polynesia.com | blog
  • BOOK NOW
  • Categories
    • News at the Center
    • Cultures of Polynesia
    • Eat Polynesia!
    • Hawai’i Travel Tips
  • Villages
    • Hawai’i
    • Aotearoa
    • Fiji
    • Samoa
    • Tahiti
    • Tonga
  • Our Websites
    • Polynesia (main site)
    • Hukilau Marketplace
    • Pounders Restaurant
    • We Are Samoa
Select Page

A master’s touch: Restoring the traditional art of Polynesian navigation

by Nina Jones | Dec 26, 2017 | Cultures of Polynesia | 0 comments

 

Photo of the Alingno Maisu and Hokule'a heads towards Satawal, Micronesia, 2007

Alingno Maisu and Hokule’a heads towards Satawal, Micronesia, 2007  – Photo courtesy of hokulea.com

The following blog was taken from an in-depth interview with Master Carver and Polynesian Navigator, Kawika Eskaran of Laie, Hawaii, who along with Sione Tuione Pulotu, guided the design and construction of the Iosepa, a 57′ double hulled sailing canoe modeled in style and function after the ancient canoes utilized by Hawaiians to travel the seas. The Iosepa was sponsored and built through a cooperative effort between Brigham Young University – Hawaii and The Polynesian Cultural Center. When it is not sailing, the Iosepa is housed at The Polynesian Cultural Center.

Traditional Polynesian Navigation

photo of Papa Pialug with a star chart

Papa Pialug with a star chart   Photo courtesy of Hokulea.com

……..Kawika describes the navigational skills used during a historic trip taken in 2007 where they delivered the Alingano Maisu, a handcrafted large canoe built in the ancient Polynesian style to “Papa” Mau Pialug as a gift for his invaluable contributions in reawakening  the knowledge of wayfinding or non-instrument navigation among the Hawaiians and other Polynesians. The sister ship on this voyage was the Hōkūleʻa.

“In navigating by the stars, you use certain sections of the Heavens as the sky rotates in the evening. There are different starlines that come up and others that are set.”

“The measuring points for this system are your own digits on your hand and the spacing between them in reference to layout of the constellations. Once you calibrate your hand size, you utilize your hand to get exact bearings throughout the evening.”

A hands-on experience

Picture of Kawika Eskeran explains ancient Polynesian navigation techniques

                                                                                                 Eskeran explains ancient Polynesian navigation techniques 

Kawika explained how this worked. “Imagine the horizon of the ocean before you”, he explained. “As you are sailing, you would use the North Star as your reference point. At the point we were sailing near the equator, the North Star is 6o above horizon.”

“We calibrated our hands before we left home,” he said, while extending his arm to full length in front of him, and placing his right hand with the palm out and with his thumb extended. “From the bottom on my hand here to the center of my fingers here, is 6o. For me that is roughly 2o per fingers.

“So, I placed the bottom of my hand on the horizon,” he continued, “and then looked for the North Star. I would then place the star right at that point on my fingers that equaled 6o.  Then throughout the night I would make sure that we are on that mark.”

 

Illustration of the hand method used to find the altitude of Polaris courtesy of the Journal of the Polynesian Society

The hand method used to find the altitude of Polaris                Photo courtesy of the Journal of the Polynesian Society

A team effort

“Now, say the wind is blowing and the canoe is always wanting to come up into the wind, Kawika continued. “Sometimes, to keep our mark, we would want the canoe to stay downwind. So all night long you’re fighting the wind, and the want of the canoe to head into that wind. To counter this you’ll always trying to steer it down. Sometimes the currents actually work with you too much and you end up going too far down, through steering.”

To measure correctly, Kawika demonstrated, “I would need to square my shoulders to the canoe, with my nose straight forward. So as long as my hand is pointing to the North Star, we will be good. If we start falling down and start pointing into the wind, my hand will be off centered and I will say, bring the canoe up.”

Kawika shared that six individuals beside himself traveling on the Hōkūleʻa and Alingano Maisu were assigned each night to keep individual measurements, assuring that the two vessels kept on course.

Learn more at The PCC

Want to learn more about the knowledge and skills our Polynesian ancestors used to travel the seas? Come see the mighty Iosepa (E-yo-se-pah,) a double hulled Polynesian vessel designed and built to ancient specifications at Brigham Young University – Hawaii and housed at the adjoining Polynesian Cultural Center.

The beautiful Iosepa, a double hulled Polynesian sailling canoe, is housed at The Polynesian Cultural Center – photo courtesy of BYU Magazine

replica of Polynesian sailing canoe available form www.shop.polynesia.com

 

Bring the power and beauty home

Own your own piece of navigational history with a selection of hand carved replicas, historical books or  with a hand carved replica of a Polynesian canoe from the official online store of the Polynesian Cultural Center. Click here to see more!

 


Nina S Jones

Nina S Jones

Nina Jones, a mainland gal from way back, is now a transplanted Islander. With her husband of 40+ years, she volunteers at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Her hobbies include swimming, traveling, studying and writing about what she is learning from the various Polynesian cultures. Her blogs focus on their history, beliefs, practices and – as an added bonus – delicious food! To her, Polynesia is not just a place to visit, it is a way to live and she is very honored to be able to be a part of this amazing world.

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Voyaging this May: Iosepa 2025
  • The Polynesian Cultural Center Is: One ‘Ohana, Sharing Aloha
  • International Food Trucks on the North Shore
  • Packing for Paradise: Hawaiian Island Vacation Fundamentals
  • Christmas Comes to the Hukilau Marketplace!

Recent Comments

  • Charlebois Harley on Awards to Polynesian Cultural Center
  • Yvonne Kauihou on Sharing Aloha: Hawaiian words and their meanings
  • Barbara Farr on Awards to Polynesian Cultural Center
  • Charlebois Harley on Coconut Bread recipe from the Tahitian Village at the Polynesian Cultural Center!
  • Michael on Tongan Traditions and Customs

Archives

Categories

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Follow us!

facebook twitter instagram

Visit Our Other Sites

Polynesian Cultural Center
The Hawaii Store

Hours of Operations

55-370 Kamehameha Hwy
Laie, Hawaii, 96762

800-367-7060
Polynesian Cultural Center, All Rights Reserved, 2024

Free Newsletter

Sign up and receive emails when we post new blogs 🙂

    Test

    TeST