Contents

Introduction ...... 1 Sam Low, Ph.D. TheproducerofThe Navigatorsdescribesastorm-tossed voyage duringwhich MauPiailug outwits a satellitenavigational computer. The Polynesians: A Pacific Odyssey 2 Patrick V. Kirch, Ph.D. A foremostarchaeologist tellshow scientistshaverevealed the seafaring geniusof Polynesian navigators. Wind, Wave, and Stars: A Sea of Natural Signs 8 Stephen Thomas Mau Piailug teaches a young American navigator tosteer a ca noeby starand ocean swell. Canoe House Tales: The Poetry of Discovery 14 Marjorie Sinclair Polynesian poetry and Micronesian songs reveal the inner life ofa seafaring people. Teacher's Guide 17 Classroom projects and discussion make The Nav igators a useful toolfor teachers. Museum.s 18 Museum exhibits for further exploration. Bibliography 19 An annotated list of useful books and articles. Glossary 20 Unfamiliar words aredefined.

'E,e Pacific Ocean, is la~c.;er than all of tile earth's continentscombined. Tileislandsin this Past ocean arca weresettledby intrepidseafa rers whobegan tileirl'Oyages ofexploratioll thousands of years before the Pacific was "discovered" by

HawaIIan Islands EI/ropcans.

Somoa Huah ine I Tuamotus TO~ Tahiti Nluatoputapu I Easter Island

C OZI er: A Samtoaicsc sailins canoe skim« thmush lleaFI! seas. (COl/ rtesyStephen Tlunna«) Introductio

A storm-tossed night revealsthe genius ofMau Piailug. By Sam Low, Ph.D.

hile filming The Navigators we journeyed with Mau Piailug and his crew to the W tiny coral island of West Fayu. On the third day, I watched Mau as he intently studied the sky at dusk. "We must leave right away,"he told me. Mau had discovered signs of bad weather in the sky and predicted a storm would arrive that night and would last for at least three days. If we didn't leave immediately, we would be stranded on West Fayu. Within minutes Mau had launched his 28-foot outrigger canoe, and I was

~ ~~ ~ '"'- __.:"L _ .L._...... _ -..r>.tj6 ...... J..;...... n_ t:..o _C,... e-. J. aboard the expedition's 60-foot schooner with my camera crew. We headed out through the narrow opening in the reef, intending to sail in company on the 60-mile voyage to Satawal. As darkness fell, the wind M au Piailug'scanoesailsindeepwateroutsidethereefthatsurroundsSatawal. (Courtesy Stephen Thomas) picked up and the sky clouded over. Soon we could no longer see the canoe Satawal, having made good speed to my appropriate status, a prisoner of in the pitch black of the stormy night. through the night. my own culture; a slave to gadgets, The film crew sailed in comfort The captain and I agreed Mau was pilot books and charts; a "sailor" accus­ aboard the schooner. We navigated by lost. We would sail to Satawal and re­ tomed to a dry bunk even in the worst compass, chart and a unique satellite trace our course in a search pattern for storm. After that night, my admiration navigational system. Somewhere in the his canoe. for Mau and for men like him who gloom, Mau and his men endured As Satawal rose slowly from the sea sailed across vast and empty seas was sheets of rain that blanketed the sea directly ahead of us, we took turns unshakable. Sadly, I realized that I around us and whipping winds that using binoculars to scan the island. A could never enter Mau's world, I could gusted to 40 knots. The sea was a con­ tiny speck bobbed off the entrance only refine my appreciation for it. fused roil of waves as surface winds through the reef. Could it be? I hope that the film we have made threw new wave sets against the under­ As we drew nearer, the canoe took on contains some of the awe that we all felt lying swells caused by distant trade sufficient detail to identify it. Not only in the presence of Mau Piailug, and as winds. Without a compass or even the had Mau unerringly found his way we discovered the archaeological foot­ stars to guide him, Mau must be steer­ through that tempestuous night, he steps left behind by ancient navigators ing his canoe by these swells, yet I had reached Satawal before us! who voyaged across the relentless Pa­ could not understand how it would be It was a humbling experience. Hav­ cific thousands of years ago. In the humanly possible to do so. ing studied Mau's techniques, I under­ annals of seafaring, their achievement I slept fitfully that night, aware that stood how it was possible to navigate is second to none. the schooner's engine was started twice without instruments, relying instead when the wind died, to be shut down on a world of natural signs. I even Sam Low, producerofThe Navigators, again as the wind picked up, often thought with practice I, too, could learn is an anthropologist whose films focus on blowing from a new direction. With the to navigate as he did. That thought had seafaring peoplesaround the world. dawn we were only twelve miles from vanished with the storm. I was reduced

The Navigators 1 cha rted waters, to find even the most remo te islands of th e Pacific had al­ rea dy been discovered and colonized. The peopl e of these islands had no wr itten langu age. They used no com­ pass, cha rts or navigation al instru­ The Polynesians: ments. The ir conq ues t of the Pacific was a mystifying feat. The more astute Euro pea n explorers, A Pacific Odyssey like Captain James Coo k of th e British Royal Nav y, quickly rea lized th at th e native peoples of such widely scattered islands as Hawaii, Easter Island and On remote tropical islands, scientists discoverclues to the ocean New Zealand were closely related . These islanders spoke mutually intelli­ voyages ofan ancient seafaring people. gible langu ages and shared many cul­ By Patrick V. Kirch, Ph .D. tural traits. "How shall we account for this Nation spreading itself over such a vast ocean?" Cook asked upon discov­ ering th e Hawaiian islands in A.D. 1778. In th e two centur ies follow ing Cook's discovery of Hawaii, man y theories have been prop osed to explain th e settleme nt of this vast ocea n area . One th eory held th at th e Polynesians he tropical sun zle th at has intrig ue d us for were descendants of South American beat down on many years: Wh o were th e Indian s who drifted into the Pacific on th e sandy plain Polyn esian s? Where had rafts; another proposed that the islands Twhere I worked th ey come from? How had were settled from Asia, during a slow with my Tongan ass is­ they settled such a vast area process of accide ntal discovery by tants to clear fau trees and of the Pacific? canoes blown out to sea during violent tangled underbrush from Polyn esia (the term liter- storms; and, for a tim e, th e most radi­ the site of an ancie nt Poly­ ally means "ma ny cal theory was that Polynesia had been nesian village. From where islands") forms a settled by a seafaring peopl e who n e s i a ~ Fr~ m "w h~re 1 si analS" n~Fm~ "'a village. settled ' by ; se~ar i ng' people'-wn o I stood, on a gentle rise, I triangle with Ha- sailed from Southeast Asia on inten ­ looked out at the _ _"" c'~ waii, Easter Island tional voyages of discovery. This last lagoon surrounding and New Zealand theory would eventually win out, but the Tongan island at the apices, con- only after a long process of collabora­ of Niuatop utapu . taining an area tive research by scientists in th e fields The deep azure more th an twice of anthropo logy, linguistics, ethno­ waters of the lagoon lapped at a glisten­ th e size of th e contine ntal United botan y and archaeology. ing white beach. Geologists have deter­ States. Today, we can travel by jet from mine d th at Niua toputapu is rising ­ Londo n to Hawaii in less th an a day. ne of th e first clues to the ori­ tectonic plates the size of contine nts Centuries ago, th e great European gins of th e Polynesians was beneath the PacificOcean are thrusting navigators who "discovered" the Pacific found by examining the crops the island slowly and inexorably up­ spe nt months, even years at sea to O they grew. According to eth­ war d . If this is true, I reasone d that the make the same journey. Imagine their nobotani sts, who study how human ancient beach and its accompanying surprise, after slowly tacking th eir way societies use and interact with the plant settlements would now be found above across thou sands of miles of un- world, all of the plants th at we now cul­ the mod ern beac h, somewhere on this tivate were do mesticated from species gentle san dy slop e. th at once grew wild . The process of "Sio mai, Petu," One of my assistants domesticating wild plants led to varie­ had spo tted some thing. ties that yielded much greater harvests, As we pulled away th e tangled but could only grow and reproduce bru sh , I saw it too - a sma ll, see mingly with the aid of man . ins ignificant potsh erd . On th e surface The ancie nt Polynesians cultivated a of th e sherd were complex geo me trical wide variety of plants such as taro, designs, which th e ancient potter had breadfruit, yams, and bananas. Ethno­ pressed into the clay while it was still botanists have discovered that the wild damp.The design s were familiar. ancestors of all these Polynesian crops Other archaeologists had found similar L apita potsherd with stylized human fa ce, are fou nd in the region of Southeast pottery througho ut th e southwestern Main Reef Islands, dating to circa 1100 B.C. Asia and New Guinea. It was here that Pacific. Called Lapita, its discovery here (Above) Hawaiian man in cape and helmet, they were first dom esticated, to be car­ on this remote Polynesian island would engraving by fohn Webber. (Courtesy Bishop ried throu ghout th e Pacific by adve n­ help archaeologis ts understand a puz- Museum) turous seafarers. Similarly, th e three 2 The Navigators animals kept by the Polynesians-pigs, dogs, and fowl-were also domesti­ cated in Asia and were unknown in the Americas until after the time of Colum­ bus. Thus, even before systematic archaeological excavations, the evi­ dence provided by domesticated plants and animals indicated that the Polyne­ sians migrated from the west. Linguistic research supports this pic­ ture . A first step in linguistic analysis is the comparison of words. Captain James Cook noted that all the Polynesian languages, such as Tahitian, Hawaiian and Samoan, shared similar words and so he guessed that all these languages were related. Modern lin­ guistic studies now also show that (Above) A rtistswhotraveledwith thefirstEuropeanexplorers provideuswith scenesof daily life Polynesian languages share similarities inancient Polynesian villages. Thisis aviewofKauaibyJohnWebberwhovoyagedwith CaptainJames with hundreds of languages through­ Cookduring the years 1776to 1779. (Courtesy Bishop Museum) out the western Pacific and island (Below)Painstakingcarein theexcavationofancient Polynesianvillages, likethisoneontheTahitian Southeast Asia. One such language is island ofHuahine, reveals the richcomplexity ofPolynesianculture. (Courtesy BishopMuseum) Malay, spoken in many areas of island .y. ,'r Southeast Asia . The Malay word for • "coconut," a staple crop in both Malay­ sia and Polynesia, is Niur. In Hawaiian the word is Niu. The Malay word for "eye," maia, compares with the Hawai­ ian equivalent, maka; and the word for "five," is limain both languages. These languages share hundreds of similar words because both Hawaiian and Malay are descended from an ancient tongue called Proto-Austronesian. Proto- tongue called Proto-Austronesian. Proto­ Austronesian is an extinct language once spoken somewhere in the area of Indo­ nesia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. As the ancestors of the Polynesians spread out from this homeland, linguists argue, their language underwent slow and regular changes, gradually becom­ ing the family of languages we now call Polynesian. The languages spoken by While ethnobotanists and linguists decade following World War II when the people who remained in the Proto­ can show that the ancestral Polynesians pioneering archaeologists like Kenneth Austronesian homeland diversified and originated in the west, they cannot tell Emory of the Bishop Museum , and gradually evolved into the many us exactly when these seafarers pointed Edward Gifford of California put spade languages spoken throughout island their canoes toward the rising sun, or to earth in Pacificisland sites and found Southeast Asia today. what routes they followed to settle the large arrays of prehistoric stone, bone, By studying the similarities and dif­ most remote islands of the eastern Paci­ and shell tools and ornaments, as well ferences in Pacific languages, a family fic. Answers to these questions are pro­ as pottery sherds. tree can be constructed. This tree vided by archaeology, the scientific In 1950, a revolutionary scientific shows that the ancestors of the people excavation of the material remains technique was developed that pro­ now speaking Tahitian and Hawaiian (such as pottery and stone tools) left vided a way to date archaeological ma­ branched off from each other relatively behind by the settlers of the Pacific. terials such as those from Polynesia. recently; while the ancestors of both Before 1950, most scholars assumed Called radiocarbon (or carbon 14) dat­ Tahitian and Hawaiian speakers that the Polynesians and other Pacific ing, this technique uses the steady rate branched off from Proto-Austronesian islanders had migrated into the Pacific of decay of radioactive carbon atoms as speakers in the very distant past, per­ relatively recently, perhaps only a few a "natural clock." Radioactive carbon haps six thousand years ago. Thus lin­ hundred years before the arrival of the exists naturally in our atmosphere and guists are able to demonstrate not only first Europeans. They further assumed is taken into plants during photosyn­ that the homeland of the ancestral that archaeological excavations would thesis. Plants, in turn, are eaten by ani­ Polynesians was in Southeast Asia, but yield few material remains from the mals and so carbon 14 atoms are taken also that the direction of their Pacific prehistoric period. These assumptions into their bodies as well. While they are migration was from west to east. were shown to be utterly false in the alive, the amount of radioactive carbon

