Native Hawaiian voyaging canoe visits PNW coastal nations
Astoria, Ore.—Hokule’a is more than just an impressive 60-foot long canoe identical to its ancestors that sailed the deep blue seas since time immemorial.
It’s a tradition restored.
The traditional Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe features twin hulls, one representing the female, the other the male. There are two of these canoes, and they sail just as they did thousands of years ago.
Both of them slipped into Washington State’s Puget Sound only a month ago.
Native and non-native onlookers sensed their wonder.
As the five to 10-ton Hawaiian canoes swayed in the ruffled waters of the Sound, the slapping of oars slicing through the 40-degree water signaled the approach of the Pacific Northwest’s traditional cedar canoes.
The People of the Canoe Nations called out greetings to their visitors in their traditional languages. In their own melodic language the Hawaiian voyagers responded; one native culture to another.
Hokule’a, a 63-foot voyaging canoe, traversed Pacific Northwest waters from mid-May through most of June, calling on the Puyallup, Suquamish, Swinomish, Muckleshoot, Lummi, Makah, Cowlitz and other Indian Nations. A second canoe, Hawai’iloa, traveled from the Puget Sound north to Juneau, Alaska.
“The trip was multi-purpose,” said Hokule’a Skipper Kimo Lyman. They were here to honor the area’s Native Americans, Hawaiians and Indian-Hawaiians, he said. They came too, to rekindle ancient ties made when their ancestors canoed here over 500 years ago.
Those early Polynesian visitors would have received cedar greetings, and this unusual trip was no exception. Fragrant cedar boughs were gracing the bow and sides of the big canoe soon after its arrival, hanging alongside mesh bags bulging with island fruits — gifts from the Hawaiian natives to their hosts.
Responding to the traditional welcomes that greeted the big canoe as it pulled into tribal lands, the Hokule’a crew blew music on conch shells and chanted traditional songs. Spiritual leader Dan “Kaneala” Akaka led the ceremonies.
No two were exactly alike, he said, but a theme was asking permission to land. “I do a paddling chant, and then I do an entrance chant. It’s like a common courtesy: asking permission, getting permission, telling them we come in peace to share our culture.”
The most interesting part, Akaka said, was greeting his hosts in his native language and hearing their answer in their native tongue.
Once on shore hospitalities in the traditions of the tribes immersed the crew – welcoming ceremonies, salmon bakes, giveaways. “They’ve been honoring us so much, it’s incredible,” said Lyman. “There have been so many different interactions with all the different tribes. It’s been fabulous.”
Crewmember Dave Bush enjoyed the cultural exchange. “I think we found a lot of common values with the Northwest Indians,” Bush said. “We found a lot of the same problems. One woman said 80 percent of their culture was lost. It’s the same in Hawaii, but we’ve regained a great deal.”
There was even fun and games with a stop at an Indian-owned casino.
Their last stop at Fort Vancouver coincided with a memorial anniversary commemorating those early Hawaiians who had lived at Kanaka village, next to the fort. “The Hawaiians came over in the 1800s,” said Karlotta Kaaa, of Vancouver’s Hui O Hawaiinei. “There were 300 men that worked along with the French Canadian and Indian tribes.”
Hawaiians and Indians married, leaving a rich legacy of two Native cultures around the Northwest. Kalama, a town along the Columbia River, is named in honor of a Hawaiian of that era.
Hokule’a was the first voyaging canoe to emerge from the vision of a handful of Hawaiians in the early 1970s, who went on to form the Polynesian Voyaging Society. Today there are three canoes, with more in the building stage.
Hokule’a, completed in 1975, is much more than just a voyaging canoe replica. She inspired a renaissance of native-Hawaiian culture and is “a symbol for the reawakening of our culture,” said 16-year-old crewmember Laulima Lyman.
“The meaning and symbolism behind Hokule’a is mind-boggling,” added 18-year-old Kekoa Ho. Summed up Akaka, “This canoe was the vehicle to sew all the others together into a lei.”
Hokule’a is the first to reclaim the old Polynesian canoeing traditions. Wayfinding — the traditional practice of navigating long voyages using only the stars, sun, waves and seabirds as guides — was successful on other voyages to New Zealand and Tahiti.
So how is one chosen to sail to, hopefully, Tahiti? “You start by building canoes,” explained Bush. “When you start people watch your character. That’s how they determine who they select.” Students begin with sea trials or inter-island trips, Bush said.
The final leg of their journey is taking them south to San Diego. It shouldn’t take long. On an average day Hokule’a travels 100 miles, on a good day 120.
Hokule’a has crossed 80,000 miles of water. Will she head this way again? “We’ll be back,” promises Capt. Lyman.
