GUAMPEDIA Pulan Lumuhu
Volume VI Issue IV
Abrit 21-Måyu 19,2023 April 21 - May 19, 2023
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This new pulan, Lumuhu, signified a time to return, or resume one’s route for our ancestors. This may be in relation to seafaring as this time frame signifies the last leg of strong trade winds before the voyaging window closes in our region.
Image: Sandra Iseke Okada • Tasa Voyaging 2017
The Pacific Islands are known for traditions in seafaring and navigation. In Carolinian navigation, from the perspective of the observer, everything on the open ocean is in motion-except the observer.The canoe does not move-rather, its fixed position becomes a reference point around which everything else, the islands, the stars and the ocean, move. This perspective allows the navigator to direct their movement from island to island, often across vast distances. Each island provides an opportunity to connect with others. Each journey brings with it challenges, known, and sometimes, unknown, but the successful seafarer has learned to navigate through the challenges and adapt to changing situations. The navigator, though, does not do it alone, but works with a team where each member contributes their skills, energy and dedication towards getting the canoe to their destination. Guampedia is a non-profit affiliate of the University of Guam with operations funded by the Government of Guam’s tourism attraction fund.