A Pacific Odyssey 3 by pressing woo de n tools into th e clay while it was still damp. The artistic style of these designs is so distinctive th at archaeologists are able to say that Lapita pottery was ma de by peopl e who shared a commo n culture- the "Lapita peopl e." Lapita pottery has now been discovered in dozen s of archaeological sites from New Guinea and th e Bis­ mark archipelago in th e wes t, th rou gh th e Solomo ns, New Hebrides and on to th e islands of Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga, 2800 miles to th e east. Artifacts from archaeologica l excavations on these islands (including finds of adzes, fishhooks, orname nts, coral files, and Lapita pottery) document th e rapid migratio n of this ea rly seafaring people, th e ancestors of th e mode rn Polynesians, the eastern Melan esians, and ma ny of th e Micronesian peopl es. (Above) TvaplanksfromanancientPolynesiancanoehavebeendiscoveredbtJ archaeologistYosihiko In 1976, I was able to fill in an impor­ Sinoto 011 the Tahitian islandof Huahine. tant p iece of the Lapita puzzle through (Below)Dr. YosihikoSinoto (right)andauthorDr. PatrickKirch(left)examineartifactsfromHuahine. my excavations on the Tongan island of Analysisofthesefinds allmvs Sinotototracethevoyaging routesofearly Polynesian seafarers. (Photos: Niuatoputapu . As the leader of a courtesy BishopMuseum) Bisho p Muse um archaeological expe di­ tion, I had gone there to excavate th e settleme nts of the first peopl e to dis­ cover and colonize Niuatoputapu, peo­ ple who had brought Lapita pottery with th em aboard th eir voyaging canoes. We soon discovered th at th e island was rich in the ves tiges of an-

~m~g~s:.~xs~:~?_~t.!g!tt~ ~j~J)LU!t1,i.t3. it.! cient Lapita villages. Excavating in th e earl iest sites, we found pottery dec­ orated with intricate geome tric patterns arranged to form ornate and beautiful designs. Several years later, when I was excavating an early settleme nt on th e island of Tikopia , more th an 600 miles to the wes t of Niuatoputapu, I found more of this decorated Lapita pottery. The designs were virtua lly identical, testifying to th e common cultural roots of th e early Pacific peoples . Other archaeological clues also 14 in plants and animals is in equilib­ that required many thousands of years affirm th at th e Lapita peopl e we re rium with that in the atmosphere. to complete, and that the prehistory of expert seafarers. Flake tools mad e of When they die, however, no new car­ Polynesia was a rich and complex sub­ obsidia n and chert are frequently bon 14 is taken in and th ese atoms ject, worthy of intensive study. Archae­ found in Lapitasites . By using spectro­ begin to decay, to lose their radioac­ ological surveys and excavations have graphic analysis, archaeologists have tivity. The rate of decay is now known, now been conducted throughout Poly­ been able to detect minute differen ces so organic materials can be dated by nesia, as well as on Melanesian and in the chemical make-up of these m a­ measuring the amount of radioactive Micronesian islands fur ther west. As a terials - a "che mical fingerprint." Th is carbon that remains in them . One of result, the story of the peopling of the research shows that some of th e obsid­ the most common artifacts used in Pacific islands is rapidly emerging. ian was quarried in Talasea, New such dating is wood charcoal from Britain (an islan d jus t north of New ancient hearths. erhaps the single most impor­ Guinea) and carried by canoe to th e Radiocarb on da tes showed th at tant archaeological clue to th e Reef and Santa Cruz Islands, 1200 Tonga had been settled by 1250 B.C., actual voyaging routes of the miles away. This inter-island trad e thousan ds of years earlier than had Pfirst Pacific settlers is a style of flourishe d for more th an six centuries, been supposed. With this discovery, pottery called Lapita. This reddish a testament to th e navigational skills of scien tists realized that the Polynesian earthenware pottery is dis tinguished the ancient "Lapita people." islands were settled during a process by a rich embroidery of designs ma de The makers of Lapitapottery reache d 4 The Navigators voyages. Halawa was an ideal place to plant crops, harvest the deep bay for fish and mollu scs, and establis h a new community. From the dark, charcoal­ staine d layer th at marks the remains of . -, • Hawaiian Islands their village, we recovered artifacts that .• :". 500 A.D. , '. Mariana Islands were unlike those see n by Cook whe n J f~-;;:z:-""""',:'c'; R 0 • he discovered Hawaii centur ies later. Island S.E. Asia. M N ES 1-4 • Marshall Islands These early adzes, fishhooks, and 4000 ·2000 B C -. " •Caroline •' ~y ",J Sata':al . ': ', .Is~ands•••• orna me nts are closer in style to th ose Line Islands' • '111II"J• ":Gilbert found in early Marquesan sites provid­ eII...-.'" Bismarks -,',.!slands ~ ~ 2000 ing evide nce tha t th e first Hawaiian s .. y •• ...... Be . 'Ii_.." carne from th e Marquesas, thou sands ..~. Samoa M t: l-41V • New Hebrides 1000 Be ' · Marquesas Islands of miles to the south . Other early es 1-4 ..I, 1600 Be , . "j" 300 A.D. Hawaiian sites, on Oahu and at South , ~. 4"<' 'V . Huahme Point on Hawaii, provid e similar evi­ \1 " • FIJI : ' 0 .. ..: ~T~hl

