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October, 1997 Progress Report

Three Voyaging Canoes Launched       With resounding chants and pounding feet urging them on, three te puke voyaging canoes rolled majestically across the sands of Ngauta, Taumako Island and into the sea. It was September 12th. It was the first time there had been even one such canoe for Taumako since the early 1950’s. Handmade ropes snapped taut and lauhala sails opened their wings to greet the wind. It was a proud moment for the Duff Islanders. Old people wept and children shouted for joy. Temotu Province Council President Ross Hepworth exclaimed to anthropologist Dr. Mimi George "It’s a miracle! Just a miracle!" A miracle it was to those whose work had made the event, and the cultural revifval it symbolized, possible. Although these magnificent voyaging craft had plied the waters around Duff Islands for millenium, the last working te puke had broken up in 1964. Depite the failure of an attempt by the Solomon Islands’ national government to build and sail one to the Pacific Arts Festival in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea during 1979-80, people of Temotu had nursed the hope that the te puke would one day travel the old seaways again. When Taumako’s Paramount Chief Koloso Kaveia asked Dr. David Lewis and Dr. Mimi George to help realize their dream in 1993, the possibility fo doing so still seemed remote. When George returned to the island in March, 1996, with funds to pay the construcion costs, hope quickly turned to expectation and possibility to likelihood. The Vaka Taumako Project get underway. The way, however, sometimes seemed as steep as the bush paths leading to where te puke size trees grow, and as hard to navigate as the ancient sea roads. Most of the people of Taumako were too young ever to have seen such canoes, and had no direct knowledge of how to carve the hull, weave the sails, or even haul the lines. Nevertheless they responded enthusiastically to their elders’ call for help. From the youngest to the oldest, every willing member fo the community found a job. Children of four helped thatch the deckhouse, strip bark from logs used for construction, sharpened tools and carried food. While doing this they learned in the old Polynesian way. They quietly observed others at work. Old people directed, corrected,a dnt aught by example skills such as weaving, cordage-making, and carving that can only be learned in performance. While all this went on people needed to eat. As Paramount Chief Kaveia observed, "When you decide to build a te puke, the first thing you must do is plant a garden." That is, you must feed the te puke builders. Being a traditional Polynesian community on a remote island, Taumako cannot simply send out a pizza order. All comestibles come from the land, the sea, or, on rare occasions, a cargo ship. While some people built the canoes, others grew and cooked the food for them. Yet almost everyone wanted the chance to help with the building. Project organizers solved this problem by rotating the work of cooking and canoe building through the community’s fifteen tribal groups. Each one in turn had both the opportunity to work on the canoe and the obligation to feed other canoe workers. A variation of the same difficulty presented itself to those who planned the September 12 launch. In addition to feeding the 450 residents, they needed to provide for guests. Some 150 gusts had been invited. Taumako could not do it alone. In early May the launch committee began organizing food supplies, placing orders with farmers on other islands in Temotu Province so that they could plant their gardens accordingly. Ships to carry this food, and imu to cook it in had to be arranged. Accommodations, sanitation, security, emergency medical care, water supply, and other visitor needs also required attention. Finally the islanders would have been ashamed not to greet their guests with flowers, songs and dances. So plans and original compositions had to be made and rehearsed. By late August all seemed well in hand. Then came two weeks of stormy weather, which delayed shipping throughout the province. Mechanical trouble forced cancellation of one of the three ship charters arranged by the launch committee. To make matters worse, on 5 September, the second chartered ship hit a rock and knocked an island-sized hole in it’s hull. With only one ship now at its disposal, and no other within 500 sea miles of Temotu, the committee felt nervous to say the least. On 6 September Dr. George sailed the Hawaiian Kumuhula from the provincial capitol to Taumako, because there was no other transport and she needed to rehearse her part in the launch ceremony with her Taumakoan counterparts. The unenviable job of fitting twice the carrying capacity of guests, 900 kg. of taro, kumara, and yams, 20 pigs, and assorted cargo on one 20-meter ship for a 12 hour crossing in rough seas was challenging to everyone involved. There were thousands who wanted to be on that ship. The hard-working and quick thinking team of Duffs people in the provincial capitol managed to balance passengers, food, and cargo so that as many guests as possible and adequated provisions for them got aboard. Meanwhile back in the Duffs, residents were preparing extra-large imu, cleaning their village, weaving mats and baskets for gifts to the visitors, and reheearsing the launch ceremony. In addition, many were saying prayers for the fierce winds and heavy rains to abate. Whatever power they invoked seemed to have sympathized. Late on the night of September 11 the wall of clouds cracked open, rain stopped, and a few audacious stars elbowed their way through. September 12 began with pink clouds tumbling in the strong breeze that some islanders say always heralds the launch of big canoes. On the reef bordering Ngauta’s lagoon, the sea roared its applause. Finally the sun, putting it its first appearnace for some time, presided benighly over all. On the beach a chorus of over 150 Taumako and three resident Kaua’i lined up to welcome their guests with song. Visitors from around Temotu Province, from the capital Honieara, and from Hawai’i received lei and greetings, and the ceremonies began. Before making their stately procession down the beach, the canoes received a double blessing. First, from the Church of Melanesia, Bishop Lazarus Munamua, honored the event by performing both a specially composed service and a custom dance in his native Tikopean style. Then Kumu Hula Roselle Ke’li ihonipua Bailey of Maui performed a traditional Hawaiian rite. Chanting prayers to the Polynesian Gods Tu, Tane, Tangaroa, Tongo, Lata, and Hi’iaka, Bailey and her assistants garlanded the te puke hulls with lei of ferns, pohuehue, kava, and other native plants, then sprinkled them with fresh water, coconut water, and kava to wash away tambu of the land and enable them to go safely over the sea. Finally the long anticipated moment arrived. 150 fans smacked into palms. 150 pairs of feet stamped the sand, and 150 voices lifted in chant as crew members heaved the great canoes seaward. Vaka Taumako Project’s next phase is voyaging. Through voyaging with the few elders who can still show them how, the young people will begin to relearn the ancient voyaging skills needed to make the te puke sail again. Vaka Taumako Project Principle Investigator Dr. Mimi George has returned to Kaua’i. She plans to return to the Solomon Islands in May, in order to be there for the first voyage. She will be available for speaking engagements to groups interested in learning more about the Vaka Taumako Project.