These fishhooks from across Oceania reveal the diversity of Pacific cultures as well as the strong ties that link them to one another. Many of these hooks were used to catch fish of various sizes, based on different fishing techniques and environments. Others were used as ornaments that were passed down through generations and materialized a deep connection to an omnipresent ocean. - Photo: Jesse W. Stephen, © Bishop Museum

The Holo Moana: Generations of Voyaging exhibition at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum celebrates the story of how a centuries-old ancestral practice has been re-awakened, re-activated, and re-envisioned by Hawaiian and Oceanic voyagers during the past five decades.  Closely following Höküle‘a’s return to Hawaiian waters and based on a collaboration between Bishop Museum and the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the exhibit explores the history and legacy of the revitalization of long-distance voyaging undertaken from Hawai‘i in the 1970s. By bringing together cultural objects, archives, photographs and films from Bishop Museum’s and PVS’s outstanding collections, Holo Moana will reveal how past endeavors served and continue to serve as guiding stars for future voyages.

Canoe model made by Douglas “Dukie” Kauhulu and Mau Piailug onboard the Hōkūle’a on her maiden voyage from Hawai’i to Tahiti in 1976. The model was made from one of the canoe’s steering paddles and other materials on board. – Photo: Jesse W. Stephen, © Bishop Museum
Original acrylic painting on canvas by aboriginal artist Roslyn “Effie” Serico, gifted to the Hōkūleʻa crew in Australia in the summer of 2015. – Photo: Jesse W. Stephen, © Bishop Museum

The core content of the exhibit begins with the training of Hawaiian and Oceanic navigators by master navigator Mau Piailug for the historic voyage of Höküle‘a to the ancestral homeland of Tahiti in 1976, and highlights the building of Hawai‘iloa on the grounds of Bishop Museum during the 1990s, and culminates with the completion of the 3-year Mälama Honua Worldwide Voyage of Höküle‘a in 2017. It showcases how generations of voyagers have and continue to share their knowledge, fostering connections, reigniting relationships, and building bridges between communities on a global scale.

J.M. Long Gallery, Bishop Museum November 4, 2017 – June 24, 2018

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