proa,” either built in Guam or by Noel accomplishment. These proas sailed better and Quitugua in Saipan, will find its way to the 10th faster than any in the world at that time. They Annual Festival of the Pacific in 2008. Another passed the other ships like a bird flying by. An- possibility is to carve a Chamorro style canoe tonio Pigafetta, Magellan’s chronicler and an in American Samoa, the site of the next Festi- eyewitness, said that in 1521 the red, white, and val of the Pacific. The Traditional Seafaring black Chamorro proas jumped from wave to Society rebuilt their canoe house (Såyan Tasi wave as if they were dolphins. With the exper- Fache Mwan – Vessel of the Sea Meeting House tise of Master Navigator, Manny Sikau from of the Great Spirits) in the Spring of 2006. It is Polowat in Chuuk State, Federated States of located at the Paseo de Susanna, along the Ha- Micronesia, the effort, sacrifice, and dedication gatna Boat Basin channel. We are also building of his seafaring students, and with the indomi- a small Chamorro paddling canoe in 2006. table Micronesian spirit, we are reviving this proud tradition in Guam. CONCLUSION It is interesting to note how different ancient AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY AND CONTACT Chamorro and modern watercraft are. Today Lawrence J. Cunningham, EdD. is a Research Asso- people try to overcome the forces of nature by ciate at the Richard Flores Taitano Micronesian building strong, sturdy boats. Sometimes the Area Research Center, University of Guam and fac- forces of nature are too strong, and modern ulty advisor for the Traditional Seafaring Society. boats are broken beyond repair. The ancient He is the author of Ancient Chamorro Society, 1992; and co-author of A History of Guam, 2001, Guam: A Chamorros designed their proa in harmony Natural History, 2001, and Micronesian Texts for the K- with nature. They lashed it together. It could 12 Reader: A Selection Guide, 2002. In 2001, he voy- give instead of breaking. If it did break, it aged in a traditional outrigger canoe from Polowat would do so at the lashed points, so it could be to Guam. repaired, even at sea. Modern man tends to Ward Kranz, a key member of the University of view nature as an enemy that must be con- Guam Traditional Seafaring Society, teaches Japa- quered. The ancient Chamorros saw that they nese at George Washington High School, in Guam, were part of nature and chose to live in har- builds outrigger canoes, and is a student of Mi- mony with nature. Modern ecologists are be- cronesian navigation and history. In 2001 he voy- ginning to appreciate this fundamental aged in a traditional outrigger sailing canoe from Saipan to Guam. principle. The grandson of Ikuliman, Manny Sikau, is an or- The ancient Chamorros had a navigation dained master navigator from Polowat, FSM. He is system that allowed them to sail out of the co-author of “The Persistence of Central Carolinian sight of land and return. Some men were Navigation. ISLA: A Journal of Micronesian Studies, named Faulos-gna, which translates as “fortu- 2(2, Dry Season 1994). He has taught classes at the nate navigator;” others were named Agad-gna University of Guam in traditional navigation and (deft in the art of steering a canoe). The ancient canoe house building, and is the master navigator of Chamorros used the wind, waves, and stars to the university’s Traditional Seafaring Society. In navigate. Birds, clouds, swells, and even phos- 1972, at the age of 13, he voyaged in a traditional phorescence in the water could lead them to a outrigger canoe from Polowat to Guam. In 2001, he repeated this trip, as the captain and navigator. Cur- safe landfall. Not a hundred years but thou- rently, he is directing the building of a Chamorro sands of years before Leif Ericson (AD 1000) style paddling canoe. Restoring Traditional Seafaring and Navigation in the Marianas 319