Nainoa Thompson & Planet Earth, 'Hawaiki Rising'

Review by Bill Doughty

When Pwo (Master) Navigator Nainoa Thompson brought the voyaging canoe Hōkūle`a into Pearl Harbor in February of this year, he spoke in part about harnessing fear, overcoming the dangers of complacency, embracing diversity as a strength, and passing knowledge and wisdom to the next generation.

Thompson addressed the Navy and local civilian audience during his visit – part of a statewide "Mahalo Hawaii" tour of thanks to everyone for their support of Hōkūle`a's Malama Honua (caring together for Island Earth) circumnavigation of the planet completed in 2017.

Sam Low's "Hawaiki Rising: Hōkūle`a, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian Renaissance" (Island Heritage Publishing, 2013) provides a fascinating history of the beloved canoe, the revival of Hawaiian culture beginning in the 1970s, and how dedicated individuals inspired others to become aware of the need to respect and care for our environment, including our oceans.

Renaissance man Herb Kane at work in his Chicago studio.

Low served in the United States Navy in the Pacific in the mid-1960s. He introduces us to iconic individuals who brought Hōkūle`a ("Star of Joy") to life, including Herb Kane, and artist, sailor and thinker who was inspired by a book, "Canoes of Oceania" and by Polynesian culture, in general. Kane worked in Chicago but dreamed of the Pacific, learning all he could of voyaging canoes.

Kane created14 paintings of Polynesian canoes in the 1960s. The Hawaii State Foundation of Culture and the Arts purchased the paintings in 1969, making it possible for Kane to move to Hawaii to continue his studies and setting the stage for the revival of Hawaiian culture in the 1970s. 

At the time the foundation that purchased Kane's art was headed by its first director, Alfred Preis, architect of the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.

The late Daniel Inouye, United States Senator from Hawaii, once said, “When you saw a Herb Kane painting, you were energized and motivated to learn about the past. …His artwork captured both ancient and modern-day Hawaii and help preserve Hawaii's unique culture for future generations.”

Nainoa Thompson called Kane, who was a Navy veteran, "father of the Hawaiian Renaissance.”



In 1973 Kane envisioned construction of a voyaging canoe that would inspire that renaissance. He met with University of Hawaiʻi anthropologist Ben Finney and Tommy Holmes, author of The Hawaiian Canoe. Together they founded the Polynesian Voyaging Society and began work on the Hōkūle‘a, capable of sailing between Hawaii and Tahiti. One day, their canoe would sail around the world on a mission to bring awareness about earth's ecology.

Kane lived in East Oahu, which is where he met a young man who was serious, quiet and young enough to be imprinted with a love of the stars, the sea and sailing.

Nainoa Thompson

That young man was Nainoa Thompson, whose father, Myron "Pinky" Thompson was a World War II Army veteran, a strong supporter of Hawaiian culture, and a foundation for Nainoa's philosophy of life. Pinky told his son "Ninety percent of success is preparing for it." He helped Nainoa overcome his fears and learn values shared by the U.S. Navy: the importance of discipline, training and having a vision.

Nainoa writes this in the book's foreword:

"Our canoe, Hōkūle`a, and our dreams have now carried us ... (following) in the wake of our ancestors who discovered and settled Polynesia. It has been a process of finding ourselves not only as Hawaiians, as native to these islands, but also as native to planet Earth. On all of our voyages, we have been guided by the wisdom of our elders, our kupuna. Among them is my father, Myron "Pinky" Thompson, who understood that voyaging is a process in which we are guided by values that are universal. 'Before our ancestors set out to find a new island,' my father told me, 'they had to have a vision of that island over the horizon. They made a plan for achieving that vision. They prepared themselves physically and mentally and were willing to experiment, to try new things. They took risks. And on the voyage they bound each other with aloha so they could together overcome those risks and 'seeking, planning, experimenting, taking risks, and caring for each other. The same principles that we used in the past, are the ones that we use today and that we will use into the future. No matter what race we are or what culture we carry, these are values that work for us all."

Nainoa learned some values the hard way aboard Hōkūle`a: the importance of good seamanship, communication and the courage to assume command at sea.

Nainoa went to Bishop Museum's planetarium, studied at Willamette College in Oregon after attending Punahou School, and was inspired by a book called "The Stars: A New Way to See Them" by H. A. Rey, author of "Curious George." 

Low introduces us to another earlier influencer in Nainoa's life: Yoshio Kawano, who lived in traditional Japanese style and taught the young Nainoa how to fish and make connections with nature. Nainoa says, "Yoshi may have been my most important teacher of all. I didn't know it then, and certainly he didn't either, but he was preparing me for my life."

Pwo Navigator Mau Piailug

Through Low's insightful narrative we get to know others who worked with or inspired Nainoa and who have strong ties to Hōkūle`a: Mau Piailug, Eddie Aikau, Lacy Veach, Snake Ah Hee, Sam Ka'i, Chad Bayaban, Will Kyselka, Gordon Pi'ianapa'a, Shorty Bertelmann, Kimo Lyman, Dave Lyman, Wally Froiseth, Bruce Blankenfeld, Tava Taupa and Kawika Kapahulehua, among others.

We get an intimate view of life aboard Hōkūle`a, including on two roundtrip journeys to Tahiti in this book, published just before Malama Honua. We relive the heartbreaking loss of Eddie Aikau in 1978 and the rescue of the capsized Hōkūle`a, thanks to an observant Hawaiian Airlines pilot and a ready response from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Eddie ("Eddie Would Go") Aikau

Eddie's loss strengthened Nainoa's resolve. He pledged to fulfill Aikau's dream on his behalf, to see "Tahiti rising," coming up on the horizon as the voyaging canoe approached.

Using charts and simple explanations, Low shows some of the how-to of wayfinding. "The concept was straightforward – stars rise in the east, arc overhead, and set in the west, defining points on the horizon to steer by, or 'houses,' as Nainoa called them." Data becomes knowledge and, over time, knowledge becomes intuitive wisdom.

Author Sam Low blends science with art in his presentation, explaining some of the fundamentals of Nainoa's wayfinding using stars, constellations, ocean swells, birds, the moon and other means – using science and all the senses plus a spiritual dimension that defies explanation.

On one key night in the doldrums, confused about their direction, Nainoa "sensed" the moon before he saw it. He turned the canoe and when the clouds parted he saw the light shine through and knew he made the right decision.

"'I can't explain it,' Nainoa continues, 'there was a connection between something in my abilities and my senses that went beyond the analytical, beyond seeing with my eyes. It was something very deep inside. Before that happened, I relied on math and science because it was so much easier to understand things that way. I didn't know how to trust my instincts. My instincts were not trained enough to be trusted. That night, I learned there are levels of navigation that are realms of the spirit. Hawaiians call it na'au – knowing through your instincts, your feelings, rather than your mind or your intellect. It's like new doors of knowledge open and you learn something new But before the doors open you don't even know that such knowledge exists.'"

"Hawaiki Rising" is about discovering new knowledge, moving from anger and fear to love and courage, and rediscovering a culture of sustainable living on "Island Earth," showing how one person can make a profound difference. It's a good read for Earth Day 2018.