LIHUE — Learn about the culture, techniques and ancient voyaging methods of the people of Taumako, a Polynesian community in the Solomon Islands, during a free film presentation on Thursday.
The Vaka Taumako Project, a group dedicated to the preservation of canoe building, sailing and navigational skills, will showcase the first segment of a three-part documentary, called “We, the Voyagers: Our Vaka,” at 6 p.m. at Kauai Community College’s Fine Art’s Auditorium.
The film captures the history of the Taumako community and their expertise in canoe building and traversing great distances across the Pacific using only natural elements, such as the stars, tides and wind.
It’s intriguing for people who have an interest in ancient seafaring ways, but the documentary is also for anyone who loves a good story, said Dr. Mimi George, principal investigator for The Vaka Taumako Project.
Historical sources indicate that the people who inhabit Taumako — a small, largely unknown island — have voyaging skills that date back at least 200 years.
Records indicate, however, that people have lived on the island some 3,000 years, so it’s likely that their skills extend much further into the past. But what really sets them apart and what makes this film so interesting is that, because they live so remotely without many modern-day conveniences, like electricity, cell phones or airplanes, it allowed them to stay close to their ancient ways.
The late Paramount Chief of Taumako and master navigator, Koloso Kaveia, wanted to make sure that this knowledge perpetuated for many generations to come.
In the early 1990s, he reached out to Dr. David Lewis and George, both sailors and anthropological scholars, to assist him with this preservation. That’s how The Vaka Taumoto Project was born. The goal of the project continues to be the preservation of canoe construction, as well as sailing and navigational skills.
The documentary was one way of making this happen. Over the course of more than two decades, the youth of Taumako recorded members of their community, including Kaveia, as they crafted vessels from natural materials and navigated the seas.
George, who considers herself an ally to the Polynesian culture, said that the documentary allowed them to acquire technological savvy and, in turn, re-connect to ancestral wisdom and restore any severed ties to nature.
“A lot was forgotten,” said George, regarding the knowledge of ancient canoe voyaging.
But the documentary is a way to remember how the “whole world works,” said George.
“The 32 positions that the wind can come from around the horizon; the wind positions that stars rise and set in; the weather that happens when certain stars rise and set; the patterns of swells, are all interrelated,” she said. “Knowing about this is not just useful for navigation and gardening, it is also important in terms of climate change; the kind of knowledge we need today. We need the wisdom of the ancients to help us.”
H.M. Wyeth, secretary of The Vaka Taumako Project, agreed.
Some 20 years ago, she read Lewis’ book, “We, the Navigators: The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific,” and has been a proponent and student of the Polynesian culture ever since.
“It completely blew my mental doors,” she said about the book. “It was just fascinating how you can learn to make your way in the world without all kinds of fancy scientific equipment.”
The second part of the documentary will be presented, free, Aug. 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the same location.
