1778 년, 제임스 쿡 선장이 하와이를 처음 찾았을 때엔 그곳에 이미 많은 원주민과 가축이 있었고, 식용작물들이 재배되고 있었다. 그렇다면 과연 이들은 어디에서 어떻게 하와이로 오게된 것일까? 태평양 한가운데 망망대해 가운데 솟아나 있는 다섯개의 섬. 어떻게 이곳에 당도하게 되었을까? 만일 몇몇의 남녀가 바다에서 난파하여 가까스로 이곳에 당도했다면, 그것은 심히 상상하기 어려운 일이다. 왜냐하면 사람이 살고 있는 섬이나 대륙이라도 수천마일이 떨어져 있기 때문이다. 누가 수주일 아니 수개월을 표류하며 생존할 수 있겠는가? 그랬다 치더라도, 어떻게 가축이나 식용작물의 존재를 설명할 수 있겠는가?
그것이 불가능하다면 일단의 남녀가 계획적으로 항해해서 하와이에 도착했다고 결론맺을 수 밖에 없다. 아마 남태평양의 어느 섬에서 거의 3000마일을 항해해서 그곳에 도착했다고 볼 수 있을 것이다. 그러나, 도대체 그들은 어떻게 3000마일 북동쪽에 하와이 섬이 있는 줄을 알았겠는가? 알았다해도 무슨 연유로 생명의 위험을 무릎쓰고 그 먼 바닷길을 항해하고자 했겠는가? 도무지 수긍할 수 없는 추론이다.
나의 이론은 다음과 같다.
하와이에서 가장 가까운 섬은 사모아 섬인데, 그곳은 하와이의 남쪽에 있다. 이미 이 폴리네시아의 섬들은 원주민들이 정착해 살고 있었다. 이 원주민들은 이미 카누를 만드는 탁월한 기술이 있었고, 항해술도 발달해 있었다. 이들이 차츰 반경을 넓혀가며 사모아 섬 주위를 탐험했을 것임에 틀림없다. 대부분 무인도였지만, 이들은 차츰 지역을 익혀 나아갔다. 그러다가 하와이와 가장 가까운 Kingman Reef 섬과 Johnston Atoll 섬까지 이르게 되었을 것이다. 그곳에서 동북쪽을 바라보다가 어떤 큰 섬들이 있을 법한 흔적을 보았을 것이다. 그러던 중, 용감한 청년 몇이 그곳으로 항해하기를 결심하고 카누를 저어 나아갔을 것이다. 그들이 성공적으로 하와이의 한 섬에 당도하고 돌아와서, 그 섬과 주위의 다른 커다란 섬들에 대해 이야기 했을 것이다. 그것이 전설처럼 사모아 사람들에게 회자되었을 것이고, 계속해서 하와이로의 항해가 시도되었을 것이다. 그러던 중 일부 주민들이 그곳으로 이주를 결심했을 것이고, 그 이주가 마침네 성공적으로 이뤄졌을 것이다. 계속해서 더 많은 이주자들이 찾아왔을 것이고, 하와이에서도 사모아 섬으로 항해가 필요에 따라 이뤄졌을 것이다. 그리하여 가축과 농작물 모종이나 씨앗들이 하와이로 옮겨오게 되고, 하와이는 크게 번성하게 되었을 것이다.
또하나의 이론은 다음과 같다.
