91-558: The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines ) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean , to the north of New Guinea . Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the central and eastern parts of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end. Historically, this area was also called Nuevas Filipinas or New Philippines , because they were part of
182-639: A League of Nations mandate to control the Caroline and Marshall Islands. During World War II , Japan operated a large base at Truk Lagoon which it used for expansion into the southeastern Pacific. In the latter years of that war, during the Japanese withdrawal to the Japanese home islands, the Allies effectively neutralized Truk in Operation Hailstone . After the war, the islands (together with
273-488: A Spanish government representative called Butron signed an agreement with the tribal chiefs of Koror and Artingal establishing Spanish sovereignty over the Caroline Islands. At that point, Spain attempted to impose customs duties on commercial exchanges in the region. However, Spain's previous abandonment of the islands had allowed the establishment of German and British missions on the islands, and Germany and
364-612: A common understanding that a stone has a new owner. The Micronesian navigator Mau Piailug (1932–2010) was originally from the Carolinian island of Satawal . He learned the traditional navigation techniques of the Weriyeng school, which had been preserved after other traditional techniques had been forgotten (due partly to the remoteness of the Carolinian Islands). In the 1970s, Mau shared his knowledge with members of
455-440: A master navigator ( palu ) in the Weriyeng school of navigation during the revered pwo ceremony presided over by Angora. It was to be the last pwo held on Satawal for the next fifty years. After the ceremony, Mau lived for a month in the canoe house where he received rigorous lessons from three navigators. When the final training was complete, Mau made his first solo voyage of about 92 kilometres (57 mi). Because he had
546-736: A popular resort for whaling ships in the 19th century. The first such vessel known to have visited was the London whaler Britannia , which called at Ngatik in December 1793. Such vessels—from Britain, the United States, Australia and elsewhere—came for water, wood, and food and, sometimes, for men willing to serve as crewmen on the vessels. These ships stimulated commerce and were significant vectors for change (both good and ill). The islands most commonly visited were Kosrae , Mokil , Ngatik , Pingelap and Pohnpei . Japan invaded and occupied
637-418: A proxy, the southern celestial pole lies at the end of that imaginary line extended southward through Gacrux and Acrux, at a distance about 4.5 times the distance between them. Nainoa Thompson notes that at Hawaiʻi's latitude, the distance between Gacrux and the southerly Acrux is equal to Acrux's altitude above the southern horizon. To steer the canoe in mid-ocean on a consistent course, the navigator selects
728-535: A result, many people stopped attending church and sending their children to school, and the mission's fortunes suffered. In response, the Propaganda Fide decided on 7 November 1904 to replace the Spanish Capuchins with German missionaries, and on 18 December 1905 to erect a single Apostolic prefecture in place of the two separate missions. The Very Reverend Father Venantius of Prechtal , Germany,
819-601: A seaman on an inter-island ship run by the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands . From 1969 to 1973, Mau became friends with Mike McCoy, a Peace Corps volunteer stationed on Satawal. As well as marrying Mau's niece, McCoy sailed with Mau and they worked together on a project tagging turtles. McCoy became interested in Satawalese navigation, published several articles on the topic and kept in touch with
910-544: A small grammar and dictionary of the Yap language in 1890. In 1899, after the Spanish priests had laid the foundations of the mission, the islands passed by purchase into the hands of Germany. Spain had contributed more than $ 5000 a year towards the mission, but Germany contributed no support. Spain had compelled the indigenous people to send their children to school; Germany allowed people to choose to send their children or not. As
1001-644: A tendency to sail in all weather conditions, he was given the nickname "Mau", from the Satawalese word maumau , meaning "strong". After becoming a navigator, Mau married Nemwaeito with whom he raised ten boys and six girls. Daily life in Mau's village on Satawal involved harvesting taro and gathering breadfruit and coconut. The Satawalese people also raised chicken and pork and caught fish, their primary source of protein. A freshwater pond served as bathing facilities. Local materials were used to construct outrigger canoes called proa . The island's isolation helped preserve
