sacred
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the ce ...
in
Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
become navigators (''palu'') and are initiated in the associated secrets. Many islanders in the area indicate that this ceremony originated on the island of
Pollap
Pulap or Pollap is an atoll with a total area (including the lagoon) of , of which is emergent land, consisting of three islands, Pollap in the north, Tamatam in the south, and Fanadik at the western fringe of the reef. The atoll is located in the ...
, or nearby islands.
The Pwo ceremony today is having a comeback in importance. In the days before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, it was common to have Pwo take place. After WWII, through
westernization
Westernization (or Westernisation), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, technology, science, education, politics, econo ...
and the influence of missionaries traditional practices including Pwo started to be abandoned.
Mau Piailug
Pius "Mau" Piailug (pronounced ; 1932 – July 12, 2010) was a Micronesian navigator from the Carolinian island of Satawal, best known as a teacher of traditional, non-instrument wayfinding methods for open-ocean voyaging. Mau's Carolinian ...
, famous for helping
Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii ...
regain their traditional navigation skills, was the last person to go through the Pwo ceremony in 1951. For thirty-nine years, the ceremony lay dormant. Then, in May 1990, Pwo again took place. This time Jesus Urupiy, a master navigator, with help of an American ethnographer and documentary filmmaker Eric Metzgar conducted the Pwo for his son, Ali Haleyalur, and four other students on the island of
Lamotrek
Lamotrek is a coral atoll of three islands in the central Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. The atoll is located approximately east of Elato.
The popu ...
. This event was subsequently made into the film Spirits of the Voyage '.
On March 18, 2007, Piailug presided over the first Pwo ceremony for navigators on the island of
Satawal
Satawal is a solitary coral atoll of one island with about 500 people on just over 1 km2 located in the Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Satawal is th ...
in 56 years. At the event five native Hawaiians and eleven others were inducted into Pwo as master navigators. The
Polynesian Voyaging Society
The Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) is a non-profit research and educational corporation based in Honolulu, Hawaii. PVS was established to research and perpetuate traditional Polynesian voyaging methods. Using replicas of traditional double-hul ...
Alingano Maisu
''Alingano Maisu'', also known as ''Maisu'' , is a double-hulled voyaging canoe built in Kawaihae, Hawaii by members of Na Kalai Waa Moku o Hawaii and Ohana Wa'a members from throughout the Pacific and abroad as a gift and tribute to Satawalese n ...
'', as a gift for his key role in reviving traditional
wayfinding
Wayfinding (or way-finding) encompasses all of the ways in which people (and animals) orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place.
Wayfinding software is a self-service computer program that helps users to find a location, ...
navigation in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
.
Then in March 2008, Piailug presided the Pwo ceremony for the Māori navigator Hekenukumai Nga Iwi Busby.
References
“During the term of woinstruction the pupils are subject to a series of taboos ... These taboos are strictest for the first four days and nights; then the students may not leave the canoe house under any circumstances.” Hans Damn (based on the 1909 field notes of Ernst Sarfert's research on Polowat); “Inseln um Truk: Polowat, Hok, und Satawal.” IN: Georg Thilenius (Ed.) ''Ergebnisse der Südsee-Expedition 1908-1910''. Sec. II, B, Vol. 6, Pt. 2, 1935.
“First of all, ''ppwo'' is the esoteric art of navigation ... Secondly, those who are adept at the esoteric art of navigation are also called ''ppwo''. Thirdly, initiating others in this esoteric art of navigation is also known as ''ppwo'' ... Three of the islanders, Punakit, Yaapuk and Urupiy are to be initiated this time in the art of the ''ppwo'' by Suuta ... of Puluwat and today there is to be a ceremony for this.” Hisakatsu, Hijikata (1997)
942
Year 942 ( CMXLII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – The Hungarians invade Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and besiege the fortress ...
