Polynesian Voyaging
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NAVIGATION
This programme features Hawaiian navigator Nainoa Thompson and takes a look at the heritage of Polynesian celestial navigation and its importance in Maori culture today. These three excerpts are from the TVNZ series MARAE, first broadcast on 4th July, 1993. Video supplied by the NZTV Archives.
 Part One: Traditional Navigation.
Learning to read the weather, the sea, the sun and the stars are key to navigating the Pacific by traditional methods. Hector Busby and young Maori work to prepare a star compass on land as a teaching aid for celestial navigation. Nainoa Thompson plotting a navigation map with compass and ruler, watched by Hector Busby and young Maori. Nainoa Thompson places the discovery of Polynesian heritage in relation to personal cultural and national pride.
Part Two: Polynesian Navigators.
Illustrations of Polynesian sailing vessels and waka, footage from ocean voyages support Nainoa Thompson's views on the significance of Polynesian voyaging and exploration heritage.
Part Three: The Living Knowledge.
At the 1992 Rarotongan Festival of the Arts, we see the arrival of many Polynesian waka. Nainoa Thompson trains young Maori students in old navigational techniques and celestial navigation. Charlie Wilson, Tai Tokerau, explains how important Polynesian seafaring knowledge is to Maori history, traditions and revival of ancient seafaring knowledge.
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IN MEMORIUM: Michael King.
Dr Michael King and his wife were killed in a car accident on March 30th, 2004. His book the History Of NZ has been recognised as one of the best written and most accessible historical explorations of the building of New Zealand/Aotearoa. The Transit of Venus website is pleased to have worked with Michael and to continue to offer visitors the chance to see his TV3 interview on 'The Importance of History' and to read an excerpt from his book. His loss to this country is great and his vision and understanding of the rich cultural mix of Maori and Pakeha will be sorely missed.
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"History of New Zealand"
Michael King's new book published late in 2003 by Penguin rapidly became a best seller, described as "a new book for a new century". Chapter 2 provides an excellent summary of latest thinking on how Polynesians colonised widely scattered islands in the largest expanse of ocean on the planet. A video excerpt features King talking about the importance of New Zealand history today.
"Seeds of Raiatea"
Michael King reviews the linguistic, archaeological and cultural evidence leading to fresh understanding of the Polynesian colonising of the Pacific islands. He introduces the story of Polynesian discovery and settlement of New Zealand and how their navigational skills made this possible. Historian author Michael King and his publisher Penguin gave permission for excerpts from Chapter 2 to be reproduced on this Transit of Venus web-site.
Does History Matter?
This conversation between John Campbell and Michael King ranges across the importance of history itself, the unique nature of both Polynesian and European settlement of New Zealand and the significance of being a Pakeha New Zealander. TV3 Network Services gave permission for this excerpt from their John Campbell "Home Truths" television interview with Michael King first broadcast in October 2003.
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Polynesian Voyaging Gallery
In this section you can view a number of historic images of Polynesian waka and canoes drawn by early European artists and explorers. Courtesy of the Alexander Turnbull Library's Drawing and Prints Collections.
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The Navigational Methods and Exploration Strategies of the First Settlers of the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific was the World's first ocean to be explored and settled by humans. This happened in two major episodes. The first occurred between approximately 50.000 and 30,000 BC during the late Pleistocene period, when water crossings were made from mainland Asia through a chain of large and close islands stretching towards Australia and New Guinea, which were then joined together at that time of low Ice-Age sea level. The second major episode of colonisation began after 1500 BC in modern geological times, and after millennia of maritime developments in Island Southeast Asia and western Melanesia. Highly skilled navigators took sophisticated outrigger and double-hulled sailing canoes out into the remote Pacific Ocean. This paper is courtesy of Geoffrey Irwin.
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Polynesian Voyaging Society Home Page
The Polynesian Voyaging Society was founded on a legacy of Pacific Ocean exploration and seeks to perpetuate the art and science of traditional Polynesian voyaging as well as the spirit of exploration through experiential educational programs that inspire students and their communities to respect and care for themselves and each other, and their natural and cultural environments.