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#17327723217391092-725: A variety of languages, including: the Micronesian languages of Pohnpeian , Chuukese , Carolinian , and Kosraean ; the Western Malayo-Polynesian languages of Palauan and Chamorro ; and the unclassified language Yapese (possibly one of the Admiralty Islands languages ). There are also a significant number of inhabitants who belong to non-indigenous ethnic groups and speak other languages, including Filipinos and Japanese . The lingua franca used for trade and commerce among islanders who do not speak
1183-421: Is Polaris directly overhead at nearly 90 degrees altitude. When one travels south toward the equator, Polaris appears to descend toward the northern horizon. At 45 degrees north latitude, Polaris is 45 degrees above the northern horizon. Near the equator, Polaris' altitude approaches zero degrees, but for the viewer just further south, Polaris will have disappeared below the northern horizon. Continuing south from
1274-456: Is endemic to the Caroline and Marshall Islands, and was first described by Karl Moritz Schumann in 1887. Psychotria hombroniana is endemic to the Caroline and Mariana Islands, with five subspecies being found on the Carolines, and three subspecies on the Marianas. Three of the four species in the genus Ponapea are endemic to the Caroline Islands. For a further list of flora found in
1365-457: Is native. Campnosperma brevipetiolatum was first named and classified by the German botanist Georg Volkens while carrying out research on Yap. He described the species in 1901 in the article 'Die Vegetation der Karolinen, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der von Yap' in the periodical Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie (Leipzig). Crinum bakeri
1456-462: Is no morgue on the island, Mau was buried the following day, and a nightly rosary was held until the memorial service on 21 July at Santa Soledad Church. Mau's son Henry Yarofalpiy will continue teaching students about their culture, preserving the legacy of his father. Mau was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 1987 by the University of Hawaii . On 9 May 2000, he was honoured by
1547-414: Is the basis for Nainoa's modern Hawaiian star compass. Apart from the bulk of training, which happens at sea, historically boys were taught in the men's house with pebbles, shells, or pieces of coral, representing stars, laid on the sand in a circular pattern. The bits of shell or coral that are chosen to represent which star or constellation is arbitrary, but generally, larger pieces are used for points of
1638-520: The Hōkūleʻa , a modern reconstruction of a double-hulled Hawaiian voyaging canoe . The successful, non-instrument sailing of Hōkūleʻa to Tahiti in 1976 proved the efficacy of Mau's navigational system to the world. To academia, Mau's achievement provided evidence for intentional two-way voyaging throughout Oceania, supporting a hypothesis that explained the Asiatic origin of Polynesians. The success of
1729-462: The Aegean Islands (since the sea has a large number of islands). Archipelagos may be found isolated in large amounts of water or neighbouring a large land mass. For example, Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland, which form an archipelago. Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along island arcs generated by subduction zones or hotspots , but may also be
1820-540: The Carolinian island of Satawal , best known as a teacher of traditional, non-instrument wayfinding methods for open-ocean voyaging. Mau's Carolinian navigation system, which relies on navigational clues using the Sun and stars, winds and clouds, seas and swells, and birds and fish, was acquired through rote learning passed down through teachings in the oral tradition . He earned the title of master navigator ( palu ) by
1911-844: The East–West Center . Mau returned to Honolulu in April 1975 to begin work with the Hawaii-based Polynesian Voyaging Society , eventually navigating the double-hulled canoe Hōkūleʻa from Hawaii to Tahiti on its maiden voyage in 1976. Mau trained and mentored Native Hawaiian navigator Nainoa Thompson , who would later become a master navigator. David Henry Lewis , a scholar of Polynesian navigation, documented Mau's work. Mau's first-hand knowledge of traditional navigation had been accumulated in Northern Hemisphere study and sailings, but
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#17327723217392002-541: The Gilbert Islands and the Marshall Islands (Spaniards today call the Caroline islands Islas de las Hermanas , Hombres Pintados , and Los Jardines ). A Spanish royal decree, issued on 19 October 1707, authorized Spanish missionaries to make several expeditions to the Caroline Islands. However, in 1731, one such missionary, Juan Antonio Cantova, was killed. As a result, Spain ceased relations with
2093-590: The Hōkūleʻa voyage in 1976, academic debate about the settlement of Polynesia was divided between several schools of thought. Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl hypothesized that the Pacific was settled by voyages from South America and set out to prove that with his Kon-Tiki expedition. Scholars did not take Heyerdahl's hypothesis seriously. New Zealander Andrew Sharp proposed the accidental voyaging hypothesis in 1957, which (erroneously) argued that Oceania
