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For the wayfinders and navigators who practice Polynesian voyages, the clues to where to go lie all over the big blue and beyond. Once you can see them, it’s all about working with – not against – the elements, like Disney’s Moana shown to the public in 2016.
Program Director and Captain of the Polynesian Voyager Society Lehua Kamalu felt right at home when she first arrived climbed aboard Hōkūleʻa. This authentic replica of an ancient Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe was built in the 1970s and has since traveled thousands of nautical miles.
“I really fell in love with the place, the people of course Hōkūleʻa herself and her legacy is really powerful,” says Kamalu Popular science. “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t immediately feel addicted.”
[Related: ‘Fingerprints’ confirm the seafaring stories of adventurous Polynesian navigators.]
In addition to her work crossing the Pacific Ocean, Kamalu served as a consultant on the original film and its new sequel, Moana 2. While growing up in Hawaii, she learned about signage through the school curriculumit was not until adulthood that she was able to board a ship for the first time Hōkūleʻa and try it out yourself. Over the next fifteen years or so, she was part of the crew that took on this mission Hōkūleʻa around the same waterways that have been navigated for thousands of years.
“It means understanding what’s going on and getting out on the water,” Kamalu says. “Understanding the stars and weather from different places on the island.”
‘This cave has boats! Huge canoes!’
Generally speaking, Wayfinding is orienting and traveling from place to place. Both humans and animals are capable of finding their way, as when a pet returns home after escaping from a garden, or when animals return to the same place every year. Wayfinding includes all processes that make this possible humans and animals to orient themselves.
Navigating is one a bit more technical. It’s about understanding where you are on the water compared to where you want to go and how to get there. Polynesian travelers use the stars, wind, clouds, sea creatures and more to find their way without using a compass, sextant or other tools. They depend on other things, primarily on the canoe itself.
“One of the first things you start to understand is how a ship like this is put together,” Kamalu explains. “Where the stress points are on this ship, how and why it is designed the way it is, how the sail moves flexibly over the waves.”
To ensure this respect for the vessel, all crew members participate in the assembly and maintenance of the vessel. These canoes are mainly made of wood and tied together with lots of rope. They are a precursor to modern catamarans, but without fiberglass and luxury gadgets. Understanding the ins and outs of the boat and where the weaker points are on dry land is critical to everyone’s safety.
“In Hawaii we don’t really have lagoons or lakes,” Kamalu says. “Once you’re in the water, you’re in the ocean. So it is a very quick baptism in the high seas.”
Maui’s fishing hook
One of the most universally human components of travel is using the night sky as a map. The stars help travelers find their way because they travel without tools to guide them. Travelers study where stars, constellations and planets should be located depending on which hemisphere they are in, the time of year and how they move through the night sky. Hawai’i is located in the Northern Hemisphere, where the brilliant North Star is a constant guide.
“It really forces yourself to create a map of how the world works in a very human way,” Kamalu says.
The film shows A constellation called Maui’s Fishhook. Also known as the fishhook or ScorpioIt represents the fishing hook of demigod Maui and has traditionally helped travelers position themselves in the Pacific Ocean. It was very important to Kamalu and the other travel advisors in the films to get Maui’s fishing hook looking the right way.
“We really wanted to make sure this was right. They are real stars! It’s not on a fantasy planet. You can go outside, maybe not right away, but sometimes you can go outside and hopefully see the same stars that we can see around the world,” Kamalu says.
Working with the clouds, wind, waves and animals
During the daylight hours, when the stars are invisible, travelers rely on other natural signs. The types of clouds gathering on the horizon are a good indication of what weather lies ahead. Travelers should also understand what changes in wind and wave patterns could mean. When it comes to finding land, animals are usually the most crucial.
“The animals just have a natural ability to find a home, find land and find their islands. It is crucial to understand which animals can take you closer to an island or further away from an island,” says Kamalu. “There’s just a whole world of clues.”
By spending time understanding the water with the stars, the wind, the clouds and the sea life, travelers learn what they each indicate on their own, but also how they work together. Just as the team must work together.
“You can’t go anywhere where I won’t be with you.”
What makes the journeys of the fictional Moana and the real-life navigators so special are the people who make it possible. Wayfinding connects our species to a part of the Earth that few will ever experience.
For Kamalu, the moment in the first film that truly captures that essence is when the spirit of Moana’s deceased grandmother appears in the water as a beautiful luminous stingray to guide her.
“I think with wayfinding we can really focus on those very mechanical parts. But it is an important question to always check our own inner feelings. There are elements that remind you of the teachers who got you there, and remind you that you are not alone. There are a lot of people rooting for you and helping you get there. I think that’s why that scene always makes me remember that too, because every time I’m there in those moments when I’m having a hard time, I can think of family and grandma and everyone who is there with me.
Moana 2 is now playing in theaters across the country.
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