The Hokule Cultural Treasure

The Hokule’a Voyage: Experiment to Cultural Treasure

Traditions and history define cultures from one another. The traditional Polynesian voyaging methods were slowly ebbing away as technology advanced. Engine powered boats and GPS rendered canoes and celestial navigation impractical. These modern day impracticalities are part of the Hawaiian culture and were almost lost. The Hokule’a and its voyages saved an aspect of Hawaiian culture. The Hokule’a is a double-hulled sailing canoe that travels across the ocean using traditional navigation. The Hokule’a voyages preserve traditional seafaring and educate current generations about it. The Polynesian Voyaging Society’s mission evolved over time and the Hokule’a’s purpose advanced. In the beginning

A quote of his summed up PVS’s goals, "We had two goals - to experiment with righting a scholarly wrong, and as a focus for cultural revival," said Ben Finney (Tenbruggencate Para. 6). He also wrote an article Titled, “Voyage to Polynesia’s land’s end.” This article is a description of the Hokule’a’s voyage to Rapa Nui. Before this voyage, a popular theory by Andrew Sharp was that Polynesian settlement was accidental (Finney page 172). Finney sought to disprove this theory with the Hokule’a. Each voyage throughout the Polynesian archipelago proved that Polynesian voyagers were not “hapless, castaways” (Para. 3). The last voyage to close the “Polynesian Trianngle” was Rapa Nui (Page 175). According to Nainoa Thompson (a navigator), the problem with voyaging to Rapa Nui was the lack of navigationally useful birds (Page 175). Therefore, to voyage to Rapa Nui the navigator of the Hokule’a would have to sight the island directly. Even though, Thompson had doubts about reaching Rapa Nui it took eight days for the Hokule’a to reach Rapa Nui from Pitcairn. With this voyage to Rapa Nui, the Hokule’a, using only traditional navigation, connected Polynesia with its