POLYNESIAN NAVIGATIONAL STONES

Capt. Brett Hilder

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	0N THE ISLAND of Arorae in the Gilbert Islands are a group of eight or nine coral stones which are said by the natives to have been used by early canoe voyagers to set their courses to neighboring islands. No other such directional stones have been reported from any part of the world, which gives the stones at Arorae unique value in the history of navigation. They are some of the few concrete facts available in the long-standing controversy on the nature and range of Polynesian navigation. There are no native traditions or legends to describe the origin or use of the stones at Arorae, which are called "Atibu-ni-Borau," or stones-for-voyages, by the locals. There are, however, some clues available from other sources which enable the use of the stones to be determined with some degree of probability.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 6, Number 4
Pages:	234 - 239
Cite this article:	Hilder, Capt. Brett, "POLYNESIAN NAVIGATIONAL STONES", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 6, No. 4, 1958-1959, pp. 234-239.
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