Here are direct links to some key stories:
- The Settlement of Polynesia, Part 1 - by Dennis Kawaharada
The Polynesian migration to Hawai'i was part of one of the most remarkable achievements of humanity: the discovery and settlement of the remote, widely scattered islands of the central Pacific. The migration began before the birth of Christ.While Europeans were sailing close to the coastlines of continents before developing navigational instruments that would allow them to venture onto the open ocean, voyagers from Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa began to settle islands in an ocean area of over 10 million square miles.
- The Settlement of Polynesia, Part 2 -by Dennis Kawaharada
Two-Way Voyaging after Settlement - according to Hawaiian oral traditions collected in the 19th century, voyaging continued between Hawai'i and the South Pacific after the original settlement of Hawai'i. The motives given for voyaging are various.
- The Voyage of Rediscovery: 1985-87 Aotearoa (New Zealand
Replicating a legendary voyage from Hawai'i to Tahiti and back in 1980 awakened in those who sailed Hokule'a a desire to sail to other ancestral homelands of Polynesia and reconnect the family of the Pacific. From 1985 to 1987, Hokule'a carried out the Voyage of Rediscovery to Aotearoa (New Zealand) and back, with stops in Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands, Tahiti, and the Tuamotus. The purpose was to take the canoe to the peoples of Polynesia who share a common ancestry and to reawaken pride in their common traditions of navigation and voyaging. During this voyage, Hokule'a retraced ancestral migration routes while continuing to answer questions of scientific interest about how Polynesia was settled in ancient times.
- Voyages:1976-2000
The voyages sponsored by the Polynesian Voyaging Society have provided a wealth of information for scientists, anthropologists and archaeologists about traditional Polynesian migrations, documenting one of the greatest achievement of humanity--the exploration and settlement of islands in an area of over 10 million square miles during a period of over 1,000 years. At the same time, as Hokule'a and Hawai'iloa traveled throughout Polynesia, they inspired among Polynesians an increased awareness and native pride in their seafaring heritage. They also sparked a revival of canoe building and sailing, arts that had not been practiced in over a hundred years. Hokule`a, the first modern replica of a voyaging canoe to make the voyage from Hawai'i to Tahiti and back, became a symbol of the richness of Polynesian culture and the seafaring heritage which links together all of the peoples of the Pacific.
- Voyaging into Polynesia's Past
The Founding of the Polynesian Voyaging Society by Ben Finney originally published in From Sea to Space (Palmerston North: Massey University, 1992, 5-65). Ben Finney pioneered the reconstruction and sailing of Polynesian voyaging canoes. He first began dreaming about building a canoe and sailing it to Tahiti while studying at the University of Hawai'i in 1958. He sailed aboard Hokule'a during the first voyage to Tahiti in 1976, the 1985 voyage to Aotearoa, and the 1992 voyage to Rarotonga, and also covered the 1995 voyage from the Marquesas to Hawai'i from Hokule'a's escort vessel. Finney has taught anthropology at the University of Hawai'i since 1970 and published a number of books and articles on voyaging and exploration. Other parts of the article are also on-line:
- Finding a Way: 1974-1980
Nainoa Thompson inspired and led a revival of traditional voyaging arts in Hawai'i and Polynesia over the last 25 years - arts which had been lost for centuries due to the cessation of such voyaging and the colonisation and Westernisation of Polynesia. Thompson is navigator for the Polynesian Voyaging Society and in 1980 he became the first Hawaiian to practice the art of wayfinding on long distance ocean voyages since voyaging ended between Hawai'i and Tahiti around the 14th century. Thompson developed a system of wayfinding, or non-instrument navigation - synthesizing traditional principles of ancient Pacific navigation and modern scientific knowledge - which is now being taught in schools and practiced throughout Hawai'i and the Pacific. In addition to being a navigator, Thompson is a leader with a vision, and a charismatic, spell-binding storyteller.
- In Search of the Ancient Polynesian Voyaging Canoe
Artist, writer, and sailor, Herb Kawainui Kane is one of the founders of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the principal designer of Hokule'a. Here are some of his notes on the design, construction, and sailing of Polynesian and Hawaiian voyaging canoes.
- 'One Memorable Stormy Night with Mau and a Song'
A story by Carlos Andrade - a native of Kaua'i and a surfer, canoe-builder, and grandfather as well as an accomplished musician and composer. He was a crew member of the 1986 voyage from Aotearoa to Tonga and Samoa and the 1992 voyage from Rarotonga to Hawai'i.
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