Tonga o Society Islands den ce. Some centuries after th e first 12OOB.e. " 6ooAD. Nl uatoput8.pU se ttle me n t of Hawaii from the Marquesas, later voyagers arrived from \ Easter Island - ~ 400 A.D. .., the Society Islands, bringing new idea s and new typ es of artifacts. -.JItNew Zealand • ~ BODA.D. New Zealand was settled from the Society Islands by abo ut 900 A.D . Be­ fore th e close of the first millenium after Christ, Polynesian navigators had I ll'Pacific wassettledby 0 111'ofthe utost extensite ntigrations in luunanliistoru. Scientis tsare 1l0 W able to tracethese darillg oceall l'oyagesand date the discol'ery of the Pacific's inaior islalids. man aged th e incredible feat of dis­ (Col/rtesy Bishop Musel/III) cover ing and settling the mo st remote islands on earth . Niuatoputapu and other Tongan is­ lon g up-wind voyage from wes tern lands by about 1250B.C., and probably Polynesia (perha ps Samoa) to discover colonized the Samoan islands no t long the Marquesas Islands. Not long after, after. These were th e first Polyn esian the Society Islands (including the islands to be settled. Althou gh th e fam ous isle of Tahiti) were settled . On archaeological picture for Micronesia is th e verda nt island of Huahine, about 1 ~Rtultf'RR ~NNJ1dWtlsbPf mtnliebl'O'g}lcfi lvnctmrtY:,}d,\§ Hmw:i}e. ITrchitilJ,'lc¥uffih not yet weJl und erstood, pottery h as 100 miles northwest of Tah iti, my col­ been found in early sites on Ponape leagu e Yosihiko Sinoto of the Bishop and Truk, and more finds are expected. Mu seum has mad e star tling archaeo­ It would appea r that these islands were logical discoveries wh ich bring th ese also settled by descendants of the Lapita voyages to life. In 1981, Sino to exca­ people, perhap s beginning in th e first vated two planks, a steering paddle, millenium B.C. Thus the people of cen­ and a mast from a Polyn esian voyaging tral and eas tern Micronesia, including cano e. These wooden ar tifacts were those of Satawal (the horne of Mau miraculou sly preserved by a tidal wave Piailug) prob ably share a commo n which inundated the village more than ancestry with th e Polyn esian s. 1100years ago, burying th em in a pro­ B readfrUit is a clue to Polunesian origins. Once th e Lapita peopl e had settled tective layer of mud . From the length of Tonga and Samoa, a number of gradual th e paddle, Sino to estimates th at the h at mo tive s lay behind cha nges in language and cultu re over canoe it belonged to must have been 80 these grea t feats of voyaging the next several hundred years resulted feet lon g. Here at last was th e tangible an d discovery? Perhaps the in the development of a uniquely Poly­ evide nce that allows us to reco ns truct W p ress ure of growing popu ­ nesian culture. One of th e most impor­ the kinds of canoes that made the long­ lation s on sma ll islands, an d subse­ tant changes was the gradual loss of the est voyages of all- to New Zealand, quent wars for scarce land and food, potter's art, for reasons that we can as Easter Island, and Hawaii. drove weaker faction s off in search of yet onl y guess at . It may also be that in Easter Island and the Hawaiian unoccupied lands. Whil e some islands the widely scattered islands of Tonga Islands were probably settled by voy­ may have been settled in this manner, it and Samoa, the first true Polyn esian s agers from th e Marquesas as early as is unlikely th at "population pressure" sharpe ne d th eir voyaging and naviga­ the fourth century A.D. In th e Ha lawa can explain th e who le picture of Poly­ tional skills, to th e point where they valley, on the eas tern end of Moloka i, I nesian dispersal. Perhaps th e younger would be able to discover and settle excavated an early Hawaiian site during sons of chiefs set out to discover lands nearl y every spot of land in the remote th e summers of 1969 and 1970. In th is whe re they could be chiefs themselves eas tern Pacific. fertile valley, a perman ent strea m and and establish th eir ow n lines as domi­ Possibly as early as 200 B.C., but cer­ rich alluvial soils provided ideal con­ nant. Or, could it simply have been that tainly no later than 300 A.D., at least dition s for taro irrigation . Here, early the ances tral Polynesians were imbued one voyaging canoe lad en with crop seafare rs found the kind of environ­ with a sort of "wanderlus t," a cultur­ plan ts and domestic animals made the ment th ey were see king on their long aJly-ing raine d desire to search ever

A Pacifi c Odyssey 5 voyages. Halawa was an ideal place to pla nt crops, harvest the deep bay for fish and molluscs, and establish a new commun ity. From the dark, charcoal­ stained layer that marks the remains of

• o .• Hawaiian Islands their village, we recovered artifacts that . ·:".500A.D. , :. Mariana Islands were unlike those seen by Cook when he discovered Hawaii cen turies later. J t~-p- -""""',:'c';R a • Island S.E . Asia.... M NE S I A • Marsha ll Islands These early adzes, fishhooks, and 4000 -2000 BC-... " Caroline ...

~ .Is~ands ~.," Sala';a l•. : ". •••. orna me nts are closer in style to those , I Gilbert found in early Marquesan sites provid­ .J A Blsmarks •....)slandS ...... ~ 2000 ing evidence that the first Hawaiians .. '.J ..BC. "'''y'Ii...,. .... came from the Marquesas, thousands ~ ~ Samoo E l A • New Hebrides 1000 B C of miles to the south . Other early N E S t "! ..I, 1600BC , ••;_---""j Hawaiian sites, on Oahu and at South .,~.4· "j V -- "" Point on Hawaii, provide similar evi­ " . FIJI "' •·" 0 " . Tonga l'l ~SoCleIYIslands dence. Some centuries after the first 1200 B.C "' _ . 600 A.D . • Nluatoputapu ~~ • set tlement of Hawaii from the ~ Marquesas, later voyagers arrived from ,, Easte r Island • .., ~ 400 A.D. the Society Islands, bringing new ideas and new types of artifacts. ...JItNew Zealand .,. 800 A.D. New Zealand was settled from the Socie ty Islands by about 900 A.D. Be­ fore the close of the first millenium I ll:Paciiic wassettledbyolleofthe1II0Stextellsiw lIIigratiolls illliuntan history. Scientistsare1l0W after Christ, Polynesian navigators had able to trace these darillgocealll'oyages and date the discol'ery of the Pacific's ntaior islands, managed the incredible feat of dis­ (Courtesy Bishop Mllselllll) covering and settling the most remote islands on earth. Niuatoputapu and other Tongan is­ long up-wind voyage from wes tern lands by about 1250B.C., and probably Polynesia (perhaps Samoa) to discover colonized the Samoan islands not long th e Marquesas Islands. Not long after, after. These were the first Polynesian th e Socie ty Islands (incl uding th e islands to be settled . Although the famo us isle of Tahiti) were settled. O n archaeological picture for Micronesia is the verda nt island of Huahine, abo ut s6 nettJIrtY~h1.§ 1i'R:'n~~bl'hat motives lay behind cha nges in langu age and culture over canoe it belonged to must have been 80 these great feats of voyaging the next several hundred years resulted feet long. Here at last was the tangible and discovery? Perhaps the in th e development of a uniquely Poly­ evide nce that allows us to reconstruct W pressure of growing popu­ nesian culture. One of the most impor­ the kinds of canoes that made the long­ lations on small islands, and subse­ tant changes was the gradual loss of the est voyages of all- to New Zealand, quent wars for scarce land and food, potter's art , for reasons th at we can as Easter Island, an d Hawaii. drove weaker factions off in search of yet only guess at . It may also be th at in Easter Island and the Hawaiian un occupied lands. While some islands the widely scattere d islands of Tonga Islands were prob ably settled by voy­ may have been settled in this ma nner, it and Samoa, the first true Polynes ians agers from the Marquesas as early as is unlikely that "population pressure" sharpene d their voyaging and naviga­ the fourth century A.D. In the Ha lawa can explain the whole picture of Poly­ tion al skills, to th e point where th ey valley, on th e eastern end of Molokai, I nesian dispersal. Perhaps the younger would be able to discover and settle excavated an early Hawaiian site during sons of chiefs set out to discover lands nearly every spot of land in th e remote th e summers of 1969 and 1970. In this where they could be chiefs themselves eas tern Pacific. fertile valley, a perman ent stream and and establish their own lines as domi­ Possibly as early as 200 B.C., but cer­ rich alluvial soils provided ideal con­ nant. Or, could it simply have been that tainly no later th an 300 A.D., at least ditions for taro irrigation. Here, early the ancestral Polynesians were imbued one voyaging canoe laden with crop seafarers found the kind of environ­ with a sort of "wander lus t," a cultur­ plants and domestic animals made the ment they were seeking on their long ally-ing rained desire to search ever

A Pacific Odyssey 5 eas twards, in the anticipa tion that new islands wo uld always rise above th e horizon? One thing is certain, the Poly­ nesian s did not just drift to th eir island homes. They were skilled seafarers and navigators who had th e courage to set forth on purp oseful voyages of dis­ Tl covery and coloniza tion. Cur iously, once most of th e distant The Polynesian canoe was a refined voyaging craft developed through thousands islands had been discovered and per­ of years of practical experience. The first Europeans to encounter these canoes were man ently settled, the long-di stance amazed by their speed and their ability to carry large crews and heavy cargoes. voyages ceased. In some region s, such Cook estima ted th at a Tongan doub le canoe could make abo ut seven knots "close­ as Ton ga, large vessels continue d to be hauled ;' or heading almost directly into the wind. He described one group of large used to carry peopl e and cargo back double canoes as so fast to windward that they "... sailed round us apparently with and forth between Fiji, Ton ga, and the same ease as if we had been at anchor." Samoa. In th e remo ter islands, how­ Cook's ships were primarily rigged with square sails, designed to be most effi­ ever, voyaging and navigation und er­ cient with a steady wind from astern which fills the sails and pushes the ship on her we nt a declin e. The re is no evide nce, way. Modern sails work on an en tirely different principle. They are designed like for example, th at voyages between airfoils so the wind flowing over them causes a partial vacuum along the leeward Hawaii and th e Society Islands per­ side of the sail which actually pulls the boa t forward. This kind of airfoil design sisted after about 1300A.D. By the time allows a vessel to sail more directly into the wind than a vessel equipped with Coo k arrived, Hawaiian s were no square sails. It was the "modern" design of Polynesian sails that allowed ancient longer building or using large ocea n­ canoes to voyage against the winds from Southeast Asia. going canoes. Instead, th eir vessels Large Polynesian canoes, often more than 100feet long, were not simple "dug­ were built for fishing and sho rter travel outs;' but small ships made from planks. The keel was fashioned from logs hol­ between the inter-visible islands. Had lowed out and joined together. Lacking metal to fasten the planks of th eir craft, the the news th at all of th e previously ancient Polynesians (and the Micronesians today) lash ed them together with emp ty islands h ad been found an d coconut-fiber rope (sennit). Coconut fiber and breadfruit sap were placed between occupied been communicated back to the planks, as caulking, to keep the water out. By fastening two hulls together with th e more westerly islands? stout cross pieces, a large deck could be built over the hulls to carry cargo and crew. Once the Polynesian islanders were exposed to Euro pean metho ds of ship cons truction and navigation, th ey Without refrigeration or vacuum-packed tins, the Polynesians developed ingen­ quickly lost traditional skills. Tod ay, not Without refrigeration or vacuum-packed tins, the Polynesians developed ingen­ quickly lost tradition al skills. Today, not ious techniques to preserve food for long voyages under the hot tropical sun . a single Polyn esian navigator practices Breadfruit, buried in earthen pits sheathed with leaves, went through a controlled th e ancie nt methods. Only the few process of fermentation which preserved it. Dried and salted fish would las t for navigators of Micro nesia, who share months, an d fresh fish was caught regularly. Fresh coconuts contained water, and distant roo ts with th e Polyn esian s, the coconut's meat provided protein. Water was also carried in gourds or stoppered carry on traditional canoe-building and bamboo containers. Cooked and dried yams and sweet potatoes were wrapped in voyaging skills. The methods used by pandanus leaves and stored in gourds. Stalks of sugar cane, sealed at each end with Mau Piailug and other Micronesian breadfru it gum, would last for even the longest voyage. Pigs, dogs and chickens navigators prob ably differ in detail were prob ably carried in cages. Those not used as breeding stock would have pro­ from those once used by th e Polyn e­ vided a welcome dietary supplement. sia ns, but th ey are basically similar, relying on the natural patterns of wind an d wave, and the observation of star paths. There is now a cultural revival amo ng younger Polynesians, a heightened awa reness and growing interest in th e \ grea t feats and kn owledge of their long­ dep arted ancestors. The voyage of Hokule'amad e the findings of archaeol­ ogists come alive with a new intensity. The Polynesian peopl es have a right to be proud of their seafaring ancestors, for th e story of th e settleme nt of Poly­ nesia surely ranks amo ng the great hum an sagas of all time.

