UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII LJBRAR' 1 MICRONESIAN CANOE SYMPOSIUM Karch 15-17, 1994 Sponsored by The Guam Council on t h e Arts , Huma nit i e s Agency and The Guam Humanities cOUDcil NARRATIVE REPORT THE KXCRONES XAN CANOE SYKPOSXUK Introduct ion The Micronesian Canoe Symposium was inspired by the gathering of traditional canoes at the Sixth Festival of Pacific Arts in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, in October 1992. Alberto (Tony) Lamorena V , Di rector of the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency (CAHA ), noted that among the dozen or more Polynesian canoe s there was one canoe from the Marshall Islands to repres ent Micronesia. Ironically, Mau Piailug, the mentor behind the revival of traditional seafaring i n Hawa i i , i s a nav i ga t or from the Caroline . islands in Micronesia. He is recognized in Polynesia by traditionalists and academics for his vast knOWledge of t raditional celestial navigation; skills also held by several dozen other masters t hr oughout Micronesia. Inspired by that historic gathering of canoes, Tony and his CAHA s taff began plans to bring due recognition to the navigators a nd canoe builders of Micr onesia; and to encourage the continued practice of these t raditions. A grant from the National Endowment for the Ar ts Folk Arts Program ma de the first step in this endeavor possible. The Guam Humanities JIt. 1 • bh Council j oine d the effort a s a co-sponsor and provided for a vi de o-doc ument a r y component of the project. The Micronesian Canoe Symposium was held in Guam in March 199 4 . It brought together, probably for the fir s t time in history, canoe builders from all of the island states of Micronesia. The islands stretch 4,000 mi l e s from east t o we s t within a twenty-degree band north of the equator; beginning with the Marshalls, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Northern Marianas , Guam, Yap, and Palau. Except for Guam, wh ich ha s been a U. S . possession sinc e 1898, the islands c omprised the former U. S. Trust Territory.l The various distinct cultural groups of Micronesia have in common a rich heritage of canoe traditions. Micronesians have been known since early recorded history as supreme navigators and canoe builders, with the ability to build swift, seagoing canoes and navigate across hund reds of mi l e s of open ocean.2 The ma s t e r navigators and c a noe builders of the present are confronted with rapid cultural c ha nge in even the mos t remote island atolls, as their young people leave to pursue western education a nd c ome back with new ideas; or don't come back, preferring to stay i n areas whe r e their Western education provides j o b opportunities. 3 Talented young men who would normally be chosen to apprentice with a master navigator or canoe builder f ace the dilemma of giving up a western-style education with its opportunity of a salaried job, for the presently dubious 3 economic advantage of becoming a master canoe builder or navigator. Who will follow in the footsteps of these masters who are now almost allover the age of fifty? Is this knowledge to be lost because it is no longer relevant in contemporary times? Do Micronesians value these traditions enough to take steps to insure that these traditions continue? The planning stages for the symposium revealed that exciting canoe building projects are taking place in these islands. A revival of interest in this Micronesian heritage has begun, fueled by the efforts of dedicated officials and individuals who are determined to see that young people are trained, that masters are honored and sought after for their knowledge, and that the tradition again has meaning in contemporary society. What are they doing? What are their immediate and long-term goals? Can these goals b~ assisted through a regional effort? These were some of the questions which fueled the discussion at the Micronesian .c a nc e Symposium. The participants from each island included a government official involved in a canoe program, and a canoe builder. The invitation was sent to the respective agencies in charge of cultural affairs of each island state. In most cases, these offices involved the Historic Preservation officers, who directly or indirectly had conducted canoe projects. These agencies selected the participants, based upon criteria suggested by CAHA; and they were asked to fill out 4 and return a bie sheet for each participant (See Apprendix A) . In some cases, participants were selected from programs for the elderly, or from institutions of higher education. The bie sheets and subsequent personal interviews revealed a wealth of diverse talent and experience among the participants. Participants The Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI) , GUam's closest neighbor, is populated by native Chamorus originally from Guam as well as a large Carolinian community going back nearly two centuries . They therefore chose to send two canoe builders, one representing the Chamoru and another representing the Carolinian traditions. They additionally sent three officials from various offices and perspectives. Canoe builder Ramon Castro of Rota is said to be the last Chamoru of the Northern Marianas knowledgable in canoe building. Now in his seventies, he began learning when he was 23 years old. He learned from Pedro Maratita, whom he realized was then the last canoe builder of his generation. After building a dugout outrigger canoe with the master, he went on to build his own canoe for fishing . He has built more than a dozen since, the most recent being in 1987 for the Aging Center in Rota. It is now there on display. Canoe builder Lino Olopai is from Saipan. He is a builder of the Carolinian canoe, having apprenticed from 5 masters in his ancestral home i n the Caroline i s l a nd s . He had been living a very wes t e r n i zed lif e s tyl e i n Saipa n , when he became disturbed by the political and cultural changes taking place there at the time of the Compact negotiations in 1974. Mau Piailuq was of his lineage, and made his first visit to relatives in Saipan then. Mau had been asked by the Polynesian Voy a g i ng Society to teach them traditional navigation for the Hokulea proj ect. In the process of observing and d iscussing each other's l i f e s t y l e s , both of their l i v e s changed: Mau decided to s h a re h is knowledge with the Polynesians a nd Lino decided to return to h is ancestral islands to learn traditional canoe building and nav igation. He has since served many times a s spokesman for Mau in Hawaii, as well as advocating for t he sharing of knowledge c onsi de r ed secret and powerful by the holders of canoe traditions. Official Noel Quit ugu a i s a board me mbe r of t h e Commonwealth Council on Arts and Cu l t u r e . He als o oa r -vee miniature traditional canoes; and researches a nd collects traditional tools associated with the canoe traditi on. He chose to attend the canoe builder's sessions i n order to pursue his interest in canoe building. Official John Tudela is d irector of the Of fic e of Indigenous Affairs on Saipan. He was newly appointed to t he position, and felt the need to attend the conference to broaden his knowledge of this traditional art f orm . 6 Official Cindy P. Hac a r a na s is the Archives & Information Specialist for the Commonwealth council on Arts & CUlture. Her purpose for attending wa s to document the proceedings for their arts council. She also participated in the official's sessions. It is significant to note that the symposium invitation covered only the expenses of one canoe builder and one o f f i c i a l . The CNMI felt that the s ympos i um was important enough to send three extra persons a t their government' 5 expense . Chuuk state (formerly Truk) i s part of the Federated States of Micronesia, as is Kosrae, Pohnpei, a nd Yap . These islands have distinct languages and cultural practices, and spread a c r os s 1400 miles of ocean. The outer i sland s of Chuuk a nd Yap have traditional t ies . These outer i sla nd s are especially rich in canoe traditions . The two participants from Chuuk were adopted brothers f rom the outer island of Po lowat. Theirs is a lineage of c a noe builders a nd navigat or s . Celestine (Tino) Emwalu, the official, stated that f or them canoe building is not a project; i t is a way of life. Both he and his brother Sosthenis spent their early years building canoe models, going fis hing with their eld ers, then learning to sail canoes and to fish on their own. They both went to s c h ool on the mai n island of Hoen. Tina we nt on t o hig h e r education and i s now Assistant Coordinator for the Colle ge. 7 of Micronesia i n Chuuk , His interest i s in c oor din a ting canoe and navigation proj ects withi n the s c hool cur ricu lum. Sosthenis, however, decided to go back to Po l owat and apprentice with the masters of his line age.