Sailing with Lata: The Unbroken Voyaging Traditions of Taumako Island

September 8, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Mānoa Campus, John A. Burns Hall, Room 3118 Add to Calendar

Unknown to most of the world, ethnically Polynesian navigators in the remote Solomon Islands high island of Taumako have carried on an unbroken ancestral tradition of canoe building and navigation, constructing remarkably engineered voyaging vaka solely with natural materials and traditional methods.

Drs. Simon Salopuka and Mimi George will discuss the latest activities of the Vaka Taumako Project, which is dedicated to perpetuating this imperiled tradition. The project is now working on a documentary and book based on tales of Taumako’s legendary original voyager Lata, who is known in many different forms throughout Polynesia. And the Taumako islanders are preparing for a historic voyage along ancestral routes to an island in Vanuatu, the longest Taumako voyage in many decades.

Dr. Simon Salopuka, executive director of the Vaka Taumako Project in the Solomon Islands, was born on Taumako but left at a young age to pursue his studies, eventually becoming the first Taumako islander to attend college, and later a medical doctor. He is now residing back on Taumako in preparation for the voyage to Vanuatu.

Dr. Mimi George is an anthropologist, sailor, and writer specializing in voyaging cultures. After visiting Taumako in 1993, she agreed to the request of paramount chief and master navigator Kruso Kaveia to help perpetuate the island’s voyaging traditions, which were nearing extinction. She serves as the project’s principal investigator.

Open to the public. Seating is limited. Please RSVP.

Paid parking is available on the UHM campus.

Co-Sponsored by the East-West Center Pacific Islands Development Program and the UH Manoa Center for Pacific Islands Studies. Primary Contact Info: Email: EWCInfo@EastWestCenter.org Phone: 808-944-7111


Event Sponsor
East-West Center, Mānoa Campus

More Information
944-7111, EWCInfo@eastwestcenter.org

Share by email