Polynesian sailors of old read the seas and the skies. Observing the positions of the stars and planets, the swells of the ocean, and even the behavior of marine birds, the sailors found their way in the vast Pacific Ocean.
Over time, that knowledge became increasingly scarce. In Hawaii it became extinct—until, that is, artist and historian Herb Kawainui Kane decided to make a replica of an ancient voyaging canoe.
The Hokule'a, meaning Star of Gladness in Hawaiian, was created in 1975. It was named after Arcturus, the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere, which rises at the latitude of the Hawaiian islands.
A master navigator from Micronesia, Mau Piailug, guided the canoe from Hawaii to Tahiti and started to teach what he knew of the old navigation ways.
As it sailed from Hawaii to Aotearoa, New Zealand, and to Rapa Nui (Easter Island), the Hokule'a inspired a revival in canoe building and cultural pride not only in Hawaii but also throughout Polynesia. Remarkably, the crew navigated the seas in the same way ancient voyagers did hundreds of years before, without any modern instruments and relying solely on human observation of nature and the elements.