제임스 쿡 선장이 그러했듯이, 하와이 섬은 우연히 발견된 것이다. 하와이에서 가장 가까운 섬이라 할지라고 하와이까지는 수백마일이나 떨어져 있는데, 어떻게 그곳에서 하와이 섬을 바라보고 추측할 수 있었겠는가? 그것은 불가능하다. 물론 오랜 경험과 판단력으로 사모아 원주민들은 조류에 밀려온 나뭇잎이나 혹은 철새들의 모습을 보고, 하와이 섬의 존재를 추측할 수 있었을런지 모른다. 하지만 하와이 섬의 정확한 위치와 거리등은 도저히 그런 증거물로서 예측하기는 힘들었을 것이다. 그리하여 계획에 의한 항해로 하와이를 발견했다는 것은 신빙성이 떨어진다. 그렇다면 하와이 섬은 우연에 의해 발견되었다고 밖에 말할 수 없다. 즉 난파로 인한 것도 아니요, 계획적 항해에 의한 것도 아니요, 우연히 발견된 것이다. 사모아 인들이 계속적으로 항해의 거리와 폭을 넓혀가던 중, 어느 카누와 그에 탄 몇몇 항해자들이 표류했을 가능성이 크다. 그래서 하와이에 당도했을 것이다. 그곳에서 일단 기력을 회복하고, 준비를 철저히 한 다음 다시 사모아섬으로 노저어 갔을 것이다. 그리고는 사람들에게 하와이의 존재를 알려주었고, 시간이 지난 뒤에 하와이를 향한 대규모의 모험적 항해가 이루어 졌을 것이다. 그래서 사모아와 하와이 간의 뱃길이 열렸고, 차츰 많은 사람들이 하와이로 이주해 왔을 것이다.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Yap
What is Yap?
A Tae Kwon Do yell? A cat's nap? A short affirmation?
No, it is a name of an island in the Pacific Ocean, near the Philippines. Yap is actually a cluster of four islands, an independent country by itself. So what is special about Yap? Well, if you go to Yap today, you still can see topless women, I mean, unclad women, who feel no shame of following its thousands of years' custom. Africans, South Americans, islanders in oceans were all naked throughout their histories until they were introduced with clothes by Europeans in the 19th century. But even after that, most natives in those regions did not bother to wear clothes except for covering their genital areas until well into the mid-20th century. But for many Yapeses, that change has not taken place yet. So when volunteers of the Peace Corp went into the islands, set up an education camp, and were teaching the Yapeses in the 1960s and 1970s, they were looking at young topless Yapese girls sitting right in front of them .
This hasn't changed much today. People are still topless today. So what so special about that? If you go to South American jungles, you can see topless natives all the time. Many beaches in the Caribbeans are nude beaches. Tourists stroll on the beach naked. I have been to some of the beaches myself. Nude bodies are everywhere. People in the tropical regions are not accustomed to wear clothes. I have no qualm about that. But sometime in 2000s, either 2007 or 2008, maybe 2009, I met a Yapese woman in Guam. Since Guam is most modernized island in the Micronesian islands, many Yapeses come to Guam to find jobs. She was fully clad, though. I asked her where she was from and she said, "Yap." At first, I thought she was insane because she kept telling me "Yap! Yap! Yap!" It was on my part of ignorance of the existence of Yap on the planet that I didn't understand her. After a brief conversation with her, I was curious about the islands and searched for more information about the country.
<Migration of Polynesians>
How in the world did the humans populate on the islands of the Pacific Ocean? Where did they migrate from? How did they do the voyages? For instance, the islands of Hawaii are in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean. If the Hawaiians did not spring up from the earth of the islands, they must have migrated from somewhere. But how? Paddling canoes? Did they know where they were paddling to? How could they survive months, if not years, on the ocean without enough food or water? Was the first migration an accident, such as a drift or a blowaway? If it was an accident, how could the drifters reach the islands tossing on the water for thousands of miles? That does not bode well the vast distances that the islands are apart from other islands. If Hawaiians were migrated from somewhere, they must have made deliberate voyages to the islands. To prove this logical conclusion, in 1976, a team of Hawaiians completed a successful voyage from Maui to Tahiti in a double canoe constructed using ancient Polynesian boatbuilding techniques. The canoe, navigated without charts or instruments, carried seventeen people, water, traditional Polynesian foods, livestock, and garden plants to the planned destination in thirty-five days, covering a distance of 3,000 nautical miles. But how did they find the right path to the destination? The skilled navigators carried star maps in their heads and had intimate knowledge of the oceanic environment - the sun, the moon, stars, wave patterns, winds, currents, drifting seaweeds, and migrating birds - to determine position and course on the high sea.
