Guest guest Posted May 29, 2004 Report Share Posted May 29, 2004 Modern Hawaiian's Ancient Voyage:NW Hawaiian Islands Expedition Currently here in Hawaii, an exciting Naval Voyage is taking place. Modern Hawaiins are replicating the ancient travels of their anscestors.The canoe they are sailing is also an exact replica of the ancient Hawaiian voyaging canoe and it is it uses no modern fuels. For safety purposes the boat has modern devices but they are only used as a last resort.Also modern products were used in its construction but as much as possible the builders tried to be as authentic as possible to the Ancient Hawaiian ocean going canoes.The canoe is called Hokule'a, the Hawaiian name of the star Arcturus. They are currently undertaking a journey to Hawaii's uninhabited NW Islands. In Ancient times these islands were used for many indigenous spiritual ceremonies and many Heiaus or Hawaiian Temples have been discovered.Daily Updates of the voyage are available at this link. http://www.pvs-hawaii.com/voyages/voyaging_03_nwhi_reports.php It would be wonderful if the Hindus could undertake some similar projects. Vrn Parker Navigating Change: The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Expedition http://www.pvs-hawaii.com/voyages/voyaging_03_nwhi.php "Navigating Change" is a project focused on raising awareness and ultimately motivating people to change their attitudes and behaviors to better care for our islands and our ocean resources. The project is an educational partnership that includes private non-government organizations, state agencies and federal agencies that share a collective vision for creating a healthier future for Hawai`i and for our planet. This collaborative multi-agency effort aims to change behaviors by creating an awareness of the ecological problems we face and by making it relevant to the decisions that confront us in our daily lives. Participating Partners are: Bishop Museum U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Ecosystem Reserve Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council University of Hawai`i School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology University of Hawaii Sea Grant College University of Hawai`i Center for Hawaiian Studies University of Hawai`i – Hawai`i Institute of Marine Biology Hawai`i Maritime Center Hawai`i State Department of Education Hawai`i State Department of Land and Natural Resources The Nature Conservancy Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) To raise awareness of the environmental decline occurring in the main Hawaiian Islands, the Polynesian Voyaging Society has sailed the double hulled canoe Hokule`a throughout the main Hawaiian Islands carrying the Navigating Change message. Our partner organizations have held teacher workshops, talked to students and distributed educational material regarding our delicate environment. In May of this year, Hokule`a will sail to the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), which contain 9,124 square kilometers of coral reefs that account for 69% of all the coral reefs in the U.S. Here, in a nearly pristine environment, 10 small islands support millions of nesting seabirds and the breeding grounds for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and the threatened green sea turtle. The reefs also provide essential habitat for several commercial fisheries and countless indigenous and endemic reef species, half of which exist nowhere else. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is a microcosm of island ecology where we can learn to manage and care for a pristine and fragile ecosystem and apply these lessons back to the main Hawaiian Islands. It also provides a basis for comparison of the health of our coral reefs back home. Hokule`a's mission is to restore an ancient wisdom, the Hawaiian concept of malama – of caring for our land and sea to ensure a balance among all forms of life. Description of the Voyage The voyage began with Hokule`a sailing to several destinations throughout the main Hawaiian Islands carrying with it a message of Malama Hawai`i (caring for Hawai`i) and Malama Ka Honua (caring for Earth). School children and entire communities were challenged to take responsibility for our natural resources and our natural environment. This statewide sail began in March 2003. In September 2003, PVS sailed Hokule`a along an ancient exploratory route to the NWHI to further examine the cultural and biological wonders of this unique and rarely seen ecosystem. The "Ancestral" leg of our journey took us to the islands of Nihoa, where cultural protocols were performed to set the stage for the rest of the voyage. The remainder of the voyage then continues to the remaining Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in May 2004. These islands will reveal a rare sanctuary of natural beauty symbolized by the tiny coral polyp – the building block of life - according to one Hawaiian tradition. The "Homecoming" leg, in which the canoe returns to Hawai`i, bears the gift of lessons learned along the kupuna (older) islands. "NO longer do we seek only the knowledge of how to voyage between the islands," says Nainoa Thompson. "We seek lessons to carry home to our children - ways to inspire the present generation to love and preserve our Earth as a sanctuary for those who will inherit it." While on the voyage to the NWHI, crewmembers aboard Hokule`a will communicate by satellite phone with students back home. The students will be shown videotapes comparing the NHWI, which has been part of a reserve for nearly a century, to the main Hawaiian Islands. There will be daily updates posted on our website at: http://www.pvs- hawaii.com/voyages/voyaging_03_nwhi_reports.php and a web-based game for students at: http://www.navigatingchange.org. The