Relearning a Maori lost art

How did Maori find their way to New Zealand? Theories abound: blown off course? Bunny-hopping from one known island to another island? Relying on ocean currents? Celestial navigation?

Whatever the means, the knowledge became lost because Maori had no written language. When knowledge is passed on like Chinese Whispers it loses precision and interest wanes. How could Maori relearn the navigation arts that they had lost? They went to Mau Piailug. 

 The Micronesian navigator Mau Piailug (1932-2010) was originally from the Carolinian islands. He learned the traditional navigation techniques, 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 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.

The Pacific was the last great region to be explored. It is estimated that migration took place between 3000 BC to 1000 AD. New Zealand may have been the last landfall. Explorers used multi-hulled boats guided by experts in celestial navigation. Those techniques were verbally passed on through the generations. Everything had to be memorised. Among the 'tools' memorised was the star compass.

Through constant observation, navigators were able to detect changes in the speed of their canoes, their heading, and the time of day or night. Polynesian navigators employed a wide range of techniques including the use of the stars, the movement of ocean currents and wave patterns, even the patterns of bioluminescence that indicated the direction in which islands were located, the air and sea interference patterns caused by islands and atolls, the flight of birds, the winds and the weather. There is currently no evidence of historic Polynesian navigators using navigational devices on board vessels, such as some Vikings used in the northern hemisphere.

To see a Star Compass example in New Zealand today you need to visit Napier. There are 32 pou each 3.5m high in a 30 metre circle. They show the rising and setting points of the Sun and Moon, planets and stars as memorised. While daylight with a bright sunny day could help navigators, it was the night sky that gave the most accurate directions. The Compass has a central stone with elaborately carved pou indicating East, North, South and West.

It's a peaceful spot looking out to sea. For more information on Polynesian navigation go to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_navigation