Pacific voyagers’ remarkable environmental knowledge allowed for long-distance navigation without Western technology

Wet and trembling, rose from Outrigger from the Polynesian journey boat. We were in the sea in the afternoon and most of the night. I was hoping to get a little rest, but the rain, wind and the absence of a flat space made sleep impossible. My comrades did not try.

It was in May 1972, and I was three months after doctoral research in one of the most remote islands in the world. Anuta It is the extreme east of the population The outpost of the Solomon Islands. Its diameter is half a mile, 75 miles (120 km) from the closest housing neighbors, and one of the few societies where the islands are practiced in Outrigger boats regularly.

The hosts of the bird hunting organized to Patotaka, an uninhabited compact 30 miles, and called me to join the team.

We spent 20 hours on our way to our destination, followed by two days there, and they sailed again with the winds of 20 knots. That adventure led to Contracts of anthropological research on How are the residents of the Pacific Islands? Pass the open sea On a small craft, without “modern” tools, and It safely reaches their intended destinations.

Interfering techniques differ, depending on geographical and environmental conditions. Many, however, widespread. It includes the mental mapping of the islands in the navigational world and the location of potential destinations with regard to the movement of stars, ocean currents, winds and waves.

Wester

Disney two “Mawana“The films have highlighted the highlighting of the Polynesian journey. However, the European Pacific admiration returns to centuries.

In 1768, French explorer Luis Antoine de Boughanfille called “Samoa”.NavigateThe famous British Sea Commander James Cook reported that indigenous boats were fast and graceful as his ships Tobia, Ra’iTea navigation expertOn his ship and documenting the enormous geographical knowledge of Tubia.

In 1938, the Maori T -Ranji Heroa Researcher (also known as Sir Peter Back) was written by Sir Peter Pak)Vikings from sunrise“Determining the Pacific Ocean as it was filmed in the Bolienesian legend.

In 1947, he crossed the Hurdel bull, a Norwegian explorer and an amateur archaeologist, via Peru to the Tawamoto Islands on the Polisa wood Touf called Kon TikiWhich sparked more attention and inspiring a series of experimental trips.

Ten years later, Andrew Sharp, a New Zealand -based New Zealand historian, argued that fine navigation is thousands of miles away without impossible tools. Others responded with ethnographic studies that showed that such trips were a historical fact and current practice. In 1970, Thomas Gladwin published his findings on the island of Bulwat Micronesic in “in”East is a large bird“Two years later, David Lewis”We, the navigators“Employment techniques documented across most Oceania.

Many anthropologists, along with the original sailorsIt was built on the work of Gladwin’s and Lewis.

It was a final strand was a trial journey. The most famous is a job The Poland Flight Association. They built a boat on the double trip called Hōkūle’a, built of modern materials but after the traditional design. In 1976, led by the explorer Micronesia Mao Piaylog, they sailed Hōkūle’a more than 2500 miles, from Hawaii to Tahiti, without tools. In 2017, he completed hōkūle’a a About the planet.

In passing the largest ocean on Earth, one can travel thousands of miles away and only see the sky and water in any direction. In the absence of a magnetic compass, much lower than GPS, how can it be accurately navigated to the intended destination?

Looking at the stars

Most calm in the Pacific Ocean Dependence on heavenly navigation. Stars rise in the eastIt was placed in the West, and near the equator, follow a specific line of the latitude. If the well -known star either rises or places directly on the target island, helmsman The ship can be compatible with this star.

However, there are complications.

That is, the stars are visible, as well as the climbing and appointment points, change throughout the year. Therefore, navigation requires a detailed astronomical understanding.

Also, the stars are constantly in movement. One is placed directly on the target island that will rise very soon so that it is not useful or drowned below the horizon. thus, The explorer must search other stars This follows a similar path and follows it as long as it is visible and low on the horizon. Such a sequence is often called steering stars.The path of the stars“

Of course, the stars may not be carefully in line with the desired goal. In this case, instead of directly targeting the guide star, Navigator maintains an appropriate angle.

The explorer must adjust the ship alignment with the stars to compensate for the currents and winds that may push the side boats. This movement is called time limit. Therefore, heavenly movement requires knowledge of the presence, speed, and direction of currents, their direction, as well as the ability to judge the strength, direction of wind and its effect on the boat.

During daylight, when the stars are invisible, the sun may serve a similar purpose. Early in the morning and afternoon, when the sun is low in the sky, the sailors use it to calculate their address. However, clouds sometimes block both the sun and stars, in which case voyageers depend on the other sermon.

Waves, wind and other indicators

A decisive indicator is Enlarge. These are the waves produced by the winds that blow firmly across thousands of miles from the open sea. They maintain their direction regardless of temporary or local winds, which produce different waves called “Seas“

Helmsman, who feels bloating under the ship, gets the appropriate address, even in the dark. In some sites, there may be up to three or four distinct swelling styles; It is distinguished by Voyageers by size, shape, strength and direction in relation to the prevailing wind.

Once the sailors are near the island of the target, but before it is visible, they must determine its exact location. There is a common indicator that is reflected in the waves: the enlargement that hit the island and bounce into the sea. The explorer feels the waves and sails reflected towards them. The navigators in the Pacific Ocean seems to have been completely confident in dependent on the reflected waves. In contrast, I find them It is difficult to distinguish One of the waves produced by the wind directly.

Some birds that Live on Earth and fish at sea It is also useful. Early in the morning, one assumes that they fly from the island; Late in the afternoon, they are likely to return to the nesting sites.

The navigators sometimes get to know a green dye to the sky over an invisible island. Clouds may accumulate on volcanic peak.

The sailors in the Suleiman Vikau Islands area are reports underwater reports known as T -Laba, which they say towards the remote islands. One of the well -known researchers expressed Confidence in the existence and benefit of T Lapa. Some scientists have suggested that it could be a biological or electromagnetic phenomenon. On the other hand, despite a year of concerted voltage, I could not confirm its existence.

His position at sea is another challenge. Stars move along a specific parallel length and indicate the latitude. On the contrary, it requires measuring the length line Dead account. The navigators calculate their position by tracking the starting point, direction, speed and time at sea.

Some micronesic navigators are estimated to be presented through a system known as ETak. They imagine the angle between their boat, the photographer as fixed, and a reference island that is performed on one side and represents it moves. Western researchers have Speech on how Etak worksBut there is no consensus yet.

For thousands of years, Pacific Voyagers relied on techniques like these to reach thousands of islands, which are scattered throughout our planet’s vicinity. They did it without Western tools. Instead, they kept a sophisticated knowledge and a common understanding, which has gone through the oral word, through an endless generations.

This article has been republished from ConversationAn independent, non -profit news organization brings you facts and trusted analysis to help you understand our complex world. Written by: Richard (Rick) Venbergand Kent State University

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In the past, Richard (Rick) has received research funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and Kent State State. He is a member of the American Association of Anthropology, the Association of Senior Anthropology Scientists, and the Association of Social Anthropology in Oceania. He has kept links with people on the islands he had research.