via BBC Future, 29 November 2023: The ancient art of Pacific wayfinding, a skill once nearly lost due to colonial influence, is experiencing a revival, offering valuable insights for today’s world. Wayfinding, using environmental cues like stars, wind, and ocean swells, was exemplified in the 1976 voyage of the Hokule’a from Hawaii to Tahiti, led by master navigator Mau Piailug. This resurgence in traditional navigation is not only restoring cultural pride among Pacific Islanders but also highlights the importance of environmental awareness and adaptability in the face of modern challenges like climate change. These navigational practices, deeply intertwined with nature, advocate a holistic approach to understanding our environment and could enhance mental and hippocampal health by encouraging active, attentive engagement with our surroundings.
Wayfinding – the art of navigating using the wind, stars, ocean swells, and other environmental cues – was how sailors from the Marquesas Islands first discovered Hawaii more than 1,500 years ago. Over time, however, wayfinding all but vanished throughout the Pacific, in large part because colonial powers banned canoe travel or forced compasses and other navigational tools onto their subjects. By the time the Hokule’a was seaworthy, it had been over 600 years since Hawaiians regularly practised wayfinding.
Source: What we can learn from the ancient art of wayfinding – BBC Future