According to archaeological studies, in 1,500 B.C., first humans reached Fiji and by 1,300 B.C., they reached Tonga, and by 1,000 B.C., Samoa. It is believed to be between 200 B.C. and A.D. 1000 that migrants settled in the Hawaiian islands. Archaeological studies also show that the first settlers populated in Yap around 1,500 B.C. They presumably migrated from Indonesia or the Philippines. The migrants to the Polynesian islands were originated from the Malay Archipelago, and the settlers in the archipelago were migrated from southern China and the coasts of Indochina. Before 4,000 B.C., a population of pottery-making agriculturalists are believed to have lived in those regions. But a DNA study proved that Africans migrated from the continent, continued the journey along the coasts of the Indian Ocean over millions of years and reached the coasts of Indochina and the Malay Peninsula about 10,000 to 50,000 years ago. Then they crossed the ocean to populate in Australia and New Zealand to become the Aborigines. These people are believed to have navigated the ocean and settled in the South Pacific islands.
<Modern History of Yap>
In 1525, a Portuguese explorer Dioga Da Rocha arrived in the islands of Yap, and stayed in the islands for four months. Over the next two centuries more than twenty other explorers and traders of Spanish, British, Dutch and American origin passed through the Yap Islands. In 1869, Germans established the first permanent trading station in Yap, and held 3,000 acres of land, a cotton plantation and a ship repair operation. But in 1874, Spain claimed sovereignty over Yap. Spanish-German feud grew during the late 19th century but in 1899, the feud ended when Spain sold Yap and the remainder of Spanish Micronesia to Germany for $4.5 million. In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, British shelling destroyed a German communications center, but a Japanese expeditionary squadron soon occupied the islands in a bloodless takeover. From 1920 to1940, a rapid Japanese settlement in Yap was made. The Japanese population on the islands grew near 2,000. During the Pacific Ocean campaign by U.S., in 1944, Allies bombed the Japanese airfield at the southern end of the islands, and the Allies seized the islands. Then the islands were rapidly turned into a massive staging area for the campaign. At one point over 1,000 ships were anchored in the Ulithi Lagoon in Yap. In 1945, Americans occupied islands after Japan's surrender.
<Today's Yap>
Along with the neighboring island, Palau, Yap is famous for scuba-diving spots. Tourists can enjoy watching giant sting rays gently moving above their heads in a deep blue water. Tourists can frequently find giant stone coins standing on house walls or leaning against trees. They were used as money, a means of exchanges among the natives.
A Tae Kwon Do yell? A cat's nap? A short affirmation?
This hasn't changed much today. People are still topless today. So what so special about that? If you go to South American jungles, you can see topless natives all the time. Many beaches in the Caribbeans are nude beaches. Tourists stroll on the beach naked. I have been to some of the beaches myself. Nude bodies are everywhere. People in the tropical regions are not accustomed to wear clothes. I have no qualm about that. But sometime in 2000s, either 2007 or 2008, maybe 2009, I met a Yapese woman in Guam. Since Guam is most modernized island in the Micronesian islands, many Yapeses come to Guam to find jobs. She was fully clad, though. I asked her where she was from and she said, "Yap." At first, I thought she was insane because she kept telling me "Yap! Yap! Yap!" It was on my part of ignorance of the existence of Yap on the planet that I didn't understand her. After a brief conversation with her, I was curious about the islands and searched for more information about the country.<Migration of Polynesians>
How in the world did the humans populate on the islands of the Pacific Ocean? Where did they migrate from? How did they do the voyages? For instance, the islands of Hawaii are in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean. If the Hawaiians did not spring up from the earth of the islands, they must have migrated from somewhere. But how? Paddling canoes? Did they know where they were paddling to? How could they survive months, if not years, on the ocean without enough food or water? Was the first migration an accident, such as a drift or a blowaway? If it was an accident, how could the drifters reach the islands tossing on the water for thousands of miles? That does not bode well the vast distances that the islands are apart from other islands. If Hawaiians were migrated from somewhere, they must have made deliberate voyages to the islands. To prove this logical conclusion, in 1976, a team of Hawaiians completed a successful voyage from Maui to Tahiti in a double canoe constructed using ancient Polynesian boatbuilding techniques. The canoe, navigated without charts or instruments, carried seventeen people, water, traditional Polynesian foods, livestock, and garden plants to the planned destination in thirty-five days, covering a distance of 3,000 nautical miles. But how did they find the right path to the destination? The skilled navigators carried star maps in their heads and had intimate knowledge of the oceanic environment - the sun, the moon, stars, wave patterns, winds, currents, drifting seaweeds, and migrating birds - to determine position and course on the high sea.
