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Hawaiki Rising: Hōkūle'a, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian Renaissance
Hokule'a is built to follow ancient sea paths..
Nainoa Thompson searches the sky for clues his ancestors once used to find land across a trackless ocean...
Mau Piailug reaches out across barriers of culture and distance to pass on the seafaring art of his ancestors...
A crew bonds together with aloha on a voyage to Tahiti - the first Hawaiians to navigate the Pacific without charts or instruments in a thousand years...
Hawaiki Rising is the unpublished story of the Hokule'a and the men and women who sailed in the wake of their ancestors to discover pride in their culture and themselves.
"The vision of Hokule'a was conceived in 1973, so the publishing of this book marks the 40th anniversary of her creation. Sam Low, the author, has sailed with us on three voyages, written numerous articles and now, after ten years of work, has finished Hawaiki Rising. This book is an important part of our 'olelo, our history, and it contains the mana of all those who helped create and sail Hokule'a." Nainoa Thompson
Nainoa Thompson searches the sky for clues his ancestors once used to find land across a trackless ocean...
Mau Piailug reaches out across barriers of culture and distance to pass on the seafaring art of his ancestors...
A crew bonds together with aloha on a voyage to Tahiti - the first Hawaiians to navigate the Pacific without charts or instruments in a thousand years...
Hawaiki Rising is the unpublished story of the Hokule'a and the men and women who sailed in the wake of their ancestors to discover pride in their culture and themselves.
"The vision of Hokule'a was conceived in 1973, so the publishing of this book marks the 40th anniversary of her creation. Sam Low, the author, has sailed with us on three voyages, written numerous articles and now, after ten years of work, has finished Hawaiki Rising. This book is an important part of our 'olelo, our history, and it contains the mana of all those who helped create and sail Hokule'a." Nainoa Thompson
344 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
101 people are currently reading
730 people want to read
About the author
Sam Low
2 books11 followersSam Low has sailed aboard Hokule’a on three voyages – from Mangareva to Rapa Nui in 1999, Tahiti to Hawaii in 2000 and from Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia to Satawal in 2007. He also accompanied the canoe aboard an escort vessel from Tahiti to the Marquesas and on to Hawaii in 1995. The story of Polynesian voyaging has fascinated him most of his life. In 1983, after traveling throughout Polynesia, Sam produced his award winning film, The Navigators – Pathfinders of the Pacific, shown nationally on PBS and internationally on television venues throughout the world. Sam is the author of many articles on Hokule’a and her meaning to Polynesians. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific from 1964 to 1966 and earned a Ph.D. degree from Harvard (in anthropology) in 1975. He is one-quarter Hawaiian. Nainoa Thompson is his cousin, a relationship which has provided unparalleled access to the main protagonist of this story. (www.samlow.com)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
February 17, 2015
It's almost impossible to put this book down! I read Kon Tiki as a kid, and thought it was, as my Hawaiian friend says, "retarded loincloth fisherman lost at sea" who settled the Pacific islands. NOT! This book, winner of a Walter Cronkite award, a Ben Franklin award, Hawaii Book of the Year, and finalist for best nonfiction Book of the Year, tells how Hawaiians built Hokule'a ("Star of Joy" or Arcturus), a double-hulled sailing canoe like that of their ancestors, and then found Mau Pialug from Micronesia, one of the last to remember the art of navigating by the stars and waves. He navigated Hokule'a from Hawaii to Tahiti in 1976, and now the art of navigating is revived, along with Hawaiian culture, which was interrupted by over a century of plantation serfdom. This is the exciting story of that adventure, and the next, in which the overloaded Hokule'a capsized in a storm, and world-famous surfer Eddie Aikau perished paddling for help Since, Hokule'a has sailed some 140,000 miles and is just about to complete her first circumnavigation of the earth. See http://www.hokulea.com/ The author, Sam Low, produced an award winning film, The Navigators – Pathfinders of the Pacific, shown nationally on PBS and internationally on television venues throughout the world. This book is like the best-seller "Born to Run" goes to sea. Both are high adventure and deal with human evolution and especially cooperation. You will love it.
July 26, 2016
Gripping read in one sitting story of the rebuilding of the Polynesian voyaging canoe the Hokuleʻa, the relearning of traditional Polynesian celestial navigation and instrumentless wayfinding and the Hawaiian Renaissance of the seventies. Adventure, sea stories, daring, courage and lovely little portraits of players in the story. Very accessible work which leaves one yearning. Just yearning for different, better ways of being human. Could easily be set in high schools and would make a truly great all genders book discussion book because there are so many aspects to discuss. Team work. Nationalism. Identity. Indigenous peoples. Tradition and modernism. Courage. Failure. Success. Science. Vision. Pursuing a dream. What does it take to step outside of ones comfort level? The book left me wanting to know more, in more depth but also made me feel it is worth reaching to be better, every day, in every way.
