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The Micronesian canoe (often referred to as proa when fitted with a sail) has survived centuries of European and East Asian colonialism in all of the islands except those of Guam and the Northern Marianas. The canoes may have been in danger of disappearing altogether before the resurgence of interest in non-instrumental navigation. Even so, much has been written in print and in digital format on Polynesian canoes, navigation, and voyaging, while historians, anthropologists, and other Pacific scholars have neglected to make the Micronesian canoe and the culture that surrounds it accessible to those on the Web. This webliography then serves as a collection of links to sources on the Web about Micronesian canoes so that scholars and canoe enthusiasts studying Micronesia can get a better appreciation for the impact this canoe has had and still has on the cultures of its peoples.
There are numerous ways these links could have been categorized but the complexity of the cultures surrounding the Micronesian canoe would not have been justly described in these other forms of categorization.
The islands of Micronesia span across a stretch of the Pacific greater in size than the continental United States, yet their total land area is smaller than the state of Rhode Island. The main islands in the region are Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan, Rota, Tinian), the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Pohnpei, Yap, Kosrae), the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, and Palau. Like the Polynesians, the Micronesians were a seafaring people. Many Micronesians lived on small atolls, which were not always able to sustain their populations. Provisions had to come from uninhabited atolls in the vicinity and from high islands like Guam, Yap, and Palau. As a result, some Micronesian groups have retained the ability to navigate for long distances without the use of instruments.
The Flying Proa (Descriptions of
Micronesian Canoes)
Micronesian Sailing Canoes and Adaptation(Article)
This article discusses the similarities between the Micronesian canoes. The author, Douglas Taylor, also mentions that regional variations exist and are obvious enough so that one could determine the origin of a canoe. Much of the variation that does exist between the canoes of the Marianas, the Gilbert Islands, the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Carolinas, would be in the presence or absence of a lee and/or weather platform. Modern adaptations to the Carolinian canoes are also mentioned.
The Flying Proa of Kapingamarangi and Proa Racing in Kiribati(Article)
John Scull writes of his experiences with the canoes of Kapingamarangi, a Polynesian outlier near Pohnpei (Ponape). He gives a detailed description of the Kapinga sailing canoe and how it is sailed. The canoes like all Micronesian outrigger canoes is double-ended and changing tacks would involve turning the canoe so that it is perpendicular to the wind. The sail is then switched to the opposite end of the boat, which would now be forward.
"Flying Proa" of the Marianas Islands(Article)
This account of Baron George Anson about the Marianas canoes in 1748 was taken from Canoes of Oceania by A.C. Haddon and James Hornwell. It describes the design of the Marianas flying proa as suiting the north to south positions of the islands within the Marianas. The asymmetrical and sleek design of the canoes allowed them to traverse the Marianas faster than any sailing vessel known to the Europeans. Illustrations showing the design of the canoe excellently convey this point.
Canoes of the Kiribati Islands(Article)
This site gives a description of the Kiribati canoe. It also takes readers through the different steps of building the canoe. It gives good illustrations so that the reader can visualize the construction of the canoe. The creator of this site is from Kiribati so she might have a better understanding of the history and spiritualism that so many Micronesians attach to the building of canoes.
Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) Canoe - 1945(Ariticle)
This article was originally written as a letter by Robin A. Drews a retired navyman and anthropologist. It describes the Gilbertese canoe immediately after World War II and before American influence could get a stronghold on the native culture and economy.
Proa Pictures(Pictures)
This is a collection of illustrations and photos of the various outrigger canoes and proa found throughout the Pacific. This is a good resource for those who would like to readily compare differences in design of the canoes. It would be helpful to researchers if more examples were available. There is one dead link on this page but the pictures of the other canoes are invaluable.
Traditional Navigation in the Western Pacific(Website)
This site provides the most extensive and well-organized information on the Caroline Islands that can be found on the Web. It is maintained by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. It is easy to navigate as its index identifies the different aspects of traditional Micronesian navigation. Moving images allow visitors to this site to visualize some of the basic thought processes that go through a navigator's mind as he tries to find his way in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Visitors can learn about the sidereal compass, reference (or moving) islands, and how to spot an island using the surrounding environment, considering most the islands these navigators are from a mere atolls invisible from even forty miles out.
Wayfinding(Article)
This article briefly describes what wayfinding is according to the Polynesian philosophy, which is essentially the Micronesian philosophy. It mentions the 32-point star compass used by celestial navigators in order for islands to be located. There are also some links of importance related to wayfinding.
Wayfaring and Other Tales of the South Pacific(Article)
This article gives a good general overview of the capabilities of a competent navigator, including: nighttime navigation, daytime navigation, determining an island's location from a distance, and for predicting weather, all techniques generally used by Carolinian navigators. The stickcharts that the Marshallese use for navigating their islands is also explained briefly.
