Papahānaumokuākea

On Tuesday we had a cultural briefing by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, so that we understand the spiritual significance of the NW Hawaiian Island to native Hawaiians. This included an introduction to Hawaiian mythology. Legend has it that the Hawaiian Islands are the children of Papahanaumoku (the Earth Mother) and Wakea (the Sky Father). In honour of this, the NW Hawaiian Islands, of which Tern Island is one, have been designated the Papahaunaumokuakea Marine National Monument (try saying that after a couple of beers, or even stone-cold sober). The main islands of the archipelago, as far west as Necker Island (a.k.a. Mokumanamana) are located in 'Ao'- the light, the world of the living. The islands further west of Necker are in 'Po'- the darkness, the spirit world. Po is the source of all souls and the place to which all souls return after death. So I am quite literally going to Hawaiian heaven.


Another myth that we learned about was 'aumakua'. By performing a special ceremony, the soul of a recently deceased person can be transformed into an animal to make the journey to the spirit world, and this animal is the aumakua. Therefore any of the creatures we encounter on Tern Island might be the deceased ancestors of native Hawaiians. Sharks are a popular choice for aumakua, and aumakua are often regarded as protectors or guardian angels. So having a huge shark hanging around when you are swimming is a good sign, since it might be looking out for your wellbeing. It's nice to see sharks getting some good press for a change, however there is a caveat- not all sharks are necessarily aumakua, some of them are just sharks. They may simply be sizing you up for a quick snack.

Team Tern

All of my fellow castaways have arrived now and apart from Pete the island manager it is an all girl crew. I guess girls are just better.

This is Pete. He's the boss. That's why he gets to wear a special hat.



From left to right Sarah, Caitlin and Melinda. Sarah and Caitlin are both graduates who have been working on various field projects for the last few years, including other seabird projects. Melinda is a PhD student studying albatross foraging ecology.