Dr. PatrickKirch is aforemost archaeol­ ogist and head of the Bernice P Bishop Museum'sarchaeology division. He hasex­ cavated on many Pacific Islands.

6 The Navigators WaKauluaofHawaii A doublehulledcanoedesignedprimarilyforsailing short distances between Hawaii's islands, the Wa'a Kaulua is probably a specialized adaptation from earlierand more pouxriul iong distance voyaging canoes.By thetimeCaptain CookdiscoveredHawaii -- ~ " , J ' f.1 -- J 'V u · canoes. By thetimeCaptainCookdiscovered Hawaii ill1778, longdistancevoyagingbetweellHawaiiand Pahi other Polynesian islands had ceased. According to Ts.: measurements madebyCook, acanoelikethiswould TheTahitian Pahiwasalargedoublecanoeriggedwithcrab-claw sailssimilar beabout 70feet ill length with a beam of 12feet. totllOseof Hawaii. Captain James Cookmeasured twolargePattialldfound themtobe 76feet long."Theyliauehigh C!I rvedstems,"liereported,"thehead alsocUl1Jesalittle, alldboth areornamenteduuth theimageofa mallcarved ill wood . .. TlIeylIIanagethemverydexteriousiuand1believe performlong anddistantvoyagesin them . . ."

L ngan Tongiaki This doublecanoeof TOllgawas reportedby earlyexplorerstoaverage70feciilllength. 111 1616 the Dutch captain, William Schouten, recordedIIis impressionsofaTOIlgiaki,':.. the rigofthesevessels issoexcellent and they go sowell undersail that therearefe7.!!shipsin Holland that could ouerhaul then:"

Illustrations, Richard Berry

A Pacific Ody ssey 7 natural signs - stars, waves, birds - to guide his canoe. I had come as a West­ ern navigator and skippe r, havin g sailed thousand s of sea miles in mod­ ern yachts, to learn his, a far older, art. Six th ousand years ago, a seafaring Wmd, Wave, and Stars: people left their homeland in island Southeast Asia to venture into the Pa­ cific. They moved down the chain of A Sea of Natural Signs Melanesian islands to Samoa and Tonga, and north into Micronesia. At about the time of Christ, th ey pushed eastward to the Marquesas and then Navigating without compass, sextant orchart, Mau Piailug outward to the uttermost reach es of the Pacific- Hawaii,Easter Island and New finds his way by the teachings ofhis ancestors. Zealand . By Stephen Thomas In Polynesia, these navigators are gone, swept aside by th e rapid adop­ tion of Western cultur e. But on th e tiny coral atolls of Micronesia th e skills of navigating without instruments still live on. Yet even here, in this Pacific wil­ derness, these ancient skills are threat­ ened . The inter-island steamer th at brought me to Satawal also carries tinned food s and batteries for tran sistor radios. Many young Micronesians leave th eir islands to seek education and jobs on Westernized islands such as Yap, Ponape, or Guam. Few stay be­ hind to learn th e ways of their fathers. Piailug and his fellow Palufear they will be the last of the navigators. A few days after _n:y arrival. on A few days after my arrival on Satawal, I asked Mau to be my teacher. He questioned me carefully. Why did I want to learn these techniques? How would I use this knowledge? What did I know about currents? About their in­ fluence on waves? Wh at abo ut swe lls and drift? How much time did I have to learn th e skills he ha s spent fifty years perfecting? I must have answered satisfactorily, for he announced th at I would be his stude nt. I wo uld live in his house and become part of his family. Navigational knowledge is an essential skill in Mau 's island universe - a secre t usu ally passed from one famil y member to ano ther. I was honored by his accept­ Piailug M au Piailug fashions a modelcanoe. (Cour­ anc e of me as a pupil. tesy Stephen Thomas) There are three things that any sys­ t was late, very late, but still th e tem of navigation must accomplish : a lanternlight flickered over th e the winter trade winds the cons tella­ way to determine th e direction to an white cora l stones in the cour t­ tion see me d sudde nly to belong not to objective; a way to maintain the course I yard in front of th e th atched Europe and to my race, but to one far at sea; and a way to determine dis­ house. Piailug and I had just fallen into older, one whose lifeblood from its ear­ placement from the intended course silence after having talked for many liest beginnings was entwine d with the caused by winds and currents. hours. I watche d the soft light flow over sea . This was my first night on th e his smoo th, brown face before it flowed island of Satawal. I was with Mau The Star Compass past, to be lost in the moonless tropical Piailug, my teacher, one of th e last of o determine direction , the West­ nigh t. Uliul, Orion's Belt, had jus t risen the fully initi ated navigators, th e Palu. ern navigator reads a compass. and was poised above Piailug's sho ul­ Piailug still navigates without cha rts or The Palu reads the stars. At th e der. As it flickered in th e gus ts of th e instruments using only a world full of T age of five, Mau began learning 8 The Na vigators the stars from his grandfather in a cere­ gational stars are not always in the opti­ words, a sea area as large as Western mony called merek keiki or "unfolding mum position for guiding a canoe. If Europe! This is only a small portion of the mat ." Mau's grandfa ther placed the "regular" star for his star course is the immense body of da ta memorized thirty-two lumps of cora l on a wove n too far above or below the horizon to by a navigator- knowledge th at earns pandanus mat to rep resent the rising accurately steer by, the Paluuses one of him the highest status that a man can and setting positions of th e principa l ma ny substitute stars. Now, after 45 achieve by his own effor ts - that is, navigation al stars. Unlike th e sun, years of study, Mau has memorized the without being born into a chiefly clan. moon, and the planets, the stars always entire nighttim e sky. On a cloudy "My grandfather spoke of navigation," rise and set in th e same place, as lon g night, he needs only to see a small por­ Mau explained. "If you learn it you will as you do not drastically cha nge your tion of the sky to orient himself and set have a name. You will eat the naviga­ latitude. Mailap (or Altair), for example, his course. tor's food, and at sea you will have always rises just north of eas t and sets more power than a chief." just north of wes t. It is th e cardinal Settinga Course: Wofanu direction in th e Micronesian star o determine his course to any The Swells compass. North is marked out by destination, the Western navi­ nce an ap prentice Palu has Feusemagut (Polaris), "the star th at does gator consults a chart. The Palu mastere d th e star compass not move;" northeast and northwest T has no charts, so he must mem­ and basic WOfanu, he begins are defin ed by the rising and setting orize the star courses between impor­ O to learn Kapesani Serak or th e positions of Mun (Vega); and southeast tant islands. Star courses are taught in "Talk of Sailing," a body of practical and southwest are shown by the rising th e canoe house in a lesson called Wo­ knowledge he must assimilate if he is to and setting of Tumur (Antares). South­ fanu. Seated in a circle around the navi­ be a navigator. By day, or on cloudy erly headings are shown by the South­ gator, young men recite the star courses nights, the Palu canno t use the stars to ern Cro ss in five positions -ri sing, 45 to and from every island in their world . set his course so he steers by other degrees up, upright, 45 degrees setting Wofanu is the navigator's chartcase. The signs. Micrones ians are kee n observers and setting. Altogether, fifteen stars or more Wofanu a navigator knows, th e of nature, and have developed the abil­ constellations are used to define the 32 greater his voyaging range . An average ity to distinguish und erlying swe lls points of the Micronesian star com­ navigator will know Wofanu for those pass. Instead of sailing east or west, the neighboring islands freq ue ntly visited Palu sails a star course called faan tan on fishing expeditions. But a great A uthor Stephen Thomas andotherstudents Mailap (under the rising Mailap) or faa11 navigator will know Wofanu for all the of navigation are taught the Micronesian"star tupul Mailap(under the setting Mailap). islan ds from Yapin the wes t to Kusai in compass"byMauPiailug. Lumpsofcoral, spread Becau se th e stars rise four minutes the east and Guam or Saipan in the out on a woven mat, represent the rising and earlier each evening, the principal navi- north - know his way aro und, in other setting points of stars.

