Ku Holo Mau / Sail On, Sail Always, Sail Forever
2007 Voyage to Micronesia for Mau Piailug Hokule‘a’s voyage to the islands of Micronesia, including the island of Satawal, home of master navigator Mau Piailug, is to honor and thank Mau for his contributions to the reawakening of Hawai‘i’s and Polynesia’s voyaging traditions. Mau not only navigated Hokule‘a on her first voyage to Tahiti in 1976, he shared his voyaging and navigation traditions with young Hawaiians eager to learn about how their ancestors sailed the long sea roads of Polynesia without navigational instruments. (Photo right: canoe off Satawal, from http://www.temjin.co.jp/2003w.htm.) Hokule‘a will accompany the voyaging canoe Alingano Maisu, built by Na Kalai Wa‘a Moku o Hawai‘i as a gift for Mau. Makali‘i, the voyaging canoe of Na Kalai Wa‘a, may also join Hokule‘a and Maisu on this voyage. The voyage is a partnership between the PVS and Na Kalai Wa‘a. Mau’s voyaging navigation traditions are the foundation of Hokule‘a’s voyaging legacy, which spans over three decades. His teachings have inspired communities in Hawai‘i and Polynesia to build more than a dozen deep-sea voyaging canoes. This 2007 journey with Maisu to Satawal is one of appreciation from the Pacific voyaging family. It is also a step in a long-term plan to establish a Pacific-wide school of navigation to ensure that traditional navigation and Mau’s dream of keeping cultural traditions alive will survive for future generations. The name of the voyage “Ku Holo Mau / Sail On, Sail Always, Sail Forever” was given to Na Kalai Wa‘a by Pua Kanaka‘ole for the building of Mau’s canoe and the voyage to Satawal.
A teacher’s guide for studying Pacific Islands cultures can be found at Pacific Worlds. |