ART OF THE NAVIGATORS

Tracing the earliest settlement of the Pacific, scientists conclude from studies from artefacts
(particularly a widespread archaic type of pottery called Lapita ware) that it was launched
somewhere in the islands of Southeast Asia. Through the millenniums, migrations swept
generally eastward across the ocean, but ultimately the waves spread towards every compass
point - as far north as Hawaii, as far south as New Zealand, even westward again to the so-
called Polynesian outliers in Micronesia and Melanesia.

The obscure people who made Lapita pottery reached Tonga before 1000 B.C. There, and in
Samoa, they settled down and developed the language and culture we now call Polynesian.
From its cradle in the Tonga-Samoa region, Polynesian culture began its spread over the
Pacific about the time of Christ. When Europeans arrived some fifteen centuries later, they
found Polynesians occupying a vast triangle that covers almost a fourth of the Pacific.

Indeed, although the void of written language or any instruments, guided solely by their
censors, the early Polynesians ranged over an area bigger than all the Soviet Union and China
combined. For years, scholars had debated whether this vast area was settled mostly by
accident - by wind-blown castaways, by people wandering blindly - or by navigational skill of
the first magnitude.
Later studies revealed that the latter was the case. Following is an introduction to the
navigational techniques used by the early navigators.

In addition to their more advanced navigational techniques, the early navigators used some
simple facts as an aid to their navigation. The first of these was the occurrence of trade wind
clouds over invisible islands over the horizon. What the navigator could see was the reflection
of the island in the under surface of the cloud. This green reflection was an obvious sign to the
navigator that there was an island or atoll over the horizon.

Low lying cloud formation above an atoll

The second simple navigational technique adopted by our forefathers was to follow the
movements of the birds. Such birds as the frigate bird and the tern roost ashore and then feed

When travelling greater distances, the early navigators steered by the stars. They directed their
canoes towards a particular star in the constellation Leo and when that star moved too high
and too far to the left, they followed the next star that rose from the same point on the horizon.
Then the next and after that the next and so on until dawn broke.

The star-compass technique is still practised over much of the Pacific. What is more
impressive however is the island navigator's uncanny skill to steer by wave motion - swells
reflected from islands beyond the horizons. The skilled navigator comes to recognise the
profile and characteristic of particular ocean swells as he would the faces of his friends, but he
judges their direction more by feel than by sight.

The complex patterns produced by swell reflected and refracted among the islands are
recognised by navigators throughout Oceania. The Marshall Islanders illustrate the process
using stick charts as seen below.
 An early stick chart from Micronesia shows the waves
and currents around the islands which are represented by shells.

The skills of the navigator are part of our Micronesian and Polynesian heritage. It is the last
legacy of uncounted generations of the great captains of all mankind. They have learned to
steer by star horizon courses, by cloud formations, bird zones and the wave patterns broken by
islands. In many areas, they enjoy greater prestige than the local village chiefs. They were
men of rare, unusual and impressive talent and skills. It is to be hoped that these are not lost to
future generations.