Polynesian navigation

E811513

Polynesian navigation is an indigenous seafaring system that uses stars, swells, winds, wildlife, and other natural cues—without instruments—to voyage across vast stretches of the Pacific Ocean.

All labels observed (6)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (52)

Predicate Object
instanceOf indigenous knowledge system
intangible cultural heritage
traditional navigation system
associatedWith Austronesian expansion
boatTypeUsed double-hulled canoe
outrigger canoe
coreConcept dead reckoning
etak (reference island) system
star compass
wayfinding
culturalSignificance revival of indigenous knowledge
symbol of Polynesian identity
developedBy Polynesian peoples
linked to: Polynesians
developedIn Polynesia
doesNotUse GPS
magnetic compass
sextant
enables long-distance ocean voyaging
settlement of remote Pacific islands
geographicScope Melanesia
Micronesia
Pacific Ocean
Polynesian Triangle
historicalPeriod pre-European contact Pacific
influenced contemporary wayfinding education
linkedTo settlement of Aotearoa (New Zealand)
settlement of Hawaiʻi
settlement of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
linked to: Easter Island
modernRevival 20th century Polynesian Voyaging Society initiatives
notablePractitioner Mau Piailug
Nainoa Thompson
notableVessel Hawaiian double-hulled voyaging canoe
Hōkūleʻa
practicedBy Polynesian voyaging societies
master navigators
recognizedBy anthropologists as sophisticated non-instrument navigation
reliesOn memorized star paths
mental charts of islands and swells
observation and experience
transmittedBy apprenticeship
oral tradition
uses bird flight patterns
cloud formations
moon position
ocean swells
sea color
smell of land and vegetation
stars
sun position
wave reflection from islands
wildlife behavior
winds

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (16)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Pileni hasNavigationTradition Polynesian navigation
Bruce Blankenfeld fieldOfWork Polynesian navigation
1992–1995 Voyage of Rediscovery associatedWith Polynesian navigators
linked to: Polynesian navigation
Nainoa Thompson fieldOfWork Polynesian navigation
Austronesian expansion relatedTo Polynesian navigation
Te Moana a Toi associatedWith Māori navigation
linked to: Polynesian navigation
Futunan people seaNavigationTradition Polynesian navigation
Richard Feinberg mainSubject Polynesian navigation
subject linked to: anthropologist Richard Feinberg
HD 48915 hasCulturalSignificanceIn Polynesian navigation
Southern Cross region usedBy PolynesianNavigators
linked to: Polynesian navigation
Māmari navigationTradition Polynesian wayfinding
linked to: Polynesian navigation
Tokomaru associatedWith Polynesian voyaging
linked to: Polynesian navigation
Kapingamarangi Islands hasTraditionalPractice Polynesian navigation
Mangaian people hasTraditionalNavigationPractice Polynesian wayfinding
linked to: Polynesian navigation
East Polynesia knownFor Polynesian navigation
East Polynesia hasCulturalPractice Polynesian wayfinding
linked to: Polynesian navigation