Traditional Marshallese Stickchart Navigation(Article)
This essay explains the Marshallese stickchart navigation system. The author, Dirk H.R. Spennemann, explains that the stickchart was used as a tool to preserve navigational knowledge. A navigator would use them to remember the positions of islands and rely on the swells to take him in between islands. These charts are uni-directional and only useful from the start point.
Lieweila: A Micronesian Story(Website)
This site tells the history of the Carolinian people living in Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. They were forced to seek refuge in the Marianas when a typhoon swept through their islands in the 1800s. They sailed up to Guam and eventually were allowed to settle in Saipan. Although the documentary this site developer is trying to sell is not specifically about navigation or canoes, the Carolinians in Saipan are directly related to the people from Satawal and the other Carolinian Islands where celestial navigation is still practiced and navigation in these other islands is still a necessity.
Micronesian Tour 99(Pictures)
This page contains images of Eric Metzgar's (who produced the documentary Spirits of the Voyage, about Micronesian navigation) trip to the Caroline Islands. He provides photographs of some of the more well-known navigators of the time.
Micronesian Diary: More Yap Day(Pictures)
Archaeologist, Dr. Felicia R. Beardsley, provides some photographs of a Yapese (Carolinian) canoe and its crew. This is a part of her Micronesian Diary.
The Marshall Islands: Culture and Society(Website)
Excellent essays and articles by Dirk H.R. Spinnemann on the Marshallese way of life including essays and photographs of their canoes and navigation system. The essays allow a relatively thorough understanding of the Marshallese canoe in the people's way of life.
Proa Rig Options(Website)
This site is actually about Western-built proas that were inspired by the Micronesian sailing canoes, which were considered extremely fast and maneuverable. This site is excellent for people to see how "ancient" technology can still influence the design of modern inventions.
Harryproa(Website)
This is another site that shows ancient ingenuity and modern engineering working together. It is a commercial site trying to sell the canoes that represent those of the Micronesians, with an asymmetrical hull and an outrigger that always lies windward.
The Proa Diary(Article)
This article is discusses a person's thoughts as he attempts to build a proa without the traditional materials. He writes about some of the the specifications he would need in order to build a competent vessel.
Outrigger Sailing Canoes(Website)
This site contains pictures of both modern and traditional canoes. Again, it displays the ingenuity of the Micronesian canoe builders. This site has several excellent designs that are free for download.
Sacred Vessels (Video requires RealPlayer)
History Professor, Dr. Vicente Diaz, formerly of the University of Guam created this documentary in part, to illustrate the interaction that had existed between the Chamorros of the Mariana Islands and the Carolinians. Two young Chamorro men have begun studying navigation under master navigators from the island of Puluwat. This documentary is critical of the perception that history began in Guam (Mariana Islands) with the onset of the West, and where Chamorro culture simultaneously declined. This is an excellent resource for scholars and students who require a little more of the philosophy of navigation, rather than just information.
E Mau Micronesia(Video requires RealPlayer)
Contains interviews of several crew members who arrived on the Hawaiian Voyaging Canoe, Makali'i into Guam, as it transported master navigator Mau Piailug from his home on Satawal. The Makali'i made its way from Hawai'i, through Micronesia where it ended its voyage in Saipan. The Makali'i and its original crew travelled the more than 4,000 mile trip without the use of modern navigation technology.
The Te Puna Web Directory by National Library of New Zealand contains numerous links to New Zealand and Pacific Island websites. The listings are categorized by country so searching for links specifically about Micronesian canoes might be a bit time consuming
This site has numerous links to Chamorro (Guamanian) culture. There are several links to Micronesian canoe related sites and media but information specific to the Micronesian canoe would not be organized on this website.
Pacific Studies WWW Virtual Library
Pacific Studies WWW Virtual Library is maintained by Internet Publications Bureau, Research School of Asian and Pacific Studies, at the Australian National University. This site has links to Pacific-related websites and discussion groups. The Micronesian section could use a few more sites since it only has four. I am not ruling this out as a good site to look for possible information on Micronesian canoes. I believe it has some potential.
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Archives
The TTPI Archives Photo Archives contain numerous photographs of Micronesia, excluding Guam. Among these photographs are pictures of Micronesian sailing canoes. A search for TTPI items can be searched in the Voyager database and the photograph collections can be searched by keyword.
Micronesia Seminar Photo Album
The Micronesian Seminar is run by the Jesuits of Micronesia and they manage a library meant to serve the people of the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. This album contains photographs and illustrations of various parts of Micronesia.
