Odyssey of a Marshall Islands Canoe 



by Richard S. Faron 

 Assistant Developer 



Field Museum's outrigger canoe on the beach at Jaluit Atoll, 1988. Tamara Biggs 



A, 



24 



mong our foremost concerns in planning 

 "Traveling the Pacific" was to show the relationship 

 that exists between many Pacific islanders and the 

 ocean. To help illustrate this important affinity, the 

 development team decided that an authentic Pacific 

 sailing canoe should be in the exhibit. 



We considered two types of canoe: a large, 

 ocean-going type for covering great distances and a 

 smaller type commonly used for tasks such as fishing, 

 trading, and for island-hopping. After a great deal of 

 research and lengthy discussion, we decided to get a 

 smaller canoe, if possible, since it could more effec- 

 tively illustrate the intimate relationship between 

 Pacific islanders and their ocean. We were also guided 

 by a very practical consideration: the smaller canoe 

 would be far easier to ship to Chicago and set up in 

 the exhibit. 



At one time, smaller canoes, 20-30 feet long, 

 were common on many Pacific islands. In many re- 



spects these sturdy craft were the local "pickup 

 trucks," and were especially important for people liv- 

 ing on the low-lying islands of coral atolls, where the 

 ocean and its abundant resources were critical for sur- 

 vival. Today, islanders travel more often in power 

 boats and even by plane; nonetheless, the canoe re- 

 mains an important element in the day-to-day life of 

 many Pacific people. 



As we began our canoe search, a three-volume 

 treatise in the Field Museum Library became an 

 invaluable resource: The Canoes of Oceania (Hon- 

 olulu, 1933), by A.C. Haddon and James Hornell. 

 The authors describe in great detail the different types 

 of sailing and paddling canoes of the Pacific islands, 

 and make special note of the high level of refinement 

 achieved by Micronesian canoe-builders, particularly 

 those of the Marshall Islands where, they said, "the 

 outrigger was brought to relative perfection." 



The Marshall Islands consist of two parallel 