According to archaeological studies, in 1,500 B.C., first humans reached Fiji and by 1,300 B.C., they reached Tonga, and by 1,000 B.C., Samoa. It is believed to be between 200 B.C. and A.D. 1000 that migrants settled in the Hawaiian islands. Archaeological studies also show that the first settlers populated in Yap around 1,500 B.C. They presumably migrated from Indonesia or the Philippines. The migrants to the Polynesian islands were originated from the Malay Archipelago, and the settlers in the archipelago were migrated from southern China and the coasts of Indochina. Before 4,000 B.C., a population of pottery-making agriculturalists are believed to have lived in those regions. But a DNA study proved that Africans migrated from the continent, continued the journey along the coasts of the Indian Ocean over millions of years and reached the coasts of Indochina and the Malay Peninsula about 10,000 to 50,000 years ago. Then they crossed the ocean to populate in Australia and New Zealand to become the Aborigines. These people are believed to have navigated the ocean and settled in the South Pacific islands.
<Modern History of Yap>
In 1525, a Portuguese explorer Dioga Da Rocha arrived in the islands of Yap, and stayed in the islands for four months. Over the next two centuries more than twenty other explorers and traders of Spanish, British, Dutch and American origin passed through the Yap Islands. In 1869, Germans established the first permanent trading station in Yap, and held 3,000 acres of land, a cotton plantation and a ship repair operation. But in 1874, Spain claimed sovereignty over Yap. Spanish-German feud grew during the late 19th century but in 1899, the feud ended when Spain sold Yap and the remainder of Spanish Micronesia to Germany for $4.5 million. In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, British shelling destroyed a German communications center, but a Japanese expeditionary squadron soon occupied the islands in a bloodless takeover. From 1920 to1940, a rapid Japanese settlement in Yap was made. The Japanese population on the islands grew near 2,000. During the Pacific Ocean campaign by U.S., in 1944, Allies bombed the Japanese airfield at the southern end of the islands, and the Allies seized the islands. Then the islands were rapidly turned into a massive staging area for the campaign. At one point over 1,000 ships were anchored in the Ulithi Lagoon in Yap. In 1945, Americans occupied islands after Japan's surrender.
<Today's Yap>
Along with the neighboring island, Palau, Yap is famous for scuba-diving spots. Tourists can enjoy watching giant sting rays gently moving above their heads in a deep blue water. Tourists can frequently find giant stone coins standing on house walls or leaning against trees. They were used as money, a means of exchanges among the natives.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Erromango
Erromango is the largest island in Tafea Province, one of the six provinces and the southernmost province of the Republic of Vanuatu. It lies in between Australia and Fiji island, but more closer to Fiji. It was formerly known as Martyr's Island by the Presbyterian missionaries in the 19th century, because of the risk attached to missionary activity there. John Williams of the London Missionary Society was killed and eaten at Dillon Bay in 1839. Seven of his ten children died during his mission works in the South Pacific Ocean. The descendants of John Williams later accepted the apologies of the descendants of the killers and Dillon Bay was renamed Williams Bay to commemorate him.
Erromango was known as a source of sandalwood in the 19th century, and much of it was depleted. It is also home to the kauri and tamanu trees. There has been extensive logging, but most of the area is recovering, and efforts are underway to try to make the industry sustainable. Erromango was one of the more important sources of blackbirding. Blackbirding refers to hiring natives by threat, kidnapping, cajoles or lies. It was rampant in the Polynesian islands in the 19th century. The blackbirded laborers were often driven to backbreaking works in mines and plantations at extremely low wages. At one time the population of Erromango exceeded 10,000. Today, it is approximately 1500.
