The voyage of Hokule‘a through Micronesia,Jan. 23–April 7, 2007.Thirty years had passed,
and the Hawaiians were crossing the bridge,
sailing to Micronesia to honor an aging Mau,
returning a favor they knew they could never fully repay,
hoping to vindicate Mau for sharing his seafaring ways.
In simple lyrical prose, journalist Gary T. Kubota tells of last year’s journey of the Hokule‘a voyaging canoe from Hawai‘i to the atoll of Satawal, home of famed navigator Mau Piailug.
Kubota was onboard the Hokule‘a as a crewmember and the correspondent for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, sending news stories and photos back to O‘ahu via satellite. It was a special journey with a special purpose: to deliver the double-hulled sailing canoe Alingano Maisu built as a gift to Mau.
This slim volume is “not a coffee table book,” Kubota said, but an “historic ode” to the rebirth of Hawaiian culture that was brought about during the Hokule‘a’s first voyage under Mau’s guidance. In 1976, using native wayfinding methods, Mau guided the canoe’s inaugural voyage from Hawai‘i to Tahiti, restoring faith in the ancient ways of navigation before they were lost forever.
“I didn’t know at the start of the journey that Mau had suffered years of criticism from some Micronesians for sharing wayfinding secrets with native Hawaiians 30 years ago,” Kubota said. “The journey last year helped to vindicate Mau.”
Hokule‘a crewmember Kaimana Barcarse, a Hawaiian Studies instructor at University of Hawai‘i-Hilo, provides Hawaiian translation and interpretation of Kubota’s words, page by page. The beauty of the language provides an ancient feel to the text.
James Hadde, a crewmember aboard the escort vessel Kama Hele, provides photographs in addition to Kubota’s, including the cover shot of the Hokule‘a with her deep red sails unfurled on a calm blue sea.
All was not smooth sailing during the 4,000-mile journey through an area known for its typhoons. Some of Kubota’s photos show waves higher than the deck of the Hokule‘a, and crewmembers swathed in yellow raingear toughing it out through the elements.
“Before arriving on Satawal, / storm clouds and heavy rains darkened the night sky …so much the crews had difficulty seeing their hands, / winds whipped so hard / a seabird sought refuge on the Hokule‘a, / and fear grew they might miss Mau’s island / a mile long, a half mile wide / and as high as a coconut tree.”
Once they reached the island, the book records the special Pwo ceremony that followed. Mau inducted a select group of master navigators, including five Native Hawaiians (Nainoa Thompson, Shorty Bertelmann, Chadd Paishon, Bruce Blankenfeld and Chad Baybayan) as “Pwo,” or master wayfinders, the first time that Polynesians have been honored with the Micronesian title.
Along with more than 50 photos, the book includes a list of the 1976 Hokule‘a voyagers, a small map and a complete listing of the crewmembers at each leg of the 2007 journey.
Although it is indeed not a coffee table book, you may find yourself wishing that it was. Those photographs would look gorgeous in full-page spreads, and to see the Hawaiian prose in beautiful script across the pages would be a real treasure.
But even in its simple form, To Honor Mau is a gem of Hawaiian history that is worth saving for future generations.
A book signing and reading will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, at the Gallerie Ha at 51 N. Market St. in Wailuku. Readers include Kubota, Ed Lindsey, Kalani Au, Kim Compoc and Hawaiian language students. A limited number of books will be sold for $18, along with photographs from the voyage. Some of the proceeds will benefit the Hokule‘a. To order in advance, call 875-0315 or email PacificRenaissancePress@hotmail.com.