A Sea of N atural Signs 9 from conflicting surface waves. These swells, generated by distant winds, keep a constant direction as they march across th e sea.To steer by th em, th e navigator maintain s a cons tant angle between his canoe and the approach­ ing swe ll. Mau taught me to read swells from eight directions, calling them out to me from his traditional position on the out­ rigge r platform. Mau is so attune d to these swells that he can feel the motion they impart to his canoe and steer a straight course without even looking at th em. The Currentsand Winds ne of the most difficult prob­ lems facing a navigator is measuring displacement from O his intended course as th e voyage proceeds. To do thi s, th e Palu must und erstand the curre nts he will sail through and h ow much th ey will force his canoe off course. Currents are swift in Micron esia and failure to learn them is a primary reason navigators get S tarcompass lost . Whe n leaving sight of land, th e As the earth turns, thestarsappearto rise ill theeast and set ill the west. At risillg, Altair (Mailap) Micronesian navigator will steer a deiineseast andat seuingthis stardejines west. Vega (M u l) lilarks ncrtheast and northtoest, Antares stea dy course by swell or star and sight (Tumur), rises ill thesoutheast andsets ill thesouthwest. Polaris (Fuese magut) - thestarthat neoer back to see if th e island h as "moved ." 1Il0ves - shows north , while the South ern Cross (Poop) ill its upright positiolllllarks south . The The amo unt and direction th at it has Microllesial1"star compass"contains 32 pointsofdirection, more than call be shoun, here. moved allows him to estima te th e cur­

. . . V' ...... ~ • •• _ • • ...... •• - - "- r "-- ~st !_~~t'~}'2!~_eand direction and ~dj rent's force and direction and adjus t th e course he will steer accordingly. "The Talk of Sailing" has taught him a compe nsation formula for every cur­ rent he will enco unter. Once out of sight of land it is very difficult to determine shifts in current, but some navigators are able to rea d th em by th e sha pe and size of th e waves. Once, on a voyage with Piailug's brother, Urupa, we cha nged course whe n the swells increased in size as Urupa knew we were getting pus hed to leeward of "the straight roa d" to our destination. Etak nce he has set his course, the navigator must measure his progress along it. The West­ O ern navigator uses a chart to model th e motion of his vessel in relation to stationary lan d. He draws his compass course on th e cha rt, and kn owing his speed, he can place him­ self at a point along th at line. On long pa ssages, he can check this "dead recko ning" position with sextant sights r: or by electro nic insturments. But the ImaginanJ lines join a starand a distant "referenceisland" to divide a voyage illto segments or etak . Micronesian uses a very differen t con­ Thisconceptual modelallowsa Satawalesenavigatortoplot theprogressofhis canoeuiithout achart. ceptua l model. Witho ut charts to plot

10 The Navigators his course, the Palu employs a me ntal Undoubtedly, similar phenomena exist rites in the Po ceremony, a period of plotting system called etak. As the voy­ in Micron esia. In th e absence of an ob­ seclusion and ritual instruction that age progresses, he pictures his canoe as jective means of determining position, lasted ma ny months. These rituals cov­ staying in one place while th e islands failure to sight a member of Pookoofis ered every part of a voyage. As sole pro­ move around him. He uses an island or not interp reted as a challenge to the prietor of sailing magic, the Palu had reef off to one side of his course as a system but as evidence that the canoe is great authority. This authority was es­ "reference island" and calculates its in th e wrong pla ce. sential since a navigator often had to movement und er different stars, lead his crew throu gh da ngerous seas, altho ugh he may never actually see the The Po Ceremony through storms, through periods of island during his voyage. ne aspec t of the ancie nt art th irst, hunger and fear. Using magic Imaginary lines or yaw radia ting out of navigation is no lon ger ritua ls, th e Palu could invoke spirits to from th e canoe to th e reference island ens ure the success of a voyage. In order pr.ac~iced.. Until Christi~n and the stars beyond are see n to divide O rrussionan es put a stop to It, to th ink with clari ty, he performe d a the voyage into segments or etak. It is by navigators were taught sacred magic rite exhorting Yalulawe, the patron spirit visualizing the reference island moving und er a success ion of stars that the navigator can mentally place himself along his course (seefigure page 10). The first and last seg me nts or etak of a voyage are the "etak of sighting" and the "etak of birds." The distance of the "etak of sighting" dep ends on the height of th e island of dep arture. The "etak of birds" is measured by seabirds, mo stly noddies and terns, that fish by day and fly directly home at dusk . The sight of a seabird making for hom e mean s an island is about twenty miles away and provid es a certain course to landfall. Pookoof icronesian navigators believe th at certain sea creatures - a

~r~~~ that certain seaUcreat ., spec ies of flatfish , a pair of Msea birds, a sha rk with spe cial markings, a pod of killer whales, to nam e a fe reside in speci­ w- (Above) L enagers preparea smallcanoefora sail around Satawal. fic places around the islands. The sys­ tem called Pookoof charts the star (Below)A voyagingcanoeawaitsfinishing touchesinaSatawalcanoehouse. (Photo:COllrtesyStephen Thomas) courses to th ese creatures, each with a unique nam e, from all of the islands in the Central Carolines. Legend holds that the creatures of Pookoof were placed in th e sea by Fanur and Wareyang, th e sons of Palulap, the great navigator, to help th e Palu whe n lost . When one creature dies, ano ther member of the same spec ies takes his place. As one navigator put it,"We have Pookoof be­ cause we don't have charts and sextants like the navigators from America." Micronesian navigators all claim to have sighted creatur es from Pookoof. (I myself "sighted" one, a billfish very near to its prescribed location north­ east of Satawa1.) Some crea tures un­ doubtedl y inhabit spe cific areas which they find agreeabl e because of certain prevailing conditions. Off the Boston Harbor entrance buoy, for instance, one can nearly always find whales who are drawn there by th e abundance of food in a series of underwater upwellings.

A Sea of Natura l Signs 11 of navigators, to bring 'brightness" into his bod y. The outrigger itself was the reside nce of Yalulawe. At sea, th e Palu prepared a special medicine, a sheaf of herbs which were tied to the outrigger platform. Later in the voyage, he may have performed a differen t ritual to please the spirit that resided in the n 1947,Thor Heyerdahl and a five-man crew set off from Peru aboard Kon Tiki mas t. to prove that South American Indians could have settled Polynesia. Heyer­ When his "hair turned grey," the dahl's theory was supported by early anthropological and archaeological navigator learned th e secre t weapons I studies which purported to demonstrate similarities between Polynesian and of bad magic- chants powerful enough American Indian cultures, and by prevailing winds and currents which flow from to kill or maim a man. But the wise or east to west, from the American continent directly into the heart of the Pacific. "bright" man used his knowledge only Aboard even the most primitive craft, it seemed possible to drift with these winds in the service of his people. If he re­ and currents to one of Polynesia's many islands. sorted to bad magic th e spiritual re­ Kon Tikiwas made by lashing together nine balsa logs. A small hut was built atop prisals against his own family would be the raft to provide shelter for the crew, and a mast was rigged with a square sail to grave. At the core of the code of the Palu take advantage of the following winds. was a duty to take care of others. As Heyerdahl gave the order to set sail, dire predictions rang in his ears; the balsa logs would become waterlogged and sink, the lashings would fray and break, or n small, widely scattere d heavy seas would wash the men overboard. islands which are interd e­ Tothe crew's delight, the raft quickly demonstrated her seaworthiness. Wavesbig pendent for food, trade and enough to crash aboard simply washed through the spaces between the logs; the O even marriage partners, the balsawood was so soft that it cushioned the rope lashings and prevented them from Palu is still the mainstay of community chafing; and sap in the logs made them almost waterproof so the raft easily main­ survival. Satawal is a poor island by tained her buoyancy. The sea also provided an unexpected bounty-the crew Micronesian standards. Having no caught so many fish they could have subsisted without the tinned rations they had lagoon or extensive reef system, its sea­ stowed aboard. life is sparse and easily depleted.The On August 7th, 1947, KOIl Tikicrashed on a reef that surrounds Raroia Island in Palu must guide canoes on fishing the Tuamotu chain, just east of Tahiti, demonstrating that Polynesia could have been expe ditions to distant reefs if the settled by drift voyages from South America. But proving such voyages possible island's five hundr ed residents are to does not mean they actually took place. survive. The navigator is a community Modern research has now shown that the ancestors of the Polynesians were leader who sets an example of wisdom,

