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Folklore One - Anthropology Zero

© Larry Low

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A lady who happens to have a Phd, which I won't hold against her, told me that she figured that Thor Heyerdahl's Polynesian migration theory had been discredited. She told me that she remembered seeing an exhibit in the Bishop Museum in Honolulu explaining that the Hawaiians sailed to the east and then north-west to get to Hawaii.

Polynesians

Sometimes, I feel like putting my head down and weeping in frustration. Yes, the Hawaiians who left Fatu Hiva, about a millenium ago, did sail east on their journey to Hawaii, at least according to their oral tradition. I don't disagree with this premise. It makes sense to travel east along the Equatorial Counter Current and then head north. Their legend indicates that the way to get to the new land, (Hawaii) is to sail east and then northwest.

Thor Heyerdahl did not disagree with the legend. As you will soon see, he was concerned how the Polynesians migrated into the Pacific. Ask anyone who has sailed the Pacifc and you will be told that there are two factors at play that must be considered when you set sail for distant ports of call: ocean currents and prevailing winds. The winds and the currents are part and parcel of Heyerdahl's migration theory.

For example, let's say you wish to sail from, Seattle to Honolulu to use two familiar Pacific destinations. Once you have cleared Juan de Fuca Strait, you can set course for Hawaii. However, when you are bent on returning to Seattle, head north for a good long time and then head east. If you try to sail the reciprocal of your outbound course, you will buck adverse currents.

The interesting aspect of this readiness to deny Thor Heyerdahl's theory is that the source stems almost entirely from academics, who most likely are landlubbers. Polynesians themselves were filled with gratitude that a European had gone so far as to recognize their oral traditions instead of denying their relevance. That being said, if there is an academically correct theory (AC) out there about the migration of Polynesians into the Pacific, there is still one thing missing.

The AC theory may have even be published in a professional journal. It would then have a certain cachet in the academic community. Whoopee! It is one thing to have your work published in a professional journal. It is another thing entirely to have your work acknowledged with heartfelt gratitude by a people understandably grateful someone had gone to such great lengths as to actually live the story of their origin. Arguably academic honors pale by comparison.

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