Na
Ohana Holo Moana: The Voyaging Families of the Vast Ocean
The 1995 Voyage to Nukuhiva
Photo Below:
Polynesian Canoes Gathered in Taiohae Bay, Nukuhiva, 1995 (Monte
Costa)
The
1995 Voyage to the Marquesas, called Na 'Ohana Holo Moana ("The
Voyaging Familes of the Ocean") carried on the work of the 1992
voyage - training new crew members and navigators, sharing voyaging
traditions across the Pacific, and re-connecting Polynesian peoples
through the heritage of the canoe. On the voyage from Tahiti and the
Marquesas to Hawai'i, Hokule'a was joined by five canoes, Hawai'iloa
and Makali'i from Hawai'i, the Maori canoe Te Aurere, and two Cook
Islands canoe, Takitumu and Te Au o Tonga.
The prelude to this
voyage was the building of Hawai'iloa (1990-1994), a project
designed to recover canoe-building arts and strengthen community in
a joint effort to fashion a canoe entirely from native natural
materials. The project faltered at first because of a startling
discovery: there were no koa trees left in Hawai'i's forests large
enough to build voyaging canoes. This alarming condition led to a
new level of awareness about the interdependence of culture and
environment and a commitment to malama Hawai'i--take care of our
island home. It also created another bridge across the Pacific--from
Hawai'i to Alaska, whose native people offered the people of Hawai'i
a gift of logs.
For a filmmaker's
version of the 1995 voyage to Nukuhiva, see
"Wayfinders: a Pacific Odyssey", a
PBS website in conjunction with an hour-long film by Maiden Voyage
Production (Gail Evenari).
The
1995 Voyage to the Marquesas, called Na 'Ohana Holo Moana ("The
Voyaging Familes of the Ocean") carried on the work of the 1992
voyage - training new crew members and navigators, sharing voyaging
traditions across the Pacific, and re-connecting Polynesian peoples
through the heritage of the canoe. On the voyage from Tahiti and the
Marquesas to Hawai'i, Hokule'a was joined by five canoes, Hawai'iloa
and Makali'i from Hawai'i, the Maori canoe Te Aurere, and two Cook
Islands canoe, Takitumu and Te Au o Tonga.