~i§s.U:?1!1;1_E;~a!l_c!_c2_l;l~?g~ ~_ _~_~uo, sk.iJ!~'!!1.'wiKa.!QE~~.~<;>~~e!.Q1J.~t~.t)9?!9~~,t~~.I?~cW£!mD)Jsl~I!rt..s9g!r~~~t~~ja/.~p~ ..'r __ .. skilled navigators who set out to explore the Pacificfrom Island Southeast Asia, not discipline and courage. Peru. Although Heyerdahl's theories are no longer accepted by an overwhelming On Satawal a man's life revolves majority of scholars, the voyage of Kon Tiki was a courageous experiment and a around the canoe house. A large thatch stimulus for the later voyage of Hokuleu, a replica of a Polynesian double canoe that roofed struc ture ope n on all sides, it is sailed against the prevailing winds from Hawaii to Tahiti in 1976. the place where legends and the arts of livin g are passed on. Here, as bread­ RotosraPh [mm Kon-Tikiblj Thor Heuerdahl . 1910, 1978by Thor Heucrdahl. (Courtesy Rand fruit logs are sha ped into canoes under McNallvcopetroglyphs and in sketches made by early European explorers. In practice, the upward curve of the booms allowed the crew to move about easily on deck, and the scoop formed at the top of the sail spilled wind during heavy gusts so that the rigging was not strained. The knowledge necessary to build a voyaging canoe from traditional materials has been lost in Hawaii, so Hokule'awas constructed of modern laminated woods and fiberglass . She is a "performance replica"- her shape is true to ancient design so that the performance of such canoes could be tested. On May 1, 1976/ Hokule'asailed from the island of Maui with a crew of 17and 6 tons of cargo/ bound for Tahiti. Making an average speed of more than 3.5 knots durinz tho trD.·P, "hp ("ovprp~') ~OOmiles in 33 days without maior incident. On her LtTCt,3 in e~o'G,v..:1 rU,A l.u"I TMtil'r'. U 'J.UI"Ulf) U.11 UY'-1"6\".. ~Y'-'-uV.I. UIV1.'- UIC .UI ..J.'-' "'I V"" during the trip, she covered 2/800miles in 33 days without major incident. On her return to Hawaii, Hokule'aencountered more favorable winds and sailed 2600miles in 22 days. The voyage demonstrated the canoe could sail into the wind; carry a

g ~ulISatawalese IIII'llareexpected tobe COI/1­ large enough crew and sufficient supplies to colonize distant islands; and that she peteut sailors by their 12thbirthday. (Courtesy was indeed sufficiently seaworthy to make long ocean passages. Stephen Tholllas) Among Polynesians throughout the Pacific, Hokule'a's voyage rekindled an ancient pride of accomplishment that had been dimmed by 200 years of European Piailug and his contemporaries fear domination. Today the canoe sails on educational voyages among the Hawaiian they are the last living represen tatives islands where her crew educates Hawaiian children in the skills of their ance stors. of an unbroken tradition of navigation For many years to come, Hokule'awill continue to sail in the hearts and minds of a and seafaring spanning more than two people whose ancestors were among the most daring seafarers on earth. thou sand years. It is a traditi on that (Cuurfesy Polyllesian VOljagil/gSociety.) I wove myth, magic, ethics and meta­ physics into a seamless web, the center of which was navigation . It is a web that is, above all, beautiful. Once, late at night, after we had been talking many hours I aske d Piailug about the "Talk of Navigation." "1 don't know about the others," he said, forcing the words out as if in a kind of pain, ''but in my mind the talk of navigation is beau­ tiful. Inside my body the same, I say the talk of navigation is beautiful,"

Stephen Thomas is a western navigator who has sailed many thousands of miles. He has just returned from Satawal where he studied navigation with Mau Piailug, and is now writing a book on Carolinian navigation. ASea of N atural Signs 13 This cha nt is dedi cated to Moikeh a, one of th e lead ers of an early migrati on from Tahiti to Hawaii . The cha nter may have been Karna hualele, "child of th e flying spray," a ren own ed kahuna. Such cha nts and the myth s and legends of Polyn esia are a rich so urce of insight into th e lives of thi s an cient peopl e. Canoe House Some chants celebrate the glory of voyages across broad sea stretches ben eath th e overarching sky -a world of winds, currents and stars that contained all the inform ation needed Tales:ThePoetry by a navigator to make landfall. Others tell of the creation of the land and sea from a great void, the birth of gods and god­ desses, and the adventures of great heroes. Withou t writing, of Discovery the ancient Polyn esians composed a vas t oral literature which may be compa red to the archa ic Greek poem of Odysseu s; to the creation stories of th e Bible; and the grea t mystic adventures of Beowulf. A windowonthepast, thewisdomofPacific One of the mysteries the Polyn esians puzzled over was the Islanders ishanded downtous in poetry creation of the islands themselves. How, they asked, did the andchant. islands rise out of such expa nses of ocea n? To explain the mystery, ge nerations of kahunas created th e tales of Maui ­ By Marjorie Sinclair trickster, hero, demi- god ; and of Tahaki, another demi god blessed with beautiful red skin (a sacred color), cur ly red hair, towering sho ulde rs and pen etratin g brown eyes. Th e stories of th eir exploits were sung by bards during celebra­ tion s, by men in community houses whil e making can oes, he canoe has been at sea for a month, sailing north­ by moth ers to their childr n. eas t from Tahiti, guide d by a navigator who follows Maui's story is lon g and complicated, cha nging in detail

~st from island gro up to island group. In one version, hi ancie.nt star paths. For the l two hou.rs, he has been Tsteen ng toward an almost imperceptible smudge in mot her threw him at birth into the sea. Seaweed and waves th e sky -a low cloud th at see ms to hang over one spo t of cradled the baby; jellyfish swaddled him in th eir flesh for ocea n. Slowly, the land is revealed ben eath the cloud . It is protection ; winds carried him to shore. Grown to manhood , one of the high islands in the Hawaiian cha in . A kahuna-:e Maui performed outstanding feats. With a rope mad e of his priest - composes a chant to celebrate this hard-won landfall , sister's pubic hair he captured the sun. Th at is why (say the lege nds) the sun moves slowly through th e sky and peopl e

ali\pm,~Q~!:Xa,{U'{5lt~~t\Qm~L..nv.w,~, ~F\e~,q~--'"r Jflj;tj v . , uu , one of many mad e by voyage rs from Tahiti . legends) th e sun moves slowly throu gh th esky and peopl e can cook th eir food before dark. Maui stole th e secret of fire Here is Hawaii, an island, a man from the fire god, a Polyn esian Prometh eus. With his magic Hawaii is a man indeed fishhook, he pulled islands into daylight from the darkness Hawaii is a man at the bottom of the sea. He fished up New Zealand with a A child of Tahiti. . . hook made fro m a jawbon e. It was tough work and he cha nted an incantation to make the heavy we ight of th e island !fish lighter : "Why, Oh Tonga Nui!!Art thou sulkily?! Biting below there? . " Finally the fish , which was also land , eme rged . Leavin g it in the care of his brothers, he we nt to fetch a kahuna to perform appropriate religiou s rites. Whi le Maui was gone, hi brothers began to cut up the fish and eat it. This is w hy, tod ay, New Zealand has rugged mountain landscap es.

14 The Navigators Ma ui also pulled up islands in the Hawaiian gro up. The Whe n he finishe d pulling up the Hawaiian archipelago, hook he used was called Manaiakalani, "come here from Taha ki sa iled back to Tahiti. There he gathered "people to heaven ." d well on the beautiful new land, bringing th em w ith th eir Manaiakalani is the greatfishhookof Maui gods, their chiefs and breadfruit and othe r plants." The tales The wholeearth was the fishline tied to the hook of thi s legend ary demi-god may have been based on an Kauikiwas bound to the earthand towered high. actua l navigator who led the first migration from Tahiti to ThereHanaiakamalama lived. Hawaii. The mudhen ofHina was the bait. Wh at can we make of these stories of fishing up island s The bait tangled to the bitterdeath, and ancho ring them in place with th e powerful thrusts of Lifting up the very base of the island, magical spears? Perhap s these too are poetic metapho,:s for Drawing it to the surface of the sea. real events in the Polyn esian past . From the vantage point of a canoe, bound on a voy­ Taha ki was another age of discovery, new Po ly nes ia n fis he r of islands would appear to islands. In Tahiti he was Song in Mau's CanoeHouse rise mysteriously fro m called Tafa'i or by one of th e sea, as if by magic. h is more e la bora te The navigators who dis­ nam es, 'Ia-fa'i-uri-i-te-tia­ "Thecanoeis moving covered th ese new lands i-Havai'i, meaning "By­ may have been seen by revel ation -pi loti ng-i n­ It's covered with people th e less ventureso me th e-sea-of-H awai'i ." A peopl e left behind as fish er of islands and a It's sailing far away on the ocean heroes who did indeed great navigator, Tah aki I'm for "fish up" th ese island s. we nt on two long qu ests longing my child, Furthe rmore, the posi­ in sea rch of his fath er They are following the Path, tion of th ese newly dis­ and in sea rch of a beauti ­ covered island s m ust ful wife. Such quests are theyare sailing alone, often have proved elu­ a basic them e of legend s sive - th e curre n ts, in many lands - Odys­ on the sea they belong to, winds and star path s se us's great voyage was a were not yet known with qu est for hom e. Taha ki on the most distant sea, certainty. They appeared journ eyed in a giant to move, to swim like d oubl e-hull ed ca noe it's bound to happen, fish. It may have re­ nam ed "Rainbow." He determined btlmasic. quired dozen s of voyages A~ rtd'iYfe6::l~1~11f\-y&'UW:'r::l determined by magic, quired dozen's of voyages served as a navigator and over many ce nturies astrologer. His paddle by the words ofthe spirit, before the navigation al was so heavy that no one way points were thor­ el e co u ld lift it .A the month will soon come, oughly und erstood and Hawaiian cha nt enlarges, the journey becam e rou­ as p oetry d oes, th e when he will appear. tin e. Fina lly, the loca­ meaning of th e canoe tions of the island s were ca lle d Rainb ow. In The one, my child." fixed as if thrust through Hawaii Tahak i was called by a spear and so pinned Kaha'i. to th e ocea n floor. The rainbowwas the path of Kahai; The unwritten poetr y of Polyn esia contains many of these Kahai climbed, Kahai strove; stories. But most importantl y it revea ls the perceptions, the He wasgirded with the mystic enchantment of Kane; inner feelings of th e people who inhabited the Pacific. In He wasfascinated by the eyesof Alihi. man y societies th e words spo ken in cha nt and poetry have Kahai mounted on the flashing raysof light a special power. They not only convey information or knowl­ Flashing on men and canoes . .. edge abo ut p ast events, th ey also influen ce eve nts in th e Tah aki's island fishing in the Pacific is a lon g and exciting future -the words have magical potenc y. tale. Aboard Rainbow he and his men sailed from the island In the isolated atolls of Micronesia's central Caro line of Tahiti to Moorea. The re they thrust spears into the island Islands, the people still live as th e an cient Polynesians, in a to ancho r it.They traveled in all directions, fishing up new world without writing- a world in which the spo ken word islands or anchor ing them with their spears. They journeyed conveys all of society's accumulated wisdo m. Here the tech­ as far as the Tua mo tus whe re they pulled up "those beauti­ niques of navigation , the locations of schools of fish , and the ful atolls and islets fringed with bed s of coral of all hues and prop er ways to make a canoe or build a house are passed on w ith pearl oysters." .. orally from father to so n. Here too, th e words have power. They sa iled far to th e north and found the Hawaiian Us ing a spec ial effigy and a potent magical incantation, a i land s clus tere d togeth er ben eath th e sea. Tahaki, like Micronesian navigator can cha nge the weather: Maui, fished up those islands. The first one Tahaki pull ed up Black weather pass to either side. was Hawaii "whose high twin mountain rose up from their Goaway to the south, watery bed and went on risin g until they reached an am az­ Go away to the north, ing height and were lost in the clouds."The seco nd island he No more wind! Like an inland pool. .. pull ed from the sea Tah aki nam ed after the demigod, Maui . 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c 16 The lives. What might an anthropo logical study of Satawal reveal about both the resi dents of that island and about ourselves? • The people of Satawal have no wri t­ Teacher's Guide ing or metallurgy. How is knowledge recorded and passed on between the generations withou t books? What A guide to discussion topics, projects, and resources for further takes the place of libraries and schools? How are buildings, boats, exploration ofthe themes presentedin The Navigators. clothing and other necessities of life crea ted? • What different skills are necessary to build a canoe? Wha t materials are used? How are the people of Satawal more self-sufficient, less dependent on other nations for their survival, How to use the film res ult of research by humanities scho l­ tha n we are? ars in such fields as archaeology, an­ • The navigators of Satawal have no The Navigators can be used to: thropology, linguistics, history and charts or ins truments to guide th em • provide stude nts with th e feeling mytho logy. on voyages. What substi tutes do they tha t they have personally visited the use for these technical devices? Pacific islands an d have met the • What kinds of questions do these • Why has non-instrument navigation major personalities involved in Pa­ scholars ask? survived on Satawal but died out cific research. • Wha t kinds of evide nce do they use elsewhere? • serve as a focus for future discus­ to answer th em? Wha t specific clues • How and why might the conceptions sions and class projects. do th ey use to determine the migra­ of time, space, weather and even • stimulate a natural curiosity and in­ tion routes of the Polvnesians? individual op tions be different on terest in learning more about the Pa­ • How does the combina tion of differ­ Satawal from those of an indu strial cific th an is covered in the film. ent research techniques allow us to socie ty? come to conclusions about th e ori­ • How has the adoption of Christian­

