NAVIGATION AND METHOD OF ABSTRACTION.
UU204 PACIFIC STUDIES
NAVIGATION AND METHOD OF ABSTRACTION
‘ETAK STAGES’.
NAME: JONIN RENEE VOSALEVU
The pacific is unique in its own way, through its culture, its people, their way of life and its traditions. For years our ancestors have preserved the knowledge of our people and taught the younger generations of our traditional way. One of which is navigation, by using traditional methods of stars, currents and by the sight of birds would indicate land. In this reflective writing paper I will conduct a research based on navigation within the pacific water, the ‘etak stages’ of abstraction also a personal oral history that my family has with regards to navigation.
To begin with, etak was a name that originated by the people of Caroline island from the sidereal compass are combined with mental concept of island moving from beneath one star position to the next (Lewis, 1994). It is a concept by which a voyage is divided into stages by the star bearing of reference or the Etak Island. The navigator then positions the canoe, and follows the pattern of the currents, the wind and waves and also by using the stars to navigate to the reference island and then to the designated island.
The master of Micronesian navigation was Mau Piailug and was from Carolinian Island of
Satawal. He learned the traditional techniques from his father and grandfather, these techniques where preserved while some had forgotten due to remoteness of the island (Low, 2012). He used abstractions called the ‘etak’ for navigating through the sea. The first etak is the etak of sighting which the navigator tries to see the other island from afar (Basevi). The navigator must also know the bearing island or the designated island before hand when travelling across the sea. It is also called “Island Looking” where they rehearse their knowledge of where islands are located in relation to one another (Ward H. Goodenough, Stephen D. Thomas, 1987).
The second ‘etak stage’ is etak
NAVIGATION AND METHOD OF ABSTRACTION
‘ETAK STAGES’.
NAME: JONIN RENEE VOSALEVU
The pacific is unique in its own way, through its culture, its people, their way of life and its traditions. For years our ancestors have preserved the knowledge of our people and taught the younger generations of our traditional way. One of which is navigation, by using traditional methods of stars, currents and by the sight of birds would indicate land. In this reflective writing paper I will conduct a research based on navigation within the pacific water, the ‘etak stages’ of abstraction also a personal oral history that my family has with regards to navigation.
To begin with, etak was a name that originated by the people of Caroline island from the sidereal compass are combined with mental concept of island moving from beneath one star position to the next (Lewis, 1994). It is a concept by which a voyage is divided into stages by the star bearing of reference or the Etak Island. The navigator then positions the canoe, and follows the pattern of the currents, the wind and waves and also by using the stars to navigate to the reference island and then to the designated island.
The master of Micronesian navigation was Mau Piailug and was from Carolinian Island of
Satawal. He learned the traditional techniques from his father and grandfather, these techniques where preserved while some had forgotten due to remoteness of the island (Low, 2012). He used abstractions called the ‘etak’ for navigating through the sea. The first etak is the etak of sighting which the navigator tries to see the other island from afar (Basevi). The navigator must also know the bearing island or the designated island before hand when travelling across the sea. It is also called “Island Looking” where they rehearse their knowledge of where islands are located in relation to one another (Ward H. Goodenough, Stephen D. Thomas, 1987).
The second ‘etak stage’ is etak
Bibliography: Finney, B. R. (1976). Pacific Navigation and Voyaging. In The Organisation of Navigational Knowledge on Puluwate (p Lewis, D. (1994). We, the Navigator: The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific. Honalulu: Hawaii Press. Lewis, D. (2013, August 30). The History of Astronomy. Retrieved from Planet Quest: http://www.planetquest.org/learn/pacific.html Low, S. (Director). (2012). The Navigators Pathfinders of the Pacific [Motion Picture]. Rigamoto, A. (2013, August 31). Navigation. (J. R. Vosalevu, Interviewer) Thompson, N