2184-608: The Moluccas (by way of Celebes ). They ended up reaching several of the Caroline islands and staying there for several months, until 20 January 1526. Soon after, on 22 August 1526, the Spanish explorers Toribio Alonso de Salazar and Diego de Saavedra arrived in the area and recorded sighting the Island of San Bartolomé ( Taongui ). About 8 months later, on 1 January 1528, the explorer Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón claimed possession of
2275-573: The Polynesian Voyaging Society . This led to a revival of the practices of traditional Polynesian navigation techniques, and provided anthropologists with a greater understanding of the history of the Polynesian and Micronesian peoples . In 1985, a study was published that examined the origin of the sidereal compass used in the Caroline Islands. Different islands in the Carolines have passed down different legends about
2366-661: The San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands geologically form part of a larger Gulf Archipelago. The word archipelago is derived from the Ancient Greek ἄρχι-( arkhi- , "chief") and πέλαγος ( pélagos , "sea") through the Italian arcipelago . In antiquity , "Archipelago" (from Medieval Greek * ἀρχιπέλαγος and Latin archipelagus ) was the proper name for the Aegean Sea . Later, usage shifted to refer to
2457-690: The Smithsonian Institution at the National Museum of Natural History . At the ceremony, secretary Lawrence M. Small said, "The rebirth of non-instrument navigation came about largely due to this man, Mau Piailug". The Bishop Museum presented Mau with the Robert J. Pfeiffer Medal on 12 July 2008, honouring him for "exceptional dedication to the advancement of maritime affairs and the perpetuation of maritime heritage in Hawaii and
2548-716: The Spanish East Indies and were governed from Manila in the Philippines . The Carolines are scattered across a distance of approximately 3,540 kilometres (1,910 nmi), from the westernmost island, Tobi , in Palau, to the easternmost island, Kosrae , a state of the FSM . The group consists of about 500 small coral islands , east of the Philippines , in the Pacific Ocean. The distance from Yap (one of
2639-775: The Spanish–American War of 1898, Spain sold the Carolines and the Northern Marianas to the German Empire in the German–Spanish Treaty (1899) for 25 million pesetas (the equivalent of 17 million goldmarks or nearly one million pounds sterling ), while reserving to itself the right to establish a coal mine in the area. Germany governed the archipelago as the Karolinen , and administratively associated it with German New Guinea . The islands were
2730-513: The United Kingdom disputed Spain's right to collect customs revenue . The European powers called on Pope Leo XIII to arbitrate this dispute. He decided that Spain would have these rights on the islands west of the 164th meridian east , and Germany would have these rights on the Marshall Islands . (He also assigned Germany the right to maintain a naval station in one of the Caroline Islands, but Germany never exercised that right.) After
2821-681: The United States sent a Jesuit from the Manila Observatory to the island of Yap to erect a meteorological station there, and appointed the Capuchin Father Callistus as its director. The station was able to identify that the East-Asiatic typhoons were originating in the Carolines. The station still makes weather observations twice a day, and sends advance notice of severe weather to Manila. During
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2912-563: The indigenous peoples of Oceania . Mau was born Pius Piailug in 1932 in the village of Weiso, on the small coral island of Satawal , in Yap State of the Caroline Islands , now a part of the Federated States of Micronesia . Satawal is a wooded island with an area of 1.3 square kilometres (0.50 sq mi), located in the western Pacific Ocean about 800 kilometres (500 mi) south of Guam . Mau's personal connection to
3003-430: The 1976 voyage, Mau stated soon they would see land, and the next day, Tahiti. A few hours later, they spotted land-based white terns ( Gygis alba ) followed by a diminution of the trade-wind swell. That night, they spotted Mataiva . After a brief stopover, with little more than another day's sailing they made landfall at Tahiti where they were welcomed by 17,000 people, half the population of Tahiti. Nainoa's ambition
3094-493: The 1985–1987 Voyage of Rediscovery to New Zealand, again with Nainoa as principal navigator and Mau as mentor. The voyage to New Zealand stoked Māori interest in cultural history, navigation techniques, and canoe building. It also brought to life for Māori the stories in their folklore of the great canoe voyages of migration and settlement in Aotearoa (New Zealand). Describing a ceremony held at Waitangi to commemorate
3185-554: The 2007 Hōkūleʻa " One Ocean, One People " voyage named "Kū Holo Mau", presented Mau with a canoe named the Alingano Maisu , a gift for his key role in reviving traditional wayfinding navigation in Hawaii. The canoe was built in Kawaihae, Hawaii under the nonprofit organization Nā Kalai Waʻa Moku O Hawaiʻi . The commitment to build this "gift" for Mau was made by Clay Bertelmann, captain of Makaliʻi and Hōkūleʻa . Maisu