a_n_~t_tt_~ BeforeViewing the Film gins of th e Polynesians_ tim­ flVAjtrtJ~funf itx,~]-W.n,l!ft'i\::WufRle1 tsetore vieunng the FIlm gins of the Polynesians and the tim­ ity changed the role and status of It is suggested th at the teacher talk ing and manner of their migration navigator on Satawal? abo ut the film before showing it to the through out the Pacific? • Some people "look down" on socie­ class to present th e major categories of • What evide nce exists that the Polyne­ ties that are no t as tech no logically information that will be discussed after sians were skilled navigators and advanced as their own, calling th e screening . seafarers? people who do not know how to The Navigators documents our cur­ • How are th e jou rn als of early Eur­ write or have not discovered the rent erst g of the origins of the und andin opeans who explored the Pacific processes of metallurgy "primitive." Polynesians, th eir rou tes of migration invaluabl e tools for Polynesian With an understanding of the accom­ and th eir navigational expertise. Ask research? plishments of Mau Piailug and th e your stu de nts to think about what evi­ II. Compare the voyages ma de by Kon people of Satawal, do you feel such dence is presented to support the con­ terms or attitudes are warranted? clusions th at are reached . Tiki an d Hokulea. What did th ese voy­ The film tells about life on the tiny ages actual ly prove?Is there a difference • The introduction of western ideas Micrones ian island of Satawal. Ask the between showing that a voyage is will obviously have an enormous stude nts to pay attention to th e impor­ possible and showing that it actua lly impact on the young people of Sata­ tant role played by navigators and to happened? wal. Discuss what mig ht happen to th e various skills th ey use to find their III. Archaeologists attempt to recon­ them . If you were an all powerful way witho ut ch arts or instruments; to stru ct the culture an d way of life of and benevolent dictator, wha t poli­ the way th at young peop le learn tradi­ extinct societies by study ing th eir cies would you adopt to either accel­ tion al skills witho u t schools or books; ar tifacts. They often examine existing era te or retard th ese changes? to the reasons that non-instrumental societies for clues to how life might navigation has survived on this island; have been lived in th e past. Wha t clues ForFurther Research and to the cha nges that are now threat­ are provided by life on Satawal that Over the past two hundred years, ening Satawal's traditional way of life. might help archaeologists reconstruct Western ideas have moved into the the ancient societies and cultures of Pacific, imported by whalers, mission­ After Viewing the Film the Pacific? aries, settlers, traders and tourists. DISCUSSION TOPICS IV.Anthropologists study existing hu­ Many of the Pacific islands have fallen I. Our understanding of the origins of man societies to gain an understanding under the control of vario us colonial the Polynesians, th eir routes of migra­ of how people with different cultures powers. tion and navigational expertise, is the view th eir world and orga nize their • Discuss how th e estab lishme nt of a

Teacher's Guide 17 cash economy, schools, churches, how they can be used to trace migra­ recorded, and the way that the Pacific and new technologies have changed tion across the Pacific. Organize a islanders are depicted. Discuss what the cultures of the Pacific. lecture by a local professor who these differences tell us about the • The roles played by women and men specializes in Pacific archaeology. artists who drew them and the on Satawal seem to be clearl y di­ Arrange a visit to a local boatyard explorers who commissioned them . vided. How do these roles differ (perh aps a yard where they are building from those in our society? How are woo de n boats). Examine th e complex Audio-Visual Distribution these roles changing in the United geo metrical shape ofany boat, wh eth er States? What changes might occur on it be an ancient canoe or a modern ofThe Navigators Satawal as Western idea s and institu­ racing yacht. How is this sha pe arri ved For purchase or rental of film and tions become more common? at? How does th e bui lder tran late the videotape copies of TheNavigators, con­ • Explain the impact of French, lines of the boat from a plan to the tact Sue Marshall Cabezas, Documen­ German, English, Spanish , Dutch, fini sh ed hull? Discu ss the feat of tary Educational Resources, 5 Bridge Japanese and American contact in mem orization necessary to con str uct Street, Watertown, Massachusetts, the Pacific. If there are differences, such a boat witho ut plan s. 02172, (617) 926-0491. Cost (within the how do you account for them? Were Xerox some of the illustrations made Uni ted States) for purchase of a film these colonial powers motivated dif­ by vario us European explorers of the copy is $500.00; cost for a one-time ferently or did they seek different Pacific (Dodd's book has a good selec­ showing rental is $50.00. These costs goals? tion, see bibliography). You will find are lower than the normal rates because • List the strategic and commercial great differences between them in the producer has agreed to take no resources that have attracted Western detail, rendering, the events that are royalties. powers to the Pacific during the last two centuries. • The Pacific was not "discovered" by Europeans until they had developed powerful sailing ships, charts and the magnetic compass. Discuss why some of these European explorers might have doubted the ability of the The following is a partial list of Field Museum of Natural History (*), Polynesians to have explored and museums with collections or exhibits of Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, navigated across the Pacific before artifacts from Micronesia or Polynesia. Chicago, Illinois, 60605. their arrival. Those listed with an asterisk have T0<; A nuplp<; ('nnntv Mnj;lpnm nf Na- m8se ~&~e6tiWlrnr,;RP'3Js(lwj~kX\ilVe • Under the impact of Western civiliza­ major collections. Check with your Los Angeles County Museum of Na­ tion , the people of the Pacific have local museums , historical societies or tural History (*), Exposition Park, 900 lost much of their cultural identity other cultural centers to learn more Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, and pride. Describe ways that the about resources in your own area. California, 90007. work of scholars might reawaken this identity and pride. The American Museum of Natural Robert H. Lowie Museum of Anthro­ • Discuss areas in your community History (*), Central Park West at 79th pology, University of California, Ber­ where scholarly research has added Street, New York City, 10024. keley, California, 94720. to your understanding of your own history and cultural background, or Bernice P. Bishop Museum (*), 1525 Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 West that of the indigenous people who Bernice Street, Honolulu, Hawaii, Wells Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, lived in your area before you. 96819. 53233. The Brooklyn Museum, Eastern Peabody Museum of Natural History, Projects Parkway, Brooklyn, New York, 11230. Yale University, New Haven, Connecti­ Arrange a trip to a local planetarium cut, 06520. to identify some of the stars used in Buffalo Museum of Science, Hum­ navigation. Perhaps a special perfor­ boldt Park, Buffalo, New York, 14211. Peabody Museum of Salem (*), 161 mance can be arranged to demonstrate Essex Street, Salem, Massachusetts, the rising and setting points of stars Thomas Burke Memorial Washington 01970. (the star compass) in the latitude of State Museum, University of Washing­ Satawal (8 degrees north), or the ap­ ton , Seattle, Washington, 98105. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and pearance of the sky as it changes with Ethnology (*), Harvard University, the seasons. Discuss the prodigious ac­ Carnegie Museum, 4400 Forbes Ave­ Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138. complishment of Micronesian naviga­ nue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213. tors who must memorize the nighttime United States National Museum (*), sky for every day of the year. Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloom­ Smithsonian Institution, Washington, Visit a local museum that has a dis­ field Hills, Michigan, 48013. D.C., 20560. play of Pacific artifacts. Arrange a dis­ cussion of what these artifacts reveal Denver Art Museum (*), 1300 Logan about daily life on a specific island or Street , Denver, Colorado, 80203.