December 15, 2021
This was a great story of Nainoa Thompson's education as a master navigator of the old school. The portions of the book describing Thompson's relationship with his teacher, Mau, were quite moving, and Thompson's innovative use of a planatarium to accelerate his education of the cosmos was fascinating. There is no doubt that the construction of the HoKule'a and its navigation by traditional methods contributed significantly to the Hawaiian Renaissance.
While it may be true that Thompson was the first Hawaiian to re-learn these traditional skills, the implication by Sam Low, the author, that no one else was practicing or discovering these techniques is off base. Statements such as "the sky provided gifts that had not been used for centuries" (p. 164) are gross hyperbole: these techniques were still being used by other Pacific islanders, and others, notably David Lewis in his groundbreaking work We the Navigators, were working to save and document these traditional practices. The omission of Lewis' contributions is particularly troubling: he gets a brief mention as being on the crew of the first voyage (he was on board BECAUSE of the research and documentation he had done), but no largely no credit for resurrecting the traditional practices.
Still, Hawaiki Rising is a good, inspiring read, and there is no doubt that Thompson, though not solely, contributed mightily to the re-birth of traditional navigation.
While it may be true that Thompson was the first Hawaiian to re-learn these traditional skills, the implication by Sam Low, the author, that no one else was practicing or discovering these techniques is off base. Statements such as "the sky provided gifts that had not been used for centuries" (p. 164) are gross hyperbole: these techniques were still being used by other Pacific islanders, and others, notably David Lewis in his groundbreaking work We the Navigators, were working to save and document these traditional practices. The omission of Lewis' contributions is particularly troubling: he gets a brief mention as being on the crew of the first voyage (he was on board BECAUSE of the research and documentation he had done), but no largely no credit for resurrecting the traditional practices.
Still, Hawaiki Rising is a good, inspiring read, and there is no doubt that Thompson, though not solely, contributed mightily to the re-birth of traditional navigation.
September 10, 2013
This is a truly amazing story, well told. For anyone who loves the sea, ships, or the islands of Oceania.
September 14, 2013
A must read for all learning about Hawaiian rebirth of culture. Riveting, easy read.
March 23, 2024
After reading and thoroughly enjoying Sea People I moved on to this book to get more information about how the Hawaiians relearned ancient techniques to navigate on long voyages without instruments. The book is very inspirational and I am very happy that reawakening these skills prompted a cultural rebirth and pride. I plan next to watch the documentary, “The Navigators:Pathfinders of the Pacific” about the building of the voyaging double-hulled canoe, Hokulea, and its voyage which proved it could be done.
March 17, 2025
So. Good. I’m teaching a unit on Polynesia: history, culture, Literature. I read this book to find sections to use to teach about wayfinding. It’s an amazing read.
February 25, 2024
Fantastic! Even though I knew the basic course of events, I still had a hard time putting this book down.
December 17, 2015
Hawaiki Rising is the story of a piece of the Hawaiian Renaissance that has been happening over the last 30 years or so. Hokule'a is a double hulled voyaging canoe that was built in the 70s, a replica of the Ancient Polynesian Canoes that sailed throughout the Pacific without modern navigational instruments. The purpose is bring out Hawaiian pride, highlighting the skills of the Hawaiian culture, much of which has been suppressed and lost. The crew of the Hokule'a sailed to Tahiti, from Hawaii without using Modern navigational instruments. Nainoa Thompson spent 4 years learning how to navigate by the stars, winds and waves.
I read this book because I read The Last Navigator by Stephen Thomas, a few months ago, and I loved the book. The success of the Hokule'a was due to the willingness of Mau Piailug from Micronesia to share his knowledge. Mau knew his knowledge of the ancient way of navigation was being lost to modernization, even on his remote Satawal Island. Since the late 70s, several more Hawaiians and Micronesians have learned to navigate the ancient way.
I read on Wikipedia, that the Hokule'a sailed in May 2014 for a 3 year world tour.
I read this book because I read The Last Navigator by Stephen Thomas, a few months ago, and I loved the book. The success of the Hokule'a was due to the willingness of Mau Piailug from Micronesia to share his knowledge. Mau knew his knowledge of the ancient way of navigation was being lost to modernization, even on his remote Satawal Island. Since the late 70s, several more Hawaiians and Micronesians have learned to navigate the ancient way.
