Polynesian navigation is a system of
navigation used by
Polynesians to make long voyages across thousands of miles of open
ocean.
Navigators travel to small inhabited
islands using only their own senses and knowledge passed by
oral tradition from navigator to apprentice, often in the form of song. In order to locate directions at various times of day and year, Polynesian navigators memorize important facts: the motion of specific
stars, so where they would rise and set on the
horizon of the ocean;
weather and the seasons of travel; wildlife species (which gather at particular positions); the direction, size, and speed of ocean waves; colors of the sea and sky, especially how clouds would cluster at the locations of some islands; and angles for approaching harbours.