Kaua'i - Hawaii - page 1052

Almost nothing is known about the first wave of Polynesians (likely from the Marque-
sas Islands) who settled Hawaiʻi, except that the archaeological record shows they were
here. A second wave of Polynesians from the Tahitian Islands began arriving around AD
1000, and they conquered the first peoples and obliterated nearly all traces of their his-
tory and culture. Later Hawaiian legends of the menehune - an ancient race of little
people who mysteriously built temples and great stoneworks overnight - may refer to
these original inhabitants.
HAWAII'S WAYFARING TRADITIONS REBORN
In 1976, a double-hulled wooden canoe and her crew set off from Oʻahu's Wind-
ward Coast, aiming to recreate the journey of Hawaii's first human settlers and do
what no one had done in over 600 years - sail 2400 miles to Tahiti without benefit
of radar, compass, satellites or sextant. Launched by the Polynesian Voyaging So-
ciety, this modern reproduction of an ancient Hawaiian long-distance seafaring ca-
noe was namedHokuleʻa('Star of Gladness').
The canoe's Micronesian navigator, Mau Piailug, still knew the art of traditional
Polynesian wayfaring at a time when such knowledge had been lost to Hawaiian
culture. He knew how to use horizon or zenith stars - those that always rose over
known islands - as a guide, then evaluate currents, winds, landmarks and time in a
complex system of dead reckoning to stay on course. In the mind's eye, the trick is
to hold the canoe still in relation to the stars while the island sails toward you.
Academic skeptics had long questioned whether Hawaii's early settlers really were
capable of journeying back and forth across such vast, empty ocean. After 33 days
at sea, the original crew of theHokuleʻaproved those so-called experts wrong by
reaching its destination, where it was greeted by 20,000 Tahitians. This historic
achievement helped spark a revival of interest in Hawaii's Polynesian cultural herit-
age.
Since its 1976 voyage, theHokuleʻahas served as a floating living-history
classroom. The canoe has also made 10 more trans-oceanic voyages, sailing
throughout Polynesia and to the US mainland, Canada, Micronesia and Japan. Its
planned three-year voyage to circumnavigate the globe, expected to begin in
mid-2013, will visit over 26 countries and travel more than 45,000 nautical miles,
ending back in Hawaii in 2016. Learn more at http://hokulea.org .
Ancient Hawaiʻi
When for unknown reasons trans-Pacific voyages from Polynesia stopped around AD
1300, ancient Hawaiian culture kept evolving in isolation, retaining a family resemblance