The Star Compass
I have plunged deep into the rabbit hole of yet another fascinating art of ancient astronomy: Polynesian Wayfinding. I have been deeply intrigued the moment I learned that Scorpio is known as Manaiakalani, name of Maui's fishhook in Hawaiian mythology. So here's the main gist: Imagine travelling thousands of miles of nothing but the ocean in search of new islands. Compass? Sextant? Non-existent in that timeline. The only thing you can rely on? The sun, stars, current swells, winds, birds, clouds and any other signs of nature to anchor yourself as you look upon the endless horizon. For this post I will be focusing on navigation with the stars.
May I present the Star Compass! This is a modernized version of a star compass by Nainoa Thompson, the first native Hawaiian to practice ancient polynesian wayfinding techniques since the 14th century under the tutelage of the master navigator, Mau Piailug. For decades, it was only speculated that the pacific islanders 'stumbled upon' or discovered the islands by chance. To prove that they did not just drift passively with the currents and travel was intentional, the Polynesian Voyaging Society rebuilt a double-hulled voyaging canoe (waʻa kaulua). The canoe was named Hōkūleʻa, hawaiian name for Arcturus, brightest star of Bootes. (Funfact: Arcturus/Hōkūleʻa was chosen for the name as it is an important zenith star in Hawaii.). The voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti in 1976 using only traditional navigation techniques was a success. This has led to countless other successful voyages across Polynesia, Micronesia, Japan and US.
This star compass is more of a mental map, not an actual physical compass. The bird is where you are, on the canoe at the center. The compass is divided into 32 houses (11.25° each).
We have the cardinal points: Akau (N), Hema (S), Hikina (E), Komohana (W) Each quadrant represents the main winds: Ho'olua (NW), Ko'olau(NE), Kona (SW), Malanai (SE)
Then the 7 houses in each quadrant:
La: position of the sun, rising and setting
Aina: Land
Noio: A Hawaiian black noddy tern - also used in navigation since their flight paths indicate land.
Nalani: the Heavens
Naleo: Voices - the stars speak to the navigator
Haka: Empty - usually these spots are empty skies
Manu: Midway point of the cardinal directions
Each house acts as a bearing on the horizon. Master navigators memorized all key stars that can be used only when they are rising or setting. If a star has risen too high, they simply switched to another. For example, a star rising from Ko'alau La (NE) will set in Ho'olua La (NW). Every island also has a zenith star, the star declination matches the latitude of the location directly 90° overhead. For example seeing Hōkūleʻa (Arcturus) passing directly overhead indicates you are at Hawaii. The name also means "Star of Joy" or "Star of Gladness" because seeing it means they are "home". The zenith star for Tahiti is A'ā (Sirius) Remember, the star compass is not a static map. As you move further north or south, positions of the stars in the houses may change! Hōkūleʻa at the bottom of aina in Tahiti will be nearly touching Noio when near Maui. It requires dynamic calibration from the master navigators! This art was nearly lost had it not been revived by the efforts of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. May this knowledge be passed down for generations to come.
















