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

譯者: Chen Chi-An 審譯者: Helen Chang

Imagine setting sail from Hawaii in a canoe.

想像你划著獨木舟從夏威夷出發，

Your target is a small island thousands of kilometers away

目的地是幾千公里外

in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

太平洋中的小島，

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

這表示需要橫渡超過 1.6 億平方公里的海域，

greater than all the landmasses on Earth combined.

比地球上所有陸地面積加起來還大。

For thousands of years,

過去幾千年來

Polynesian navigators managed voyages like this

玻里尼西亞的航海人就像這樣，

without the help of modern navigational aids.

在缺乏現代導航設備的情況下航行。

Ancient Polynesians used the Sun,

古代的玻里尼西亞人用太陽、

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

和雲當作指標，

讓他們視海洋為道路

rather than an obstacle.

而非阻礙。

Their voyages began around 1500 B.C.

他們的旅程從 西元前 1500 年開始，

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

從東南亞出發， 航行到玻里尼西亞定居下來。

Early Polynesians eventually settled a vast area of islands

早期的玻里尼西亞人 又逐漸移居至其他島嶼，

spread over 40 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean.

散佈在四千萬平方公里的太平洋上。

Some historians believe the voyagers moved from place to place

有些歷史學家認為 他們不停航行遷移

to avoid overpopulation.

是為了避免人口過多，

Others, that they were driven by war.

有些則認為戰爭才是主因。

Voyages became less frequent by around 1300 A.D.

直到西元 1300 年， 航行頻率才減低，

as Polynesian societies became more rooted in specific locations.

波西尼亞人開始在某些地區定居，

During the voyaging period,

航行期間，

successful journeys depended on a number of factors:

航程是否成功取決於許多因素：

well-built canoes,

完善的獨木舟、

the skill of navigators,

航海人的技術

and weather being some of the biggest.

還有天氣，或許是最主要的因素。

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

航行依靠堅固的「法可魯瓦」， 或稱雙重船體的木舟，

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

利用帆和一個大槳來操控。

Canoe building involved the whole community,

建舟是件大事，要全社區參與，

bringing together the navigators,

從水手、

canoe builders,

造船師傅、

priests,

祭司、

chanters,

歌手

and hula dancers.

和呼拉舞者。

Navigators were keen observers of the natural world.

水手擅長觀察自然，

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

他們對季風引起的海流非常瞭解，

which typically flow northeast or southeast.

通常流向東北或是東南方。

By day, navigators could identify direction

白天時，水手依據船的擺動

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

判斷海流方向，進而定位。

But sunrise and sunset were even more useful.

但日出和日落更好用，

The Sun's position indicated east and west

太陽位置代表東邊或西邊，

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

照在海面上的光 也讓海流變更明顯。

At night, navigators used something called a star compass,

夜晚時，水手利用「星星羅盤」：

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

這不是實際物體， 比較像某種內心地圖，

They memorized the rising and setting points of stars and constellations

他們記得一年不同時節

星星及星座升起和分佈的位置，

at different times of the year.

They used those to divide the sky into four quadrants,

用這些資訊把天空分成四象限，

subdivided into 32 houses,

再分成 32 宮，

with the canoe in the middle.

獨木舟在正中心，

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

舉例來說，當「天津四」從海平面升起，

they knew that to be northeast.

水手就知道東北方在哪。

They had some other tricks, too.

還有其他小技巧，

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

地球的軸指向「禾苦帕阿」， 或稱北極星

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

因為地球的自轉軸永遠指向北邊，

and always indicates north.

當地球自旋時，它固定不動。

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

但是，赤道以南就看不到這顆星，

so navigators there could use a constellation called Newe,

因此南半球的水手會利用 一個叫做「內維」的星座，

or the Southern Cross,

亦稱作「南十字星」，

and some mental tricks to estimate where south is.

和一些技巧去推估南方的位置，

For instance, draw a line through these two stars,

像是沿著這兩顆星星畫一條線，

extend it 4.5 times,

延伸 4.5 倍長；

and draw another line from there to the horizon.

從這裡往水平面畫另一條線，

That's south.

就是南方了。

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

天空還有其他 離地球近一點的導航工具，

the clouds.

像是雲。

Besides being useful weather cues,

雲除了是實用的天氣信號，

under the right conditions, they can indicate landmasses.

在特定條件下， 還可以用來指引陸地，

For instance, the lagoons of Pacific atolls

舉例來說，太平洋環礁 被圍繞住的海域

can actually be seen reflected on the underside of clouds,

經過反射後，可以在雲的下方看到，

if you know what to look for.

如果你知道該看什麼的話。

And high masses of clouds can indicate mountainous islands.

另外，很大量的雲聚集 通常表示有高山島嶼，

Once navigators neared their destination, other clues,

當水手離目的地越來越近時，

其他線索，像是鳥類的飛行模式、

such as the flight patterns of birds,

floating debris or vegetation,

海面漂浮的碎片或植被，

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

還有魚的種類， 也能用來評估離岸距離，

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

例如白玄鷗的飛行範圍 可達 190 公里，

and could be followed back to shore.

人們可以跟著牠回到岸邊。

So how do we know all of this?

我們怎麼知道這些的呢？

Partially through evidence in petroglyphs,

有些是從岩畫上得知，

written observations of European explorers,

有些由歐洲探險家書寫下的記錄，

and Polynesian oral traditions.

還有波里尼西亞人的口述傳統，

But also by trying them out for ourselves.

以及人們的親身經歷。

In 2017, a voyaging canoe called Hokulea

2017 年，一艘叫 荷庫雷亞（Hokulea）的帆船

completed a worldwide voyage using only these techniques.

只利用這些技術 就完成航行地球一圈的旅程。

If that seems remarkable, remember the ancient Polynesians,

如果這看來不可思議， 別忘了古代波利尼西亞人，

who through close study and kinship with nature,

他們透過仔細研究和親近自然，

were able to forge these paths across

在廣大遼闊又千變萬化的海洋上

an unfathomably vast, vibrant living ocean.

開創一條條的道路。