VAKA TAUMAKO: The First Voyage      To view a video, click on your connection speed
Location: Solomon Islands    Length: 17.1 min        56k      300k    56k      300k
To the 450 Polynesians of Taumako in the Solomon Islands, reviving their ancestral voyaging tradition is key to their cultural and economic future. The centuries-old knowledge of building and sailing voyaging canoes has been lost elsewhere, but experienced Taumakoan elders are schooling their youth to resume the almost-forgotten practices and share them with the rest of Polynesia. This video, made by the people of Taumako, documents the first voyage of Vaka Taumako, the first voyaging canoe built there for Taumakoans in about 50 years.