3276-467: The Caroline Islands. When they resumed relations in 1787, their emphasis was on trade and commerce. In 1852, a Spanish colonel named Coello suggested to the Spanish government that effective Spanish occupation of the Caroline Islands would help the Spanish engage in trade and commerce with the Philippines , Australia , New Guinea , and the Americas . His suggestion was ignored at first, but, in 1885,
3367-613: The Carolines, see Flora of the Caroline Islands The island of Kosrae has fifteen species of land snails endemic to the island. Archipelago An archipelago ( / ˌ ɑːr k ə ˈ p ɛ l ə ɡ oʊ / AR -kə- PEL -ə-goh ), sometimes called an island group or island chain , is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands , or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Archipelagos are sometimes defined by political boundaries. For example, while they are geopolitically divided,
3458-546: The East Pacific but in the West. Recent developments in the field of DNA analysis have unequivocally settled the debate of Polynesian origin. They prove Polynesians share common ancestry with indigenous Taiwanese and East Asians . Navigator training was historically interwoven with culture and ritual. Great discretion had to be shown in candidate selection so that the knowledge preserved through oral tradition would have
3549-503: The Hawaii New Zealand voyage of Hōkūleʻa , Nainoa writes: Sir James Henare, the most revered of the elders of Tai Tokerau , got up and said, "You've proven that it could be done. And you've also proven that our ancestors did it.... because the five tribes of Tai Tokerau trace their ancestry from the names of the canoes they arrived in, and because you people from Hawaiʻi came by canoe, therefore by our traditions, you must be
3640-728: The Marshall Islands) became trust territories of the United States . The Federated States of Micronesia gained independence in 1986, followed by Palau in 1994. District officers (from 1889, styled Bezirksamtleute ): In the Western Caroline islands (Yap and Palau [and from 1907 Saipan]) In the Eastern Caroline islands ( Ponape , and including the Marshall Islands from 1911) Two Jesuits , Juan Antonio Cantova (also known as John Anthony Cantova) and Victor Walter, attempted missionary work there in 1731;
3731-476: The Micronesian-Polynesian cultural exchange, symbolized by Hōkūleʻa , had an impact throughout the Pacific. It contributed to the emergence of the second Hawaiian cultural renaissance and to a revival of Polynesian navigation and canoe building in Hawaii, New Zealand, Rarotonga and Tahiti. It also sparked interest in traditional wayfinding on Mau's home island of Satawal. Later in life, Mau
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3822-473: The Pacific". Mau also was honored for his "devotion and outstanding civic leadership" and for exemplifying "the spirit and purpose of the Museum's founder Charles Reed Bishop". The Polynesian Voyaging Society recognized Mau's contributions in preserving the art of wayfinding by building and donating the voyaging canoe Alingano Maisu to Mau and the people of Satawal, and he is honored with his name carved into
3913-470: The Pelew Islands, 200 miles to the south, and must have been brought by native vessels or on rafts; later they were transferred on European vessels. The stones, which are rather tokens than money, do not circulate, but are piled up round about the chief's treasure-house, and appear to be regarded as public property. Some may not have been seen for some years, but the transfer of wealth is facilitated by
4004-651: The Saudeleur dynasty ended when another foreigner, called Isokelekel , invaded the islands, overthrew the Saudeleurs, and instituted the more decentralized nahnmwarki (tribal chief) system (which was maintained even during the later Colonial period, and still exists today). The first contact that European explorers had with the Caroline islands was in 1525, when a summer storm carried the Portuguese navigators Diogo da Rocha and Gomes de Sequeira eastward from
4095-632: The Ulithi Islands on behalf of the king of Spain . He named them the Islands of the Kings ( Spanish : Islas de los Reyes ; French : Îles des Rois ) after his patron and the Three Wise Men honored in the approaching Catholic feast of Epiphany . Spanish explorers visited the archipelago again in 1542 (Matelotes Islands), 1543, and 1545. In 1565, the islands were briefly visited by
4186-574: The age of eighteen, around the time the first American missionaries arrived in Satawal. As he neared middle age, Mau grew concerned that the practice of navigation in Satawal would disappear as his people became acculturated to Western values. In the hope that the navigational tradition would be preserved for future generations, Mau shared his knowledge with the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS). With Mau's help, PVS used experimental archaeology to recreate and test lost Hawaiian navigational techniques on
