THE STAR COMPASS -- EXISTS ONLY IN THE MIND OF THE NAVIGATOR What exactly is the STAR COMPASS? Why is the star-compass crucial to long-distance navigation (By long distance I mean voyaging non-stop from 500 to 2, 500 nautical miles from point A to point B in the open ocean, out of sight of land, for a week to 30 days)? How exactly does the star compass work, how is it used by the long-distance navigators of Micronesia and Polyneisa? Its not enough to know the stars to be able to navigate. As every master navigator will tell you, knowing the stars is just the beginning of knowing how to navigate, and is the easiest part of the learning curve. But knowing where the stars are up in the sky will not be enough to navigate a long-dstance voyage of more than 500 miles of no SIGHT OF LAND. The simple reason is that stars are not stationary. The night sky is like a dome covering an ocean of 360 degree surface--stars or star groups (like Orions belt) rise in the east and set in the west. Thus, during the night (or for 12 hours), they would be rising in the east and travelling in an arc until they set in the west. A navigator does not rely on the star in the heavens for direction--precisely because these stars are not fixed. So, the navigator uses a STAR COMPASS—the only fixed points for the navigator are the particular points from which particular stars rise and set. The rising and setting points remain the same wherever the navigator is voyaging. But here is the rub, once a star rises (and the timing depends on the month), after around 50 minutes, the star can no longer be a guide because it had already curbed in the sky sideways. So, the navigator has to know the subsequent stars that rise from exactly the point where the first star that he observed had arisen. In other words, what the navigator needs to know is the STAR PATH--a series of stars rising from exactly the same point in the horizon and setting in exactly the opposite point across the night dome. The STAR COMPASS used by navigators in Micronesia and Polynesia is divided into two halves, the eastern half and the western half. It has 32 points = the North Star (Polaris) + the upright Southern Cross (crux at meridian) and 15 points on the eastern half of the compass and 15 points on the western half. [Hawaiian Nainoas system is slightly different—he calls the points houses, each house may contain a pair of stars--he developed his own, based on what he learned from Mau and from the planetarium in the Bishop Museum]. To use the star points for direction, the navigator has to observe the rising of the stars from their star points every hour--for 12 hours. Thus, he cant afford to fall asleep--he can only do cat naps--to last less than an hour. He has to know the series of stars that rise from each of the 15 points in the east, and they do not set in the west at exactly the same time. Considering that stars rise every hour, there can be 10 to 12 stars rising from the particular point in the compass—this is called the STAR PATH of that particular point in the compass. Imagine how many stars will be rising in each STAR PATH of each of the 15 points in the STAR COMPASS—let’s say at least 10 for each star path x 15 points = 150 stars. Thus a navigator has to memorise the rising and falling pattern in the dome of the night sky of at least 150 stars! It is said that Nainoa knows at least 200 stars (Mau Piailug probably more). I saw Nainoa’s knowledge of the stars when he was giving a demonstration at Honolulu’s Bishop Museum planetarium. A computerized machine was beaming lights on the dome of the planetarium to indicate the stars, and Nainoa was showing how star positions or configurations changed every month of the year. At one point, to my amazement, he observed that the stars were in the wrong positions—and he politely asked the technician if there might be something wrong with the planetarium machine. The technician apologized that there indeed was a technical glitch in the machine and it needed to be fixed. Thus, Nainoa could tell if the computerized machine was not functioning properly! The point I wish to make here is this--it is a common misconception that navigators navigate--for direction--on the basis of the stars above. I repeat: The stars are not fixed--they move across the dome in the span of 12 hours of night time. Star movement can be plotted every hour. Thus, in long distance navigation--the navigator must know which star (and series of stars) rise from which particular point in his STAR COMPASS. It is important to understand this when we talk about using stars for navigation in long-distance voyaging. Another point to consider is where the navigator orients his canoe. The Carolinean star system is oriented towards the EAST. So, the navigator points his canoe to the star point where he is headed. But what happens when the star point he is headed becomes invisible (because the stars cant be seen--due to, say, cloud cover or rain or storm)--the navigator then has to rely on other star points in his STAR COMPASS. But the STAR COMPASS—and the rising and falling pattern of 150 stars--is the easiest part to learn A more intellectually challenging system is the Carolinean system of DEAD RECKONING (navigational lingo for “DEDUCED RECKONING”) known as ETAK--in which the canoe is ASSUMED TO BE stationary and an invisible reference island is imagined to be moving in the opposite direction with respect to the star points in the STAR COMPASS--much like the trees moving in the opposite direction when one is riding a train. This is a very complicated system that is very difficult to understand--very different from the way the western mind thinks. However, a western navigator who knows his maths was able to render the ETAK system into a basic mathematical equation (involving VELOCITY,TIME AND DISTANCE TRAVELLED). If anyone is interested, I can post the equation. Some scholars have pointed to the ETAK system as an example of ETHNOMATHEMATICS! So far, Ive not come across any systematic study on the Philippines’ indigenous navigational system—an open field for new research. Quite a number of studies, and PhD dissertations have been done on the Carolinean system, Mau Piailugs system, Nainoa Thompsons system--as well as the navigational system of the Bugis of Indonesia and the seafarers of the island of Anuta (off the Solomon Islands). The bibliography on these studies is large. But of the Sama/Badjao—so far none, to my knowledge-- except for very general, brief references to star groups which the ethnic groups in the Sulu area use in their farming or fishing or short-distance voyaging activities. Dante Ambrosio was the first to do an extensive study of the asterisms (star groups) of the fisherfolk and seafarers of the Tawi-Tawi area—and he rightly deserves to be called THE FATHER OF PHILIPPINE ETHNOASTRONOMY. But his important work does not include any discussion of the STAR COMPASS—whether the Sama/Badjao have it or use it in their navigational system. Whether the SAMA/BAJAO still do long-distance navigation (at least a thousand miles of non-stop voyaging in the open seas, out of sight of land for over a week) without the use of the magnetic compass is another question. However, Dante’s invaluable spade work can be the take off point for a more systematic study of indigenous navigation systems. I think this is urgently needed (before it is too late). A physically fit and bright local researcher or graduate student (preferably one who knows the local language) who has the passion for sailing and being out in the sea for several nights (observing the stars and the ocean swells and winds for days on end and being able to survive with very little sleep and food) would be suited for this type of arduous and very challenging field research. I would be happy to help out financially or as an adviser/collaborator.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 04:38:33 +0000
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