Book extract - Reawakened: Traditional navigators of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa

Polynesian voyaging canoe Hokule'a in the Ka Iwi Channel off the coast of O'ahu. Photo / Supplied

John (Jacko) Webster Te Kapene Thatcher (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pūkenga, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti and Ngāti Awa) is one of 10 master navigators from Aotearoa New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Hawai'i, who earned the Micronesian rank of Pwo, or master navigator, from Mau Piailug, the legendary teacher of traditional wayfinding/celestial navigation for open-ocean voyaging. At the dawn of Matariki 2021, we meet Thatcher in the classroom, inspiring a new generation of navigators.

Adorned in the markings of his people, Jacko Thatcher cuts a powerful figure as he walks among his students. Each intricate design, portrayed in the darkest of inks, tells a story; each has a meaning. The tattoos stretching from his hips to his knees, for example, map out his tribal affiliations and a genealogy reaching back to the earliest migration canoes; while those wrapping his inner thighs record his experiences from his own years voyaging the Pacific. If it wasn't for his ever-present smile and infectious personality he may appear intimidating to some, but he is far from that. Thatcher is a leader who has gained respect by putting the needs of others before his own, and through an unwavering dedication to his art. And it is here among his students, in a worn-out school gymnasium built in the closing years of the 19th century, that he has come to fulfil the expectations of his mentors.

John (Jacko) Webster Te Kapene Thatcher. Photo / Supplied

It isn't the most obvious location for a Pwo navigator to pass on his knowledge, but the Sports Pavilion of Northcote College on Auckland's North Shore proves to be the perfect setting for this three-day wānanga. Tucked away on the periphery of the school grounds, there are few distractions here.

The third of four hui, it is part of a winter series of workshops that has drawn 40 students from all corners of Aotearoa and as far away as Japan and Tahiti. They have come to learn the art of traditional celestial navigation from one of its finest exponents. That Thatcher is a voyaging legend in his homeland with over two decades of navigating experience ensures that this workshop, like his earlier ones, is full to capacity.

Te Aurere Awaiwai. Photo / Supplied

Trained by Nainoa Thompson from 1992 to 1995 and awarded the rank of Pwo by Mau Piailug in 2008, Thatcher has long been aware of the need for succession planning. And it is here, among this eager group of students, that he hopes to find the next individual capable of safeguarding Piailug's gift for another generation. In a world that has almost
entirely discarded such an archaic form of wayfinding in favour of the convenience of the magnetic compass and GPS co-ordinates, it is a difficult and lengthy search, but Thatcher persists. Perhaps, if he is extremely lucky, he may uncover more than one with the potential to go the distance among those students but, in reality, the odds are stacked against him: of the 300-odd students who attended his wānanga between 2005 and 2008, only three have graduated to become navigators.

Sharing the stage with Thatcher for the weekend are Stanley Conrad (Te Aupōuri), Pwo captain of the voyaging canoe Te Aurere; and Piripi Smith (Ngāti Kahungunu), one of Thatcher's three graduate navigators who, in late 2018, became the first among the second generation of modern-day Polynesian navigators to be capped as Pwo. After welcoming the students, the trio oversee a number of exercises designed to test and reinforce the students' knowledge of the 66 stars they have been tasked with learning. The students are asked to recite the stars in order, along with each star's declination and the house it rises from and sets in. One or two of the students stumble briefly, but most are flawless in their presentations. Following on from the recitals the group comes together to chant an oriori that includes the names of numerous stars. Such traditional lullabies, used to convey tribal history and ancestry between parent and child, were once commonly heard in Māori communities throughout the land. Its use here, in this modern-day school of learning, is undeniably appropriate.

Jacko Thatcher with his student navigators. Photo / Supplied

Once the oriori is finished, Smith presents a lesson in how to use the position of the moon to determine direction while at sea. He begins by explaining that the moon tracks along a seasonal path and, as with the stars and the sun, its position when on the horizon or at its zenith can be used to set a course. It is a complex operation and one that several of the students struggle with. As they break into small groups to try to come to terms with the lesson, Thatcher circulates among them, listening in on their discussions and offering insights and correcting suppositions as he sees fit. Sometimes he will challenge the students with a judicious question or statement that hints at the answer while leaving room for them to reach their own conclusions. In the most subtle of ways he is broadening their understanding while allowing them the latitude to progress at their own pace.

Observing Thatcher interacting with his students over the weekend is to witness a master at work. His delivery is a finely curated blend of traditional lore and hard-won experience, laced with humorous anecdotes that are often delivered at his own expense. His audience is spellbound. Thatcher's ability to connect with his students is perhaps his greatest gift, even beyond his undoubted talent as navigator.

He explains that his trainees typically follow a set format when they study with him. First he gives them an introduction to the star compass and a long list of stars that they will need to be able to identify. Then he teaches them about the meridional star pairs that he uses to estimate latitude during voyages. The reason he starts with the stars, he tells me, is that a major part of traditional navigation is about being able to find direction using the stars, the moon and the sun, so it is important that his students quickly become comfortable finding patterns in the night sky.

Edited extract from Reawakened: Traditional navigators of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, by Jeff Evans (Massey University Press, $40). The royalties from sales in Aotearoa will support Te Tai Tokerau Tārai Waka Inc as part of its programme to develop kaupapa waka.