4277-449: The anthropologist Ben Finney , who was researching Polynesian navigation. When McCoy's assignment on Satawal ended, he asked Pialug if he wanted to come to Hawaii with him. Mau first visited Hawaii in 1973, and McCoy introduced him to Ben Finney . Later, Finney suggested to the Polynesian Voyaging Society that they should try to recruit Mau for their Hōkūleʻa project, since no Hawaiian traditional navigators remained. The project goal
4368-496: The compass while smaller pieces represent important stars between those points. In Mau's star compass, these points are not necessarily equidistant . The outer circular formation represents the horizon, with the canoe its center point. The eastern half of the circle depicts reference stars' rising points on the horizon ( tan ) while the western half depicts their setting points ( tupul ). Swell patterns of prevailing trade winds are represented by sticks (not depicted here) overlaying
4459-768: The direction and nature of ocean swells and waves; the position of stars in the sky, and his estimation of the speed, current set , and leeway of his sailing craft. The "compass" he carried was not magnetic but a mental model of where islands are located and the star points that one could use to navigate between them. This mental model would have taken years of study to build; dances, chants ( rong ), and stories helped him to recall complex relationships of geography and location. The stars gave him highly reliable position information when visible, but navigators such as Mau manage to keep their position and tracks in mind even when blocked by clouds, using other references such as wind and swell as proxies. Mau's Carolinian star compass (pictured)
4550-520: The elevation of stars above the northern and southern horizons would change as the canoe sailed farther and farther south, we held training sessions in Honolulu's Bishop Museum planetarium to graphically show how, for example, as one sailed toward Tahiti[,] Polaris sank lower and lower on the northern horizon until it disappeared at the equator while the Southern Cross curved higher and higher in
4641-501: The equator, though Polaris is no longer visible, Crux ( Luubw ), the "Southern Cross", will have risen above the southern horizon. Travelling further southward, Crux rises higher in the sky. Through Crux's longest axis, an imaginary line bisecting Gacrux and Acrux points southward toward the southern celestial pole . However, the South Pole has no true zenith star from which direct readings of south latitude may be taken. As
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#17327723217394732-472: The evening, Mau would join the men in the canoe house as they drank, listening to their stories about navigation and sailing. Raangipi told the young boy that if he chose to become a navigator, Mau could gain respect from his community, eat well, and maintain a position in Satawalese society higher than that of a chief. Encouraged, Mau learned basic navigational clues regarding the "stars, swells, and birds" from Raangipi, but his grandfather died sometime before Mau
4823-579: The first governor-general of the Philippines , Miguel Lopez de Legazpi (in office from 1565 to 1572). Europeans did not visit the island again until 1686, when Francisco de Lezcano arrived in Yap. He called the islands Las Carolinas , in honor of Charles II of Spain . This name was later extended to include the Palau Islands and the archipelagos that British explorers, visiting them a century later (between 1788 and 1799), would come to call
4914-484: The former was soon murdered and the latter obliged to flee. Two other Jesuits were killed later. In 1767, the Jesuits were suppressed in the Spanish dominions, and for the next 120 years there was no trace of a missionary in the islands. After the 1886 dispute between Germany and Spain over possession of the Carolines was settled by Pope Leo XIII in favour of Spain, the king of Spain directed Spanish Capuchins to go to
5005-422: The greatest chance of survival. A master navigator's rank was equal or superior to a village chief's rank. Prudent navigation relies on no single technique but instead synthesizes position from multiple inputs. Underway, this constant synthesis makes it easy to spot the navigator, he being the one with red eyes from sleep deprivation. For a traditionally trained navigator, these inputs include physical signals from
5096-570: The help of Mau's navigational knowledge guiding Hōkūleʻa , the Polynesian Voyaging Society demonstrated that intentional voyaging was not only possible, but also the ancestors of the Polynesians could have settled the Pacific on similar voyages using non-instrument wayfinding techniques such as Mau's. Finally, linguistic and archaeological evidence suggests that the history of the Polynesian people does not originate in
5187-501: The indigenous people adhere to the traditional belief in a supreme being called "Yalafar" and an evil spirit called "Can." For the most part, however, they do not engage in traditional religious rites. The inhabitants of Yap are noted for possessing an unusual currency. Besides the ordinary shell money , there is a sort of stone coinage, consisting of huge calcite or limestone discs or wheels from 6 inches to 12 feet in diameter, and weighing up to nearly 5 tons. These are all quarried in