''Collective Works of Hijikata Hisakatsu''. Vol. 4, "Driftwood: The Life in Satawal Island, Micronesia." Journal entry for June 3, 1932. Kenichi Sudo (Ed.), Translated by Yoko Fujita, Ronald R. Ringdahl, Satoshi Tanahashi, and Sandra Tanahashi. Tokyo: The Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
“''Ppwo'' ... to be initiated as a navigator.” Elbert, Samuel (1972), ''Puluwat Dictionary''. Pacific Linguistics, Series C - No. 24, S.A. Wurm (Ed.), Department of Linguistics, School of Pacific Studies, the Australian National University, Canberra: Australia.
“Periodically, when enough responsible candidates have reached the required standard, the whole community is mobilized and an initiation ''poa'' is organized.” Lewis, David H. (1978), ''The Voyaging Stars: Secrets of the Pacific Island Navigators''. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
“''Ppo'' is held for young men who have received private teaching for an average of seven to eight years. The main part of this ritual consists of examining the young man’s knowledge of navigation techniques, and further instruction by the older considered to be the most skillful navigator on the island.” Sudo, Ken-ichi (1987), “Nurturing in Matrilineal Society: A Case Study of Satawal Island.” IN: Iwao Ushijima and Ken-ichi Sudo (Eds.) ''Cultural Uniformity and Diversity in Micronesia''. Senri Ethnological Studies No. 21, Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology.
“''Pwpwo'' ... instruction in traditional navigation.” Goodenough, Ward and Hiroshi Sugita (1980), ''Trukese-English Dictionary''. Philadeophia: American Philosophical Society.
"...the sacred ''pwo'' ceremony. The most important event in a young navigator's life, it not only marked his passage into manhood, but also gained him entrance to a select and privileged class and gave him the right to learn secret, mystical, navigational lore. Piailug's had been the last ''pwo'' ceremony to be held on Satawal." Thomas, Stephen D. (1987), ''The Last Navigator''. New York: Henry Holt and Co.
"...the notion of performing the ''pwo'' rites gradually gained acceptance and in May 1990, for the first time in over forty years, a few individuals who had been studying and practicing traditional navigational techniques for many years were 'graduated' on Lamotrek and officially recognized by the community-at-large." Metzgar, Eric (1991), ''Traditional Education in Micronesia: A Case Study of Lamotrek Atoll with Comparative Analysis of the Literature on the Trukic Continuum." Ph.D. dissertation. University of California, Los Angeles. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms
International.
"...the ''pwo'' ceremony is first and foremost an initiation ritual, and secondarily a 'graduation' or 'certification' ritual for those students who have received training in navigational techniques over a period of years." Metzgar, Eric (1991), ''Traditional Education in Micronesia: A Case Study of Lamotrek Atoll with Comparative Analysis of the Literature on the Trukic Continuum." Ph.D. dissertation. University of California, Los Angeles. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International.
"...the name for the island, Pwollap, supposedly means the center, or origin, of navigation: ''ppwo'' means "to be initiated as a navigator" and ''lap'' means "big" or "important." This belief is a source of considerable pride for the island, and Pulapese derive self-esteem from knowing that Puluwat and other islanders acknowledge that navigation originated on Pulap." Flinn, Juliana (1992), ''Diplomas and Thatch Houses: Asserting Tradition in a Changing Micronesia''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
"The last ''pwo'' ceremony had been performed on Satawal about forty years earlier, between 1950-1952. Since then this navigator rite of passage had come closer and closer to extinction with the demise of master navigators qualified to transmit the restricted navigational knowledge and chants which, by ancient custom, were only to be taught after apprentices were initiated in the ''pwo'' ceremony." Metzgar, Eric (2004) "Sacred Space, Taboo Place: Negotiating ''Roang'' on Lamotrek Atoll." ''Micronesian Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences''. Vol. 3 (1-2), pp. 3–18.
External links
"Sacred Space, Taboo Place: Negotiating ''Roang'' on Lamotrek Atoll" journal article by Eric Metzgar (see reference abov
"Carolinian Voyaging in the New Millennium" journal article by Eric Metzgar (see reference above
"Spirits of the Voyage" film review by David H. Lewi
"Spirits of the Voyage" film review by Tony Gib Micronesian cultureFederated States of Micronesia cultureRites of passagePolynesian navigation