Hawaiki Rising: Hokulea, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian

Hawaiki Rising: Hokulea, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian Renaissance

Attuned to a world of natural signs â€“ the stars, the winds, the curl of ocean swells - Polynesian explorers navigated for thousands of miles without charts or instruments. They sailed against prevailing winds and currents aboard powerful double canoes to settle the vast Pacific Ocean. And they did this when Greek mariners still hugged the coast of an inland sea and Europe was populated by stone-age farmers. Yet by the turn of the twentieth century, this story had been lost and Polynesians had become an oppressed minority in their own land. Then, in 1975, a replica of an ancient Hawaiian canoe â€“ HÅkÅ«leâ€˜a - was launched to once again sail the ancient star paths and help Hawaiians reclaim pride in the accomplishments of their ancestors. Hawaiki Rising tells this story in the words of the men and women who sailed aboard HÅkÅ«leâ€˜a. They speak of growing up at a time when their Hawaiian culture was in danger of extinction and their future in their own land was uncertain. We join the founders of the Polynesian Voyaging Society as their vision of HÅkÅ«leâ€˜a takes shape in a Honolulu shipyard. We sail on the first voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti in 1976;Â experience the heartbreaking loss of Eddie Aikau in a courageous effort to save his crewmates when HÅkÅ«leâ€˜a capsized; and are present as new leaders vow to continue sailing to honor Eddieâ€™ life. We are with Nainoa Thompson as he searches the heavens to rediscover ancient star signs and we sail with him as he guides HÅkÅ«leâ€˜a to Tahiti â€“ the first Hawaiian to navigate the Pacific without charts or instruments in a thousand years. When Hokuleâ€™a crew member Sam Kaâ€˜ai carved the male kiâ€™i (sculpted figure) that adorns the canoeâ€™s starboard hull, he envisioned modern day Hawaiians in the figure of a blind man reaching to the heavens. â€œThis is an effigy of how we are after so many years of oppression,â€ Sam tells us. â€œBlind to our past, we reach up to grasp heaven one more time. The same stars are rising as they did for our fathers for many, many generations. So if you lose your way - remember that you once sailed on your motherâ€™s lap and you were never lost. The stars turned minute by minute, hour by hour, dawn and dusk and you always came home or your kind wouldn't be here. This is an effigy of the HÅkÅ«leâ€˜a experience â€“ the Ê»ohana waâ€˜a - the family of the canoe. He is reaching above himself, beyond himself, to the story that has not changed, the forever and ever story. He is showing that we are taking hold of the old story once again.â€ Hawaiki Rising is the saga of an astonishing revival of indigenous culture by voyagers who took hold of the old story and sailed deep into their ancestral past. (Sam Low)
Country USA
Brand Low, Sam
Manufacturer Island Heritage Pub
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber black & white illustrations
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781617102004
ReleaseDate 2013-05-01

Country	USA
Brand	Low, Sam
Manufacturer	Island Heritage Pub
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	black & white illustrations
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781617102004
ReleaseDate	2013-05-01

Hawaiki Rising: Hokulea, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian Renaissance

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