18 The Navigators Teirua He nry, Ancient Tahiti, Hawaii, Bish op Mu seum Bul­ Bibliography letin, No. 48. A detailed and rea dable account of Tahitian myth, legend and history.

Thor Heyerda hl, The Kon Tiki Expedition, Londo n, Allen William Alkire, An Introduction to the Peoples and Cultures and Unw in, 1951. A gripping account of th e voyage with a of Micronesia, An Ad diso n-Wes ley Modul e in very brief review of Heyerda hl's theories of Polynesian Anthropology, 1972. A goo d overview of Micronesian origins . culture. William Alkire is th e author of many books and articles on this area of the world. A generous bibliography Jesse Jennings (editor), The Prehistory of Polynesia, Har­ accompa nies this article. vard University Press, 1979. An excellent overview of Polyne­ sian archaeology, written by several foremost archaeologists. j.C . Beagleh ole (editor), The Journals of Captain James Cook, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, for the Herb Kawainui Kan e, Canoes of Polynesia, Island Heritage Hakluyt Society, 1967-68. Three volumes containing Cook's Limited, 1974. A portfolio of 11 vivid illustration s of Poly­ journals made during three voyages to the Pacific. A fascinat­ nesian canoes and an accompanying booklet with descrip­ ing firsthand account by one of the most intelligent and per­ tion s and architectural drawings. Wonderful for stimulating sistent of the Pacific explorers. classroom interest in th e subject.

Peter Bellwood, Man's Conquest of the Pacific, New York, Herb Kawainui Kan e, Discoverers of the Pacific, a beautiful Oxford Uni versity Press, 1979. A large and detailed book, and detail ed map with canoe drawings which was inserted this is the standa rd referen ce for th e prehistory of island in the Nation al Geographic edition for December 1974.Write Sou theast Asia, Melan esia, Micron esia and Polyn esia. to th e Geographic to obtain a copy.

Peter Bellwood, The Polynesians: Prehistory of an Island Herb Kawainui Kan e, Voyage, the Discovery of Hawaii, an People, Londo n, Thames and Hudson, 1978. A much Island Heritage Book . A fictional account of a Polyn esian condense d version of the above book, this edition focuses on voyage. Particularly useful are the notes to th e rea de r which Polynesia. provide a short lesson in Polyn esian voyaging and culture.

Edwin Grant Burrows, Flower in My Ear: Arts and Ethos of Patrick Kirch, "Archaeology and the EvolutionofPolynesian Cul­ Haluk Atoll, Seattle, Uni versity of Washington Press, 1963. ture,"Archaeology magazine, Vol. 32, No. 5, 1979. A discussion Nicely written, this book is a goo d source of info rma tion of excavations in Lapita villages in West Polynesia. conce rn ing the poetry, cha nts and culture of the coral atolls

c~Ac~rrnlng~tfiepoetry, chants and culture ot the coral atolls of Micronesia. David Lewis, We, the Navigators, Honolulu, The University of Hawaii Press, 1972. The source book for und erstanding Edward H. Dodd, Polynesian Seafaring, New York , Dodd, non-instrument navigation in the Pacific, a very read able Mead and Company, 1972. An excellent over view of Poly­ account of Lewis' research and travels in th e Pacific. nesian voyaging including many illustrations of canoes and a lucid and rea dable text. David Lewis, 'Wind, Wave, Star,and Bird,"in the National Geo­ graphic, December, 1974.An introduction to Micronesian and Kenneth P. Emory, "The Coming of the Polynesians," in the Polyn esian navigation . National Geographic, December, 1974. A rea dable but brief int roduction to the settleme nt of Polyn esia. Kath erin e Loumala, Voices on the Wind, Honolulu, Bishop Mu seum Press. A very rea da ble account of Polynesian Ben Finney, "Voyaging Canoes and the Settlement ofPolynesia," mythology and folklore. in Science, Vol. 196, No. 4296, 17June 1977, pp. 1277-1285. Marjorie Sinclair, The Path of the Ocean: Traditional Poetry Thomas Gladwin, East is a Big Bird, Cambridge, Mass., of Polynesia, Honolulu, Uni versity of Hawaii Press, 1982. Harvard University Press, 1960. Life among the navigators of A fine collection of Polyn esian poetry with a concise the Micron esian island of Puluwat told in lively prose. introduction .

Jack Golson (editor) Polynesian Navigation: A Symposium Yosihiko H. Sino to, "The Huahine Excavation: Discovery ofan on Andrew J. Sharp's Theory of Accidental Voyages, Ancient Polynesian Canoe,"Archaeologymagazine, Vol. 30, No. Wellington, the Polynesian Society, 1962. A collection of 2, 1983. Descriptions of Sino to's discovery of woo de n parts ess ays from a symposium refuting the conce pt that from th e only kn own ancient Polynesian voyaging canoe. castaways accidentally settled Polyn esia. Particularly useful is the article by G.5. Parson son which contains many quotes Stephen Tho mas, "The Puzzle of Micronesian Navigation," from early Eur opean explorers, the firsthand observers of Pacific Discovenj magazine, San Francisco, The California ancient Polyn esian sailing craft and skills. Acade my of Sciences, Vol. XXXV, No. 6, Nove mber­ December, 1982. A good review of Micronesian navigation al A.e. Haddon and J. Hornell, Canoes of Oceania, Hon olulu, techniques. Bish op Mu seum Spe cial Publication no. 27, 28 and 29, 1936­ 1938. The most complete compe ndium of information exist­ ing on the voyaging can oes of the Pacific. Bibliography 19 The Navigators Teacher's Guide is Glossary funded by a grant from The Hawaii Committee for the Humanities.

Major funding for The Navigators film was provided by PacificResources, Inc. Atoll A coral island consisting of a ring-shaped reef enclosing a lagoon. (PRI) and The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. Additional funding was Lapita A type of pottery characterized in its earliest phases, from 1600B.C. provided by The Hawaii Committee for to 500B.c., by complex geometric designs. Discovered in archaeologi­ the Humanities. cal excavations from the Bismark Archipelago to the islands of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, Lapita pottery allows archaeologists to trace the PBS presenting station is KHET, Hawaii migration route of the first settlers of Polynesia. Public Television.

Proa A canoe used in Micronesia. The canoes of Satawal change direction Schools, museums , libraries and any by "shunting'<-moving the sail from one end of the canoe to the other. other non-profit educational institu­ The hull is asymmetrical, shaped like an airfoil, so water flowing tions should feel free to reproduce any around the hull balances the drag of the outrigger and allows the portion of this guide for educational canoe to sail in a straight direction. use. All other rights are reserved.

Sowinet The Satawalese term for "master of dividing," a respected person Mailing expenses for this Teachers chosen to divide a valuable commodity among recipients. Mau Guide were provided, in part, by the Piailug is chosen to divide fish after a communal harvest of the reef . Public Broadcasting Service.

Sennap The Satawalese term for "master canoe builder." For a free copy of this guide, while supplies last, please write to Documen­ Sennit Rope made from coconut fiber. tary Educational Resources, 5 Bridge Street, Watertown, Massachusetts , YaLuLawe A patron spirit of navigators. 02172.

Huahine An island about 100 miles northwest of Tahiti. Here, archaeologist ©Sam Low and KHET. YosihikoSinoto has discovered the only known remains of an ancient

lffi~mI1Adze A tool similar to an axe, but with its cutting edge mounted at a right Editor Linda Spalding angle to the handle. Adzes are used in shipyards today and were one Design Julie Frankel of the most important tools used by the ancient Polynesians. Consultant Patrick V. Kirch

Micronesia Literally meaning "small islands," the area of Micronesia encom­ passes the western region of the North Pacificincluding the Caroline, Film Credits Gilbert, Marshall and Mariana Islands. Producer/Writer Sam Low Directors Boyd Estus and Sam Low MeLanesia Literally meaning "dark islands," Melanesia includes an area stretch­ Production Manager Sheila Bernard ing from New Guinea through the Solomons and New Hebrides to Editor William Anderson and including the islands of Fiji. Cinematographer Boyd Estus Associate Producers Sheila Bernard PoLynesia Literally meaning "many islands," this area is bounded by a vast and Boyd Estus triangle with its apices at New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island. ChiefConsultant Patrick V. Kirch This triangle contains an area almost twice the size of the continental Sound Recordist Eric Taylor United States. Assistant Cameraman Roger Haydock

20 The Navigators The Peabody Musuem of Salem, Massachusetts, one of the world's fore­ The Navigators most maritime museums, also houses one of the best collections of Microne­ sian and Oceanic artifacts in the United A Continuing Project States. The museum's director, Mr. Peter Fetchko, has joined with Low and Thomas in planning a traveling exhibit The Navigators project continues. unique system of thought that inte­ to feature the arts of Micronesia's re­ What began as a single film, has now grates vast amounts of memorized data mote islands. Complementing the ex­ developed into plans for a unique effort with a world view that, to us, would hibit will be a display of photographs to preserve and present the seafaring seem mythical or "magical." and a series of video viewing stations heritage of the Pacific through a book, a Sam Low, producer of TheNavigators, which will provide vivid sequences of traveling museum exhibit and a new plans to join Thomas on Satawal to life on Satawal. film . document the world of the navigators Now in its development stage, this Stephen Thomas, author of A Sea of on film before it is forever lost . Included new project should help to preserve a Natural Signs, will return to Satawal in in this new film project will be "archi­ seafaring heritage that was once found the winter of 1984to continue his stud­ val" footage for further study and an throughout the Pacific. Now extant ies with Mau Piailug. Thomas is pre­ exploration of how the people of only on the isolated atolls of the Central paring a book which will do more than Satawal are coping with the forces of Caroline Islands, this way of life is provide a complete description of Caro­ change that are now encroaching on rapidly fading under the influence of linian navigation, it will investigate a their island. the "modern" world.