A double-hulled voyaging canoe from Palau landed on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) on Thursday following an 18-day voyage without GPS, marking the first non-motorized vessel in centuries to make such a long marine expedition solely by celestial navigation to Taiwan.
Guided only by the stars, swells and centuries-old Micronesian navigation techniques, the Alingano Maisu sailed more than 1,400 nautical miles (2,593km) from Palau to Lanyu.
The canoe is to stay in Taitung County for 10 days for cultural exchanges.
Photo courtesy of the Taitung County Government
The journey is part of a cultural exchange co-organized by the Taitung County Government and the Micronesian Voyaging Society (MVS), with assistance from the office of the ambassador to Palau and the Palau Community College.
MVS master navigator Sesario Sewralur, son of legendary navigator Pius “Mau” Piailug, led the voyage with 10 other crew members to promote cultural diplomacy between Taiwan and Palau, and share the ancient knowledge of celestial navigation, with a focus on ocean conservation, food sovereignty and climate resilience.
The journey was initially planned as early as 2016, but was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic until it was restarted in 2023, Sesario said.
Photo courtesy of the Taitung County Government
“It’s meaningful to bring our cultural values to people of Taiwan... We also believe that we’re one ocean, one people,” he said.
The crew is made up of navigators from Palau, Yap, Saipan and Taiwan, including Andrew Kai Wing Lau (劉啟榮), who represents Taiwan and Australia, and Chang Ye-hai Syaman (張也海, 夏曼), who represents the indigenous Tao community on Lanyu.
“This shared experience at sea deepens our bonds, honors our heritage, and revives the ancient knowledge, skills, and spirit that unite all oceanic peoples,” Syaman said.
The Alingano Maisu, meaning “the fallen breadfruit,” was named by Mau to imply that navigation knowledge should be selflessly shared with everyone free of charge like fallen breadfruit.
“The canoe was built in 2000 ... and was donated [to] by [sponsors] from all over the Pacific. They built the canoe in appreciation of what my father has given to the Pacific islands to revive the skills of navigation,” Sesario said.
“Each voyage came with great risk and often relied on careful observation, much like modern-day science. It is a process of discovery through trial and error,” MVS president Shallum Etpison said.
“Traditional ways of life, rooted in understanding the land and sea, have guided advancements in medicine and science, showing us that innovation often begins with traditional wisdom,” MVS member and Pacific Academic Institute for Research president Victor Yano said.
Upon arrival in Lanyu’s Kaiyuan Port (開元漁港) on Thursday, the crew was received with a traditional sea welcoming ceremony, which featured canoe relays by the Jimowrod (Hongtou, 紅頭) and
Jiayo (Yeyou, 椰油) tribes, dances by Yeyou Elementary School students and a feast hosted by local leaders and elders.
“It is our first time to open this route, Palau to Taiwan... It’s a very great honor to be here in Taiwan,” Sesario said.
“On the first day we arrived, we don’t even know each other, but they’re supporting us as a family... I feel like I’m at home with all the fans, with all the people of Taiwan,” Sesario said.
“We’re looking forward to having more interested people to join our voyage,” he said, adding that younger generations are especially welcome.
Asked what the biggest challenge was during the journey, Sesario said the sail line broke twice and dangerously affected the movement of the canoe in the ocean.
“We had to have one of our crew members to climb [up on the mast] to fix that, or else we cannot go anywhere with our sailing,” he said.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
RSS