Polynesian Voyaging

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Polynesian Voyaging
Introduction

Traditional Polynesian voyaging isn’t as common today as it was back in ancient Polynesia. Today, sailing and navigating is a lot easier and more efficient with the help of modern technology such as GPS and has made traditional sailing and voyaging not as relevant. The future of traditional Polynesian voyaging has been decreased due to the impact of modern technology and the cultural changes throughout Polynesian history.
Background Information

Hawaiian voyaging back in ancient Hawaii was done by double hulled canoes. Polynesians navigated throughout the pacific oceans by using their surroundings such as stars, wind current, ocean current, and birds (Finney, 1991). Most of their canoes were made with olona, …show more content…
Mau Piailug learned the star compass, how to build canoes and how to sail, eventually graduating as a master navigator, navigating between Micronesia’s islands thousands of miles west of Hawaii (Genz, 2011). He would go on to teach Nainoa Thompson how to navigate.
The Impact of Canoe Voyaging

Canoe voyaging impacted the Polynesians by the discovery of other pacific islands. Voyaging to other islands were necessary for the Polynesians survival. By voyaging out, the Polynesians were able to obtain more natural resources such as land for their crops, food to eat, and fresh water to sustain off of (Finney, 1991).

Voyaging also made an impact on Polynesian Traditions by creating ‘oli and mele, crafting, navigating. ‘Oli and mele were created to tell stories of their voyages and to tell others where they were coming from (Finney, 1991). Polynesians crafted their canoes a certain way that differed from other canoes and boats around the world. Polynesians also had their own way of navigating by using the stars and using their natural surroundings (Genz, …show more content…
The culture and traditions of canoe voyaging is not as relevant today as it was in ancient Hawaii because there are faster and more efficient ways of travel. The desire and need for canoe voyaging is decreasing due to modernization.

The impact of today’s modernization decreased the number of navigators who can navigate without navigation tools. In Hawaii, Nainoa Thompson is the only master navigator who can sail without navigational tools (Mueno, 2014). This shows the scarcity of traditional navigators in Hawaii and how the culture is being diminished and almost forgoton.

Conclusion

The traditions and culture of Polynesian canoe voyaging is crucial to the survival of Hawaiian culture and history. Although traditional canoe voyaging is not needed for modern day use it is still important to help sustain the Hawaiian culture. With the abolishment of the Hawaiian language in 1896 (Aha punana leo, 2014), the Hawaiian people have struggled to keep the Hawaiian traditions and culture alive in modern
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