The Vanuatu group of islands was discovered by Europeans in 1606 when the Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, working for the Spanish Crown, arrived on Espiritu Santo and called it La Austrialia del Espiritu Santo or "The Southern Land of the Holy Spirit," thinking he had arrived in Terra Australis or Australia. Europeans did not return until 1768, when Louis Antoine de Bougainville rediscovered the islands. In 1774, Captain Cook named the islands the New Hebrides, a name that lasted until independence. The current population of the Republic of Vanuatu is about 222,000.
So why am I interested in Erromango?
Because of John Williams, the missionary. He became a missionary at the age of twenty. He arrived on an island in the South Pacific Ocean, and energetically worked to proselyte the natives to Christianity. Often he had conflicts with the London Missionary Society, the mission foundation that sent him and supported his mission, because he acquired a ship in an effort to reach out to the people living in other islands in the ocean. That endeavor irked the mission foundation, which was not willing to accept such creative mission activities. Despite the objections, he continued his mission, raising funds to acquire even bigger ships. His efforts paid off and he could reach hundreds of islands and convert many islanders before he was killed at Erromango.
At the time western missionaries, commercial traders, slave traders and immigrants were arriving at the Pacific islands, many natives in the islands were carnivorous. The islanders were sexually immoral as they had no tradition of such civilized society's norms. They had a custom of killing babies when they were born as twins, were devil worshipers, practiced sorcery, and caught in evil spirits. Such primitive practices were also found in Africa, South and Central America, and the islands in other oceans, such as Irian Jaya, today's New Guinea. The greater evils, of course, were committed by the slave traders, the blackbirders, the Spanish Conquestados, and many western merchants and traders.
The moral standard of Erromango was improved with the continued arrival of the western religion and culture, which greatly influenced the islanders. Trades and other commercial activities also transformed the islanders - their traditions, culture and belief system. Now a days, we see little trace of them in the island. The people are Christians, share values of the Christian faith, and take modern education. In 1839, John Williams was killed and eaten up by the people in the island. Today, no man eats another man in the island. Thanks to the influx of the higher culture, the people in Erromango now live like God's creation.
Erromango was known as a source of sandalwood in the 19th century, and much of it was depleted. It is also home to the kauri and tamanu trees. There has been extensive logging, but most of the area is recovering, and efforts are underway to try to make the industry sustainable. Erromango was one of the more important sources of blackbirding. Blackbirding refers to hiring natives by threat, kidnapping, cajoles or lies. It was rampant in the Polynesian islands in the 19th century. The blackbirded laborers were often driven to backbreaking works in mines and plantations at extremely low wages. At one time the population of Erromango exceeded 10,000. Today, it is approximately 1500.
So why am I interested in Erromango?
Because of John Williams, the missionary. He became a missionary at the age of twenty. He arrived on an island in the South Pacific Ocean, and energetically worked to proselyte the natives to Christianity. Often he had conflicts with the London Missionary Society, the mission foundation that sent him and supported his mission, because he acquired a ship in an effort to reach out to the people living in other islands in the ocean. That endeavor irked the mission foundation, which was not willing to accept such creative mission activities. Despite the objections, he continued his mission, raising funds to acquire even bigger ships. His efforts paid off and he could reach hundreds of islands and convert many islanders before he was killed at Erromango.
At the time western missionaries, commercial traders, slave traders and immigrants were arriving at the Pacific islands, many natives in the islands were carnivorous. The islanders were sexually immoral as they had no tradition of such civilized society's norms. They had a custom of killing babies when they were born as twins, were devil worshipers, practiced sorcery, and caught in evil spirits. Such primitive practices were also found in Africa, South and Central America, and the islands in other oceans, such as Irian Jaya, today's New Guinea. The greater evils, of course, were committed by the slave traders, the blackbirders, the Spanish Conquestados, and many western merchants and traders.
The moral standard of Erromango was improved with the continued arrival of the western religion and culture, which greatly influenced the islanders. Trades and other commercial activities also transformed the islanders - their traditions, culture and belief system. Now a days, we see little trace of them in the island. The people are Christians, share values of the Christian faith, and take modern education. In 1839, John Williams was killed and eaten up by the people in the island. Today, no man eats another man in the island. Thanks to the influx of the higher culture, the people in Erromango now live like God's creation.
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