goal of Navigating Change is to motivate, encourage and challenge people to take action to improve the environmental conditions in their own backyards, especially as it pertains to our coral reefs. We want people to take responsibility for the stewardship and sustainability of our islands and our ocean. We are targeting our message to the youth of Hawai`i because the future is in their hands. Building Hokule`a [sources: Ben Finney's "Voyaging into Polynesia's Past" in From Sea to Space, Palmerston North, New Zealand: Massey Press 1992 and Voyage of Rediscovery, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994; Notes from Herb Kawainui Kane on the early history of Hokule'a; also, David Lewis` The Voyaging Stars: Secrets of the Pacific Island Navigators, New York: W.W. Norton, 1978.] Hokule`a was completed in 1975. It has two 62-foot hulls; eight `iako, or crossbeams, joining the two hulls; pola, or decking, lashing to the crossbeams between the two hulls; rails along the decking; and two masts. Herb Kawainui Kane, who came up with the conceptual design for the canoe, notes, with Kenneth Emory. [Click here for details on how Hokule'a was designed: "In Search of the Ancient Polynesian Voyaging Canoe"] How the Canoe was Named: "This happened when the parts of the canoe were close to being completed. One day when I visited the building site, a large shed at Young Bros., one of the guys had chalked 'Da Boat' on the side of one of the hulls. When I asked the reason for the graffiti, they said it was to remind me that it was time to come up with a name. "According to Kenneth Emory, in the old days a name would come to a canoe designer in a dream. Be that as it may, we tossed the question around at the board meeting a few days later. Several names were suggested, mostly compound names, each including several words; none seemed to be what everyone was looking for. Several weeks went by. "One exceptionally clear night I stayed up quite late, star chart in hand, locating and memorizing stars and their relative positions. I think I turned in around midnight. Some time later, I dreamed of stars. My attention was attracted to Arcturus, our Hokule'a. It appeared to grow larger and brighter, so brilliant that I awoke. "It's been a habit for many years to keep a pad and pen on my nightstand. When the body is at rest, the mind half-awake, thoughts range about freely, and ideas form which I've found are sometimes worth noting down. Some painting ideas have come to me that way. I turned on my reading light and wrote 'Hokule'a.' "The next morning, I saw the notation, and immediately recognized it as a fitting name for the canoe. As a zenith star for Hawai'i it would be a star of gladness if it led to landfall. I phoned Paige Kawelo Barber; she thought it appropriate. I tried it on a few others and got a positive response. The name was proposed at the next board meeting and adopted." (e-mail from Herb, 2/20/99). Hokule`a was launched on March 8, 1975 at Kualoa on the windward side of O`ahu. Ka`upena Wong organized the religious ceremonies for the launching, with Kalena Silva and Keli`i Tau`a assisting in the rituals. Kahu Kaupu gave the Christian blessing. Hokule`a made its first voyage to and from Tahiti in 1976. The 8-ton Hokule`a can be loaded with about 11,000 pounds, or 5.5 tons, including the weight of a crew of 12-16 people and equipment and supplies. It can make up to 10-12 knots sailing on a reach in strong winds. Since Hawaiians had ceased long-distance, open-ocean voyaging eight centuries ago in the 12th century, no examples of actual ancient voyaging canoes were available as models for Hokule`a. Hawaiian artist Herb Kane based the design of Hokule`a on drawings of canoes made by artists and draftsmen employed by Captain Cook and other early explorers of the Pacific. How close to an ancient voyaging canoe is Hokule`a? Hokule`a is considerably smaller than the 100-foot plus Polynesian canoes seen by early European visitors. Also, while the design of the hulls and upper parts of the canoe was based on what is known of the traditional Polynesian canoe, the design of the sail-rig departed from traditional precedents. The traditional Polynesian sprit sail was typically laced to two spars, one of which acted as the mast and the other as the boom. The rig Hokule`a consists of a sail attached to spar and boom plus a shorter mast on which the spar, boom and sail are raised and lowered. Hokule`a's rig, with the mast first raised and stayed, was used to facilitate the raising and lowering of the sail. Although the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) wanted to use traditional materials (koa wood hulls, lauhala sails, sennit lashing) and traditional tools (adzes, bone gouges, coral files, and sharkskin for sanding) in building the canoe, the construction would have been too time-consuming as the builders tried to relearn the arts of working with such materials and tools. Instead, the hulls were constructed out of plywood, fiberglass, and resin, and the sails were made from canvas; the lashings were done with synthetic cordage. (For the story of the recent effort to build a canoe out of traditional native materials, see "The Building of Hawai'iloa"). Because of the use of modern materials, sailing the canoe could not tell PVS about the strength and durability of traditional canoes. However, the builders strove to approximate the shape and weight of a traditional canoe, avoiding such innovations as wider stance for the hulls for greater stability and a deeper keel for improved sailing capability; so the canoe was a "performance accurate" replica, handling much like the voyaging canoes that once sailed in Polynesian seas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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