I read on Wikipedia, that the Hokule'a sailed in May 2014 for a 3 year world tour.
June 28, 2014
Absolutely excellent. Mesmerizing. Given I'm a frequent visitor to Hawaii who's adopted the islands as a second home. Yes Polynesian culture captivates me. But this real life, non fiction piece is so much more than a tale of the Hawaiian Renaissance. It is also a story of vision, drive, perseverance, courage & the process of raising oneself to an almost superhuman level in pursuit of a quest. A modern, Pacific based "Old Man and the Sea" in a way, this is now a favorite. I can usually tell how moving, how insightful, a book is by my number of dog ears & underlines. In the few days it took me to read Hawaiki Rising, the book looks like an old tome already. Btw, my favorite quote "Do you know the way, the navigator asked...I pointed. Can you see the island, he asked? Obviously I cannot, it is too far away, but I have an image of the island in my mind, I can feel it in my heart. Good, the navigator says, for when you can no longer see the island in your mind, when it's no longer in your heart, you are lost..."----excuse the paraphrasing, but for those islanders & adopted islanders of us living in exile, this is the most profound advice ever.
July 1, 2015
This book at first appears to be simply a history of Hōkūle’a, a “new” version of an ancient Polynesian voyaging canoe that successfully sailed to Tahiti using traditional navigation techniques and without modern scientific means/instruments. But the book is so much more.
It’s the journey of the Hawaiian people to discover their long lost cultural roots. It’s the journey of Mau Piailug, master navigator from Satawal, who sought to pass on his and his ancestors knowledge of the seas and the stars to sail long distances. And it’s the journey of Nainoa Thompson, navigator on Hōkūle’a’s second voyage. This book conveys all the excitement and the problems of this voyage in great detail and with great heart. It is truly inspirational.
It’s the journey of the Hawaiian people to discover their long lost cultural roots. It’s the journey of Mau Piailug, master navigator from Satawal, who sought to pass on his and his ancestors knowledge of the seas and the stars to sail long distances. And it’s the journey of Nainoa Thompson, navigator on Hōkūle’a’s second voyage. This book conveys all the excitement and the problems of this voyage in great detail and with great heart. It is truly inspirational.
July 7, 2020
This is a glorious, fascinating, inspiring book..and an all around great read. The author is a great story teller and he immerses you in the world of ancient navigation in an accessible way by engaging with the trials and tribulations of Nainoa Thompson. You follow along as Nainoa is introduced to, and then consumed by, the techniques used by Polynesians to navigate across vast stretches of ocean to dots of land without any instruments. The culminating journey is fascinating and unforgettable.
October 6, 2017
Not what I expected. I thought there would be more history, stories and travel of the past. This seemed more about current sailing.
August 4, 2019
Interesting sailing story, though all the names and their individual stories are a bit confusing.
February 13, 2025
A solid voyaging story about Polynesian culture that recounts an epic journey from Hawaii to French Polynesia, navigated by the old ways.
Definitely overly detailed, so there were some chapters that required slogging through complicated descriptions of the math involved in ancient way-finding. At the same time, other details are remarkable: the morning light on the underside of clouds revealing coming weather, the way you can navigate by birds depending on the time of day, the feel of a navigator for the direction and strength of the swell based on the sound of the waves lapping against the hull. So much understanding, attention, and care for the natural world is required to interpret properly, it reminds you that the world around us is unfathomably complex.
The other remarkable aspect is the window into traditional Polynesian seafaring culture. Through the old master “pwo”, Mau, Nainoa is taught how to read the mysteries of the sea, and in the process learns about the culture that was nearly stolen from him through colonization.
Definitely overly detailed, so there were some chapters that required slogging through complicated descriptions of the math involved in ancient way-finding. At the same time, other details are remarkable: the morning light on the underside of clouds revealing coming weather, the way you can navigate by birds depending on the time of day, the feel of a navigator for the direction and strength of the swell based on the sound of the waves lapping against the hull. So much understanding, attention, and care for the natural world is required to interpret properly, it reminds you that the world around us is unfathomably complex.
The other remarkable aspect is the window into traditional Polynesian seafaring culture. Through the old master “pwo”, Mau, Nainoa is taught how to read the mysteries of the sea, and in the process learns about the culture that was nearly stolen from him through colonization.