5278-424: The islands in 1914 during World War I , as part of their campaign to take and occupy German colonial possessions . They installed two naval squadrons as part of this occupation. The Western Carolines were controlled by the squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Matsumura Tatsuo (1868–1932); while the Eastern Carolines were controlled by Vice-Admiral Yamaya Tanin (1866–1940). In 1920, after World War I, Japan received
5369-426: The islands). According to Pohnpeian legend: the Saudeleur rulers originally came from beyond the islands; they were the first to bring government to Pohnpei; they imposed absolute, centralized rule on the islanders, which became increasingly oppressive over the centuries; and their arbitrary and onerous demands, along with their offenses against Pohnpeian deities, sowed resentment among Pohnpeians . Legend has it that
5460-455: The islands. The royal order was issued on 15 March 1886, and the Propaganda Fide officially established that mission on 15 May 1886, dividing it into two sections, named the West Caroline's and the East Carolines. Until that time, the islands had belonged ecclesiastically to the Vicariate Apostolic of Micronesia . The Spanish Capuchins caused a catechism and prayer book to be printed in the Ponape language, and Father Anthony of Valentia wrote
5551-533: The larger Caroline islands) to Manila is 1,200 mi (1,900 km). Most of the islands are made up of low, flat coral atolls , but there are some that rise high above sea level. Some of the individual islands which make up the Carolines include - Yap , Truk (Chuuk), Pohnpei , Kosrae , Palau , Takatik , Satawal , Kapingamarangi , Nukuoro , Fairchuk , Namonuito , Hall Island , Nomoi Islands , Weno , Rumung , Maap , Kanifay , Ngulu , Nett , Pingelap , and Lelu . The indigenous inhabitants speak
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#17327723217395642-506: The length of Micronesia. She was the first Hawaiian voyaging canoe to visit the far reaches of Micronesia and her appearance stimulated interest in Micronesians in their own cultural history. On 18 March 2007 Mau presided over the first pwo ceremony for navigators in 56 years on the island of Satawal. Five Native Hawaiians and eleven other people were inducted into pwo as master navigators, including Nainoa Thompson and Mau's son, Sesario Sewralur. The Polynesian Voyaging Society, as part of
5733-399: The lifestyle of the Satawalese people and Mau's role as a navigator. Even with the arrival of the Germans (1890) and the Japanese (1914) in Micronesia, Satawalese culture remained intact. American missionaries who arrived after World War II built the first church and school on Satawal. In the late 1960s, Mau attempted to verify his navigational knowledge of the wider Pacific by working as
5824-519: The mercy of wind and current. A 1973 study and computer simulation by Levison, Ward, and Web investigated the probability of Sharp's hypothesis but found it improbable. Finney disagreed with the accidental voyaging portion of Sharp's hypothesis. To investigate the problem, he founded the Polynesian Voyaging Society with Herb Kane and Tommy Holmes in 1973, intent on building a voyaging canoe to sail from Hawaii to Tahiti to test whether intentional two-way voyaging throughout Oceania could be replicated. With
5915-554: The nonprofit organization, Nā Kalai Waʻa Moku o Hawaiʻi on the island of Hawaii in 1992. Beginning in 1994, the two brothers helped construct Makaliʻi , a 54-foot voyaging canoe, launching it in 1995. From February to May 1999, "Shorty" Bertelmann navigated Makaliʻi to Satawal in a voyage known as "E Mau – Sailing the Master Home". The voyage was to pay homage to master navigator Mau Piailug and to thank him for his teachings. Mau sailed home aboard Makaliʻi as their honored guest. Makaliʻi continued her 1999 voyage through half
6006-438: The origins and early histories of their peoples. For example, on Pohnpei , the islanders describe their history before colonial times as divided into three eras: the Mwehin Kawa or Mwehin Aramas (era of building or peopling, before 1100); the Mwehin Sau Deleur (era of the reigns of the Saudeleur , from 1100 to around 1628); and the Mwehin Nahnmwarki (era of the tribal chiefs, from around 1628 to 1885, when Spain colonized
6097-622: The people of the Pacific to their cultural roots. Revived interest in preserving traditional culture and navigation methods reinvigorated the art of canoe building and cultural studies in Hawaii, New Zealand, Rarotonga, and Tahiti, as well as Mau's homeland of Satawal. Two centuries before Mau and the Hōkūleʻa , Captain James Cook , with the help of Tupaia , gained knowledge that otherwise would have been closely held. Before his death in 1779, Cook hypothesized that Polynesians shared common ancestry; he even pinned their origin to Asia. However, Cook's theory did not prevent debate among scholars. Before
6188-416: The period of German control, Germany issued postage stamps for the islands. Transportation within the islands is either by boat or air (if in close proximity of an airfield). Air travel is mostly domestic as most facilities cannot handle large aircraft. Caroline Islands Air is a chartered and the only domestic airline. Palau and Yap are the only places outside the Philippines where Callicarpa micrantha
6279-480: The rail aboard Hōkūleʻa behind his traditional seat on the port rear quarter of the vessel. The success of Mau's navigational feats sparked cultural pride in Tahitians, Māori, and Hawaiians and connected all Polynesians to stories their forebears told of similar voyages of generations past. The voyage of Hōkūleʻa attracted the interest of young students such as Milton "Shorty" Bertelmann and later Nainoa Thompson. Mau not only led Hōkūleʻa to Tahiti, but reconnected
6370-411: The result of erosion , deposition , and land elevation . Depending on their geological origin, islands forming archipelagos can be referred to as oceanic islands , continental fragments , or continental islands . Oceanic islands are mainly of volcanic origin, and widely separated from any adjacent continent. The Hawaiian Islands and Galapagos Islands in the Pacific , and Mascarene Islands in
6461-448: The same language is English. The indigenous people of these islands live mainly on horticultural products, fish, many different varieties of bananas, and taro (either the "swamp" or the "purple" variety). On some islands, housing is still built using local materials such as coconut-palm thatch. As a result of missionary work over the centuries, Christianity is the religion most commonly practiced in this region of Micronesia . Many of
6552-562: The sea began early in his life, when he was placed in tide pools in his infancy so he could feel the pull of the ocean. At the age of four or five, Mau was chosen by his grandfather Raangipi to study as an apprentice navigator. Mau initially protested his grandfather's teaching, preferring to spend his time playing on the beach with children his own age. Raangipi trained Mau as a young navigator for many years. Their day would begin at sunrise, when they would eat breakfast together and afterwards, take care of chores before they went fishing. During
6643-404: The sea, skies, and stars, memory signals from his knowledge of star, swell, and wind compasses; and cultural knowledge recorded in chants, dances, and stories. Examples of physical signals include the color, temperature, and taste (salinity) of seawater; floating plant debris; sightings of land-based seabirds flying out to fish; cloud type, color, and movement; wind direction, speed, and temperature;
6734-670: The shelf. The islands of the Inside Passage off the coast of British Columbia and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago are examples. Artificial archipelagos have been created in various countries for different purposes. Palm Islands and The World Islands off Dubai were or are being created for leisure and tourism purposes. Marker Wadden in the Netherlands is being built as a conservation area for birds and other wildlife. The largest archipelago in
6825-454: The sixth tribe of Tai Tokerau. In 1995, Mau took part in the Nā ʻOhana Holo Moana voyage of Hōkūleʻa to Raiatea . Sailing with his son Sesario Sewralur, and Nainoa as sailing master, Mau watched as Nainoa's students Kaʻau McKenney and Keahi Omai served as navigators. Mau had seen Nainoa succeed in the 1980 and 1985–1987 voyages; finally, in this 1995 voyage, Mau saw proof that the knowledge
6916-403: The sky. During his first few days of the voyage, Mau received further coaching on the pattern of winds and currents from Rodo Williams, a veteran Tahitian seaman on the crew who the year before had sailed a yacht from Tahiti to Hawaii and could therefore provide Mau with a firsthand account of what he could expect to encounter. Their collaboration proved successful when, on the 31st day at sea on
7007-432: The south Indian Ocean are examples. Continental fragments correspond to land masses that have separated from a continental mass due to tectonic displacement. The Farallon Islands off the coast of California are an example. Sets of islands formed close to the coast of a continent are considered continental archipelagos when they form part of the same continental shelf, when those islands are above-water extensions of
7098-417: The star compass in the form of a square. All knowledge is retained by memory with the help of dances, chants, and stories, wherein the stars are enumerated as people or characters in the stories. One aspect of the Carolinian method of estimating longitude on inter-island sailings is to visualize the target island relative to a second reference island's alignment with a succession of selected stars, points of
7189-422: The star compass. It is a refined system of dead reckoning whereby the navigator constantly synthesizes his position relative to the reference island's location in his mental model. The most remarkable thing is that the reference island ( lu pongank ) may be over the horizon, unseen, even imaginary. In its simplest form the star compass describes 32 points at which key stars rise on the eastern horizon and set on
7280-558: The voyage to Tahiti required Mau to familiarise himself with the geography and night sky of the Southern Hemisphere. Of the preparation, Finney writes, To prepare Mau Piailug for the voyage, David Lewis briefed him on the geography of the islands in this part of the Pacific and the winds and currents that could be expected along the way, all information that an early Polynesian navigator acquainted with this route would have carried in his head. In addition, to alert Mau of how
7371-516: The western horizon. North latitude is fairly easy to determine because the North Pole has a zenith star easily seen with the naked eye, called Polaris ( Wuliwulifasmughet ). Polaris' height above the horizon indicates the viewer's southward displacement from Polaris' nadir , the North Pole. When one travels further north, Polaris appears higher in the sky. Only at the true north pole
7462-487: The world by number of islands is the Archipelago Sea , which is part of Finland . There are approximately 40,000 islands, mostly uninhabited. The largest archipelagic state in the world by area, and by population, is Indonesia . Mau Piailug Pius " Mau " Piailug (pronounced / ˈ p aɪ ə s ˈ m aʊ p iː ˈ aɪ l ə ɡ / ; 1932 – 12 July 2010) was a Micronesian navigator from
7553-416: The young men of Satawal the skills passed on to him, but he was not optimistic. The members of the younger generation were too busy with school and too attracted to Western culture to undertake the rigorous course of study and apprenticeship. Further, Mau's people did not seem to care that traditional navigation was dying and could be lost forever. With Finney 's help, Mau was awarded a special fellowship at
7644-486: Was appointed first prefect Apostolic at that time. In 1906, 24 missionaries (12 Fathers and 12 Brothers) were working in thirteen stations, and several Sisters of St. Francis left Luxembourg to take charge of the ten primary schools, in which a total of 262 children were enrolled. The missionaries boasted 90 adult converts that year, and reported that there were 1900 Catholics, a few Protestants, and 11,600 inhabitants who had not converted to Christianity. On 1 July 1905,
7735-460: Was carried forward to the next generation. The canoe landed successfully at Rarotonga, and the voyage resulted in the lifting of a six-centuries-old taboo on voyaging from Raʻiātea. Hōkūleʻa had sailed from Hawaii with sisterships Hawaiʻiloa and Makaliʻi ; the canoes rendez-voused at Taputapuatea with other voyaging canoes from across Oceania. To help preserve Hawaiian culture, Milton "Shorty" Bertelmann and his brother Clay established
7826-443: Was fourteen. After his grandfather died, Mau began training with his father, Orranipui. Mau learned more about navigating by stars ( wofanu ) from his father, and how to fish and build canoes. When his father died before he turned fifteen, Mau was adopted by his aunt and uncle. Sometime around the age of eighteen, Mau's aunt and uncle sent him to study with Angora, an acclaimed navigator. His studies culminated in his initiation as
7917-403: Was given to Mau on behalf of all the voyaging families and organizations that actively continue to sail and practice the traditions taught by Mau Piailug. After a long struggle with diabetes, Mau died on his home island of Satawal at 18:30 Micronesia time, Monday, 12 July 2010. As is the tradition on Satawal, travel between the islands was temporarily suspended in Mau's honour. Because there
8008-510: Was respectfully known as a grandmaster navigator, and he was called "Papa Mau" by his friends with great reverence and affection. He received an honorary degree from the University of Hawaii , and he was honored by the Smithsonian Institution and the Bishop Museum for his contributions to maritime history . Mau's life and work was explored in several books and documentary films, and his legacy continues to be remembered and celebrated by
8099-437: Was to sail Hōkūleʻa to Tahiti as navigator by using recreated traditional techniques. He spent years training on his own and with Mau. Mau's training and mentoring helped Nainoa achieve that goal in the 1980 Tahiti voyage. It marked the first time in over 500 years that a Native Hawaiian had mastered the stars, the seas, the birds, and the winds to guide a sailing canoe from Hawaii to Tahiti and back. The two men joined again for
8190-474: Was to test the hypothesis that Polynesians made intentional non-instrument voyages across the Pacific. Tevake, a renowned Polynesian navigator, had died in 1970 and only six others were known. Navigators were reluctant to release their sacred knowledge to "outsiders". At the time, Mau was just 41 years old and the youngest navigator out of the group. Mau feared that traditional navigation would die in his own culture, just as it had in Hawaii. He had tried to teach
8281-433: Was too vast to have been settled by intentional voyaging so migrations must have happened by accidental drift voyages. Sharp granted that Polynesians likely settled the Pacific from Asia, but held the opinion that their crude vessels and navigational tools were not reliable for intentional sailing from Tahiti to Hawaii or New Zealand. He stated that voyages of more than 300 miles were likely accidental voyages, with landfall at
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