Na Kalai Wa`a Moku o Hawai`i
The Makali`i Voyaging Program
To perpetuate, protect and preserve the Hawaiian culture and traditions through education for future generations.
Na Kalai Wa`a Moku o Hawai`i is a non-profit organization that conducts community educational programs utilizing Hawaiian voyaging and non-instrument navigation as its foundation. The focal point and primary classroom for the programs is the double-hulled canoe Makali`i. Hawaiian voyaging embodies all aspects of Hawaiian cultural traditions and practices and manifests “technology at its best” in ancient times.
During 1994 and 1995, Waimea brothers Clay and Milton “Shorty” Bertelmann, with assistance from community and cultural organizations, led the efforts to construct Hawaii Island’s first voyaging canoe in centuries. Makali`i is the Hawaiian name for the celestial constellation known as Pleiades. Since its maiden voyage in 1995 to Tahiti, Marquesas and Tuamotu, Makali`i has sailed extensively throughout the Hawaiian islands, and in recent years completed a voyage to the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Guam and Saipan.
Between voyages, education programs are geared to students of all ages and ethnic backgrounds who come from places near and far to experience what it takes to walk in the footsteps of the ancient Hawaiian sea voyagers. The crew of Makali`i emphasizes, “You have to know where you come from in order to successfully get to where you are going.”
The education programs conducted by Na Kalai Wa`a are based upon traditional knowledge and cultural practices in conjunction with modern science and technology. Activities include oral histories, the practice of cultural values, learning traditional chants and dances, the study of canoe technology past and present, and the study of non-instrument navigation. Studies include those of traditional star names and constellations, weather forecasting, ocean forms and wildlife, seamanship including knots and rigging, and survival training and safety procedures aboard the canoe. All elements of traditional study are supported by the use of modern instrumentation and computers with internet access.