Thursday Night at the Center: Film screening of “The Navigators” & book signing of “Hawaiki Rising” with Sam Low

Thursday Night at the Center: Film screening of “The Navigators” & book signing of “Hawaiki Rising” with Sam Low

A thousand years before Europeans knew the Pacific existed; Polynesian seafarers had explored and settled this vast ocean. Where did they come from and how did they populate one-third of Earth’s surface? Discover how at a film screening of The Navigators – Pathfinders of the Pacific at Volcano Art Center Niaulani Campus on Thursday, June 22, from 7pm – 9pm.

Thor Heyerdahl believed Polynesians floated into the Pacific from South America on crude rafts, pushed by prevailing winds and currents. But the real story is far more interesting – they sailed against these winds and currents from island Southeast Asia in sophisticated sailing craft, and they navigated vast distances without compass, charts or instruments of any kind, using instead a world of natural signs to guide them.

Anthropologist and filmmaker Sam Low’s film, The Navigators – Pathfinders of the Pacific, tells this story. To shoot the film, he traveled all over the Pacific. In Huahine, in the Society Islands, he filmed the excavation of the remains of an ancient sea-going canoe, in Fiji he joined archeologist Roger Green as he discovered pottery that traced the voyaging route of the first Polynesians from islands off the coast of New Guinea, “but the most interesting place I filmed,” Low says, “was on the tiny island of Satawal, in Micronesia.” Here, the last traditional navigators still practice an ancient art, one similar to those used by Polynesians – navigating their canoes without charts or instruments.  A star of Low’s film is Satawalese navigator Mau Piailug. Low shows Mau teaching students to read the weather in sky and sea signs, to navigate by the stars, to build a canoe and to sail it.

Another star of The Navigators is a sailing vessel – Hōkūleʻa, a replica of the kind of craft that ancient Polynesians once used. In 1975, Hōkūleʻa first proved her seaworthiness by voyaging from Hawaii to Tahiti with Mau Piailug as navigator. Since then, Hōkūleʻa has sailed 140,000 miles throughout the Pacific, following the ancient voyaging routes of the ancestral Polynesians.

Anyone wishing to learn what it was like to discover distant islands by the signs of direction in wind, wave and stars will enjoy Low’s film. It is truly a saga of one of the world’s great seafaring people – and a story that most of us have not heard. Filmmaker Low will also be in attendance to answer questions and sign his new book, Hawaiki Rising – Hōkūleʻa, Nainoa Thompson and the Hawaiian Renaissance. DVD copies of The Navigators will also be sold after the screening. Also on hand that same evening Lanikai Brewing Co. will offer samples for purchase, of their tribute Kahiki Ale, honoring the past, present and future of Polynesian voyaging. This limited edition beer from their Mauka to Makai collection is brewed using six well known Polynesian Heritage plants: Ko (sugar cane), Ki (ti), Kalo (taro), Nui (coconut), Olena (turmeric) and Ulu (breadfruit).  Specially brewed to celebrate Hōkūleʻa’s homecoming, supplies are limited.

This evening is part of a once-a-month Thursday night series at the Volcano Art Center, focusing on art, Hawaiian culture and our environment.  The series is intended to inspire, enhance your appreciation of art and life experience, while fostering community connections. This presentation is free; however, a $5 donation is appreciated.