January 5, 2018
Hawaiki rising refers to the sighting of an island by Polynesian ocean voyagers. The book chronicles the voyages of the Hokule'a, a seafaring catamaran built on the designs of ancient Polynesians, and the training of Nainoa Thompson, a young Hawaiian man, by master navigator Mau Piailug (the last of the ancient navigators) from FSM. Navigating from Hawaii to Tahiti some 2,400 miles by looking at the stars, the ocean wave patterns, feeling the wind, and observing wild life. There are several hair-raising voyages and a life is lost, but the re-discovery of this heritage has saved a culture from extinction.
August 9, 2021
5 stars for the depth of information and access. It was a slow read for me, but has changed my perspective on a lot of things and gives maybe the best argument for incorporating cultural studies in schools that I’ve read. There are so many inspiring, brave, humble people in this book and they share their fears and vulnerabilities openly. They’re just individuals who somehow came together and almost single-handedly saved a culture from extinction. It’s tragic that it got to that point, but also an amazing renaissance.
August 26, 2023
Interesting semi-biographical story on how a group of Hawaiians started to rediscover the techniques their Polynesian ancestors used to populate the Pacific. These guys managed to track down one of the last master star navigators in Micronesia (not Polynesian, but similar techniques) and he taught them how to do it. Very fortunate timing to record and propagate all of this as it was entirely an oral/practical tradition that wasn’t being being passed on. Writing is so-so, but the descriptions of the navigation techniques is fascinating.
July 26, 2024
It’s hard to put into words how much this book means to me. It’s about finding the way, full concept of kaona intended - there are so many levels at which it is about this. Reading it felt like coming home, gave me hope of being able to come home, gave me ideas of what home might mean to me. It also pointed a way out of things that have tripped me up all my life about what it means to be “Hawaiian enough” - something many of the people involved with the canoe seemed to struggle with also and ultimately set aside amid (re)discovery and renaissance.
I will always cherish having read this.
I will always cherish having read this.
February 27, 2024
Polynesian seafaring was a dying art and disbelieved by academic historians. A group of Hawaiians came together with a grand dream - to build a traditional seafaring vessel and journey from Hawaii to Tahiti using only astronomical navigation techniques. This book describes the experiences of each expedition aboard the Hōkūleʻa, and in the process reviving the interest in Polynesian seafaring techniques, and rekindled pride in Hawaiian culture.
October 1, 2025
The Hawaiian Renaissance began with a small group of devout Hawaiians and others plotting to build a sturdy canoe along historic lines and sail it without charts from Hawaii to Tahiti, some 2400 miles of open ocean simply to demonstrate that it could be done. This fascinating book chronicles the difficulties encountered in this project: Design, financing, personal relationships, and most of all, navigation. A stirring tribute to Polynesian civilization and seamanship.
February 4, 2017
This book opened up many worlds to me. I know very little about the history of Hawaii, about sailing or navigation, or the Hawaiian Renaissance. I found it deeply satisfying to read about all of these things and more in this book. One must have some interest in the day-by-day recounting of the story of a journey.
April 1, 2019
A delightful, insightful read on rediscovering one's cultural and spiritual roots, as well as learning the history of migration to Hawaii from Polynesia. This is well researched, yet also is rich in personal story telling and journeys, spiritual and educational. The writing is enriching and captivating, and full of life and introspection, as well as suspenseful.
July 5, 2021
A fascinating portrait of the dedication of those who learn traditional Polynesian navigation, the reader is transported from Hawaii to Tahiti twice, and we learn along with the crew that preparation and patience are key to success. The isolation of open water navigation by the stars and the currents means that the crew must truly work as a team to survive.
September 15, 2023
This is a must read for anyone interested in Hawai'i, the Pacific Islands, and the quest of indigenous people to reconnect with their culture in order to navigate the present and chart the future. Sam Low's honest storytelling and beautiful writing takes us on a journey we will never forget. Maika'i!
October 1, 2023
An inspiring record of Hokule’a’s origins and the renaissance of Hawaiian culture. A wonderful work that makes me want to join the ‘ohana wa’a on a voyage. Mahalo to Sam Low and all who put effort into this book, it is a treasure for the keiki o ka ‘aina and will stand as a important read for the future of Hawai’i.
March 3, 2021
This book was really interesting but as someone who doesn't know a thing about sailing I felt like I was missing out on a full understanding. The old school native Polynesian navigation techniques are AMAZING. But it definitely made me want to try sailing... on a nice calm lake. :)
February 17, 2018
This was an amazing book, and i have a much better appreciation for the knowledge and skills my ancestors had when crossing the Pacific.
June 5, 2018
Loved reading this book and so sad in parts but part of revival of the voyaging of our ancestors.
February 17, 2021
I admit I had to skim through some of the astrological explanations but other than that I really enjoyed this read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews