Polynesian seafaring - history and Hawaiian re-creation

Captain Cook 'discovers' Tahiti and Hawaii. The natives tell Cook how they navigated the vast Pacific Ocean. Later commentators dispute this, and some natives of today---many decades after ravages of their culture by outsiders--decide to rebuild the ancient navigation knowledge and traditional sailing canoes to create a new legacy of wayfinding and revive the spirit of the ancestral way as they teach others to face new horizons.

Herb Kawainui Kane speaks about Thor Heyerdahl and his Kon-Tiki expedition, and then the Hokule'a (Hōkūle'a)-- a re-created ancient double-hulled voyaging canoe (vaka taurua) featured in this extract.

Narrated by Napuanalani Cassidy

the Polynesian Voyaging Society's website:
pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu

this clip is extracted from the VHS tape "Wayfinders: a Pacific Odyssey"

the library's description of it:

Publisher, Date: Charlotte, N.C. : Maiden Voyage/PBS Home Video, c1999.

Description: 1 videocassette (approx. 60 min.): sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 1/2 in.

Summary: Presents a seafaring odyssey with a group of Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, as they build traditional sailing canoes, learn to travel long distances using celestial navigation, and embark on a 2,000-mile voyage from the Marquesas Islands to Hawaii.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Hawaii
• Hokule'a
• Polynesian
• seafaring
• wayfinders
• history
• traditional
• sailing
• canoes
• Captain-Cook
• Hōkūle'a

[Seake43]

@TrueGreatness73

[670rainman]

@jusitke07 hey bro sorry for the sarcastic comment. just mesn wit u. anyways ur right he did get bronze during sumr olympcs but this are challenges any athlete experience during their career. Dave T. for a time held the ''WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE BELT''.i wonder what happened to the gold/silver medal recepients. to islanders sports for the most part is just 4 fun. very few are serious and even less succeed. small pool of athletes to choose from to compare to big places like Sud/Dan.

[jusitke07]

@670rainman Oh you're right, he won bronze medals in Summer Olympics. Gee, I wonder who defeated him to get Silver, and who got Gold. Plus, thank you for naming only one....one ;)

[670rainman]

@jusitke07 you ever herd of boxing heavyweight champion DAVID TUA? thats right, his Samoan. i never heard of any dane or sudanese boxing champions. try looking up guiness book of record and see who holds record for fastest coconut climbing.SAMOAN. but thats what islanders r good at, strenght and agility and heart of a fighter so wen a sudanese or dane sees the samoan coming. they gonna need all the medals they can get. so dont wait for sound of gun to start. RUN FOREST RUN!.

[670rainman]

@jusitke07 you ever herd of boxing heavyweight champion DAVID TUA? thats right, his Samoan. i never heard of any dane or sudanese boxing champions. try looking up guiness book of record and see who holds record for fastest coconut climbing. but thats what islanders r good at, strenght and agility and heart of a fighter so wen a sudanese or dane sees the samoan coming. they gonna need all the medals they can get. so dont wait for sound of gun to start. RUN FOREST RUN!.

[Herc2770]

@TheAustronesianUnity The prison we need to be free from is the one where our culture was suppressed.

We need to take back our ocean, our sport of surfing that our forefathers created and the science of navigation. We need to bring back so much that we have lost. We all always talk about the bad and stupid sides of our culture but we have forgotten the great and good side of our oceanic culture.

We were the kings of the ocean, now were chumps.

[TheAustronesianUnity]

@Herc2770 truz up dont forget your roots my frend just know that all PI are family no matter what happens the only thing is we need our freedom that is all.

[Herc2770]

@TheAustronesianUnity What do you mean "Pure Poly? We are what we are, were polynesian. Fijians arent included as Polynesians, by the definition. There is no such thing as Samoan or Tongan, they are the same people genetically. The polynesian genome allows us to adapt quicker then other people, thats why we have varied skin tone. The mixing with Asian and Europeans only began a few decades ago, meaning theres a vast amount of us still unchanged. We r the primary source of polynesia.

[TheAustronesianUnity]

@Herc2770 and just to proof tongans are infact pure polys well they dont look like chinese or german like most samoan in their last name their blood is of the old you know its fact and thats coming from a fijian

[TheAustronesianUnity]

@Herc2770 Samoan isnt the heart if polynesia it was tonga and fiji it is where you all started from.Samoan wasnt worthy. if you ask a tongan back in the day most of their blood is mixed in with the old fijian polynesian and melnesian that came there. after 500 years of rule samons where free from tongan/fijian rule simple as that proof well ask the tattoo ,kava,pig,warships,clubs etc all come from the tonga/fisi son. if you ask me why Samoan and tongan dont get along its because of that.