How did Polynesian wayfinders navigate the Pacific Ocean? - Alan Tamayose and Shantell De Silva

翻译人员: Chien Yet Chong 校对人员: Sylvia He

Imagine setting sail from Hawaii in a canoe.

想象一下， 你乘着独木舟从夏威夷

Your target is a small island thousands of kilometers away

向几千公里外，坐落于太平洋中央的

in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

一个小岛出发。

That's a body of water that covers more than 160 million square kilometers,

太平洋的面积超过 1 亿 6 百万平方公里，

greater than all the landmasses on Earth combined.

比地球所有陆地面积的总和还要大。

For thousands of years,

几千年来，

Polynesian navigators managed voyages like this

波利尼西亚航海者 没有现代的航海仪器，

without the help of modern navigational aids.

也能成功完成这样的航行。

Ancient Polynesians used the Sun,

远古的波利尼西亚人使用太阳，

Moon,

月亮，

stars,

planets,

星星，

行星，

ocean currents,

洋流

and clouds as guides that allowed them to see the ocean as a series of pathways

和云来导航，他们把海洋 视为一系列的路径，

rather than an obstacle.

而不是障碍。

Their voyages began around 1500 B.C.

公元前 1500 年左右，

when the people who would settle Polynesia first set sail from Southeast Asia.

最早前往波利尼西亚群岛 定居的人从东南亚启航。

Early Polynesians eventually settled a vast area of islands

早期的波利尼西亚人分散地安顿在

spread over 40 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean.

超过 4 千万平方公里的太平洋海域。

Some historians believe the voyagers moved from place to place

有些历史学家相信 那些航海者通过不断迁徙

to avoid overpopulation.

来避免人口过度拥挤。

Others, that they were driven by war.

另一些则认为他们是 因战争而被迫迁徙。

Voyages became less frequent by around 1300 A.D.

航行的规模到了 公元 1300 年左右逐渐缩小，

as Polynesian societies became more rooted in specific locations.

因为波利尼西亚社会 逐渐在一些地方扎根。

During the voyaging period,

航海盛行时期，

successful journeys depended on a number of factors:

一次成功的航行背后 最重要的因素包括：

well-built canoes,

坚固的独木舟、

the skill of navigators,

航海者的技术、

and weather being some of the biggest.

和往往起主要作用的天气。

Voyages relied on sturdy wa'a kaulua, or double-hulled canoes,

航行依靠坚固 的 wa'akaulua 船，也叫双体船，

which were powered by sails and steered with a single large oar.

靠船帆驱动，和一条大船桨掌舵。

Canoe building involved the whole community,

整个社区都参与了独木舟的制造，

bringing together the navigators,

把航海员、

canoe builders,

船匠、

priests,

祭司、

chanters,

歌手、

and hula dancers.

和草裙舞员联系在一起。

Navigators were keen observers of the natural world.

航海者精于观察自然界。

They were abundantly familiar with trade wind-generated ocean swells,

他们很熟悉信风导致的，

which typically flow northeast or southeast.

通常流向东北或东南方的海浪。

By day, navigators could identify direction

白天，航海者可以通过船只的摇晃

by the rocking motion of their canoes caused by these swells.

辨认海浪的方向。

But sunrise and sunset were even more useful.

但是日出和日落更有用。

The Sun's position indicated east and west

太阳的方向标明东和西，日出日落时

and created low light on the ocean that made it possible to see swells directly.

的微光让他们能直接地观察涌浪。

At night, navigators used something called a star compass,

晚上，航海者使用一种 叫“星象罗盘”的东西。

which wasn't a physical object, but rather a sort of mental map.

这不是一种实体， 更像一种概念图像。

They memorized the rising and setting points of stars and constellations

他们牢记恒星和星座 一年内不同时期

at different times of the year.

升起和落下的位置。

They used those to divide the sky into four quadrants,

使用这些位置， 他们把天空分成四个象限，

subdivided into 32 houses,

每个象限再细分为三十二个星宿，

with the canoe in the middle.

而独木舟则位于中央。

So, for example, when they saw the star Pira‘atea rising from the ocean,

举个例子，当他们看到 Pira'atea 星从海洋升起，

they knew that to be northeast.

他们就知道那是东北方。

They had some other tricks, too.

此外他们还有其它诀窍。

The Earth's axis points towards Hokupa'a, or the North Star,

地球的轴指向 Hokupa'a 星， 也就是北极星，

so called because it's the one fixed point in the sky as the Earth rotates

它因其位置在地球自转时不变而得名，

and always indicates north.

而且永远指向北方。

However, it's not visible south of the Equator,

然而，它在赤道之南是看不到的，

so navigators there could use a constellation called Newe,

所以在南半球， 航海者使用 Newe 星座，

or the Southern Cross,

也叫南方十字座，

and some mental tricks to estimate where south is.

或者运用一些诀窍来辨认南方。

For instance, draw a line through these two stars,

比如，在这两颗星之间画一条线，

extend it 4.5 times,

把这条线伸长 4.5 倍，

and draw another line from there to the horizon.

再从那儿往天际线画一条直线。

That's south.

那就是南方。

But the sky also contains navigational aids much closer to Earth,

不过天空中也有其它 更靠近地面的的导航物，

the clouds.

云朵。

Besides being useful weather cues,

除了能用于预测天气，

under the right conditions, they can indicate landmasses.

理想的情况下， 云朵也能显示陆地的存在。

For instance, the lagoons of Pacific atolls

比如，太平洋环礁的泻湖

can actually be seen reflected on the underside of clouds,

会倒影在云朵的下层，

if you know what to look for.

你懂得观察就能看见。

And high masses of clouds can indicate mountainous islands.

大量的云朵也可显示 高山岛屿的存在。

Once navigators neared their destination, other clues,

当航海者靠近目的地时，其它线索，

such as the flight patterns of birds,

比如鸟儿的飞行模式，

floating debris or vegetation,

海上漂浮物和浮游植物，

and types of fish in the area helped determine the proximity of land.

同地区特有的鱼种 也能帮助推断陆地的距离。

For example, the Manu-O-Ku had a known flight range of 190 kilometers,

例如，Manu-O-Ku（白玄欧） 的飞行范围是 190 公里，

and could be followed back to shore.

航海者可跟随它们归岸。

So how do we know all of this?

我们是怎么知道这一切的？

Partially through evidence in petroglyphs,

部分通过岩石雕刻，

written observations of European explorers,

欧洲探险家写下的观察报告，

and Polynesian oral traditions.

以及波利尼西亚的口述传统。

But also by trying them out for ourselves.

此外，我们也曾亲自试验。

In 2017, a voyaging canoe called Hokulea

2017 年，一艘名为 Hokulea 的航海独木舟，

completed a worldwide voyage using only these techniques.

在只使用这些技术下成功环绕地球。

If that seems remarkable, remember the ancient Polynesians,

如果这令你惊叹， 要记得跟大自然有亲密关系，

who through close study and kinship with nature,

通过仔细观察，在深湛宽广，

were able to forge these paths across

生气盎然的泱泱大洋上

an unfathomably vast, vibrant living ocean.

开拓海上路径 的古波利尼西亚人。