Navigation: The Māori Way

The Great Voyage

For thousands of years, Pacific peoples used advanced navigation knowledge and strong waka (in this case, double hulled canoes with sails) to travel across the world’s largest ocean. From their homeland in the western Pacific, they deliberately sailed to and settled islands across the Pacific, including Hawai‘i, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Rapanui (Easter Island). There is also evidence they reached South America.

These journeys were possible because of deep Indigenous knowledge that connected people with the environment. Navigators used the sun, moon, and stars, as well as ocean swells, winds, clouds, water temperature, and the behaviour of birds and sea life to guide their voyages.

An example: The sea

Māori people had different names for the ocean and waves. They used this knowledge to inform their sailing.

An almost lost tradition

When Europeans colonised the Pacific, long-distance voyaging and the sharing of this knowledge stopped. Because much of the knowledge was passed down through stories and songs, it was nearly lost. People in the Marshall Islands had actively retained the knowledge of seafaring and the traditions have been revived throughout the Pacific.

For many years, schools taught the wrong story. They claimed Pacific people were poor sailors who only found new islands by accident. This idea was based on European beliefs, not evidence. Over time, scientists and historians proved this was false.

Today, we know Pacific voyagers were highly skilled navigators who planned their journeys carefully and explored the ocean on purpose.