For the first time ever, the sacred Pwo navigator ceremony has been held in Hawaiʻi. On July 30, 2026, in Niu Valley on Oʻahu, the Polynesian Voyaging Society inducted six new Pwo Navigators — among the highest honours in the Weriyaeng School of Navigation from the island of Satawal in Micronesia.
The six new Pwo are Pōmai Bertelmann, Archie Kalepa, Kaʻiulani Murphy, Shantell De Silva, Russell Amimoto and Lehua Kamalu. Five are Native Hawaiian, and four are the first women in Hawaiʻi ever to hold the title. Three Satawalese Pwo Navigators — Isidore Metewalur, Robert Erailug and Thomas Raffipiy, who carry the family lineage of the late master navigator Mau Piailug — officiated the rite.
Why does this matter beyond the ceremony itself? Because it closes a remarkable loop. Traditional open-ocean navigation had been dormant in Hawaiʻi for more than 600 years until Mau Piailug guided the voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti in 1976 using pure wayfinding — reading stars, winds, waves, currents and clouds, with no instruments. He later trained navigators in Hawaiʻi and across Polynesia, and in 2007 inducted the first Hawaiian Pwo class (including Nainoa Thompson) on Satawal itself. This year's ceremony, on Hawaiian soil, marks what Thompson calls the graduation of leaders who will steer voyaging into its next 50 years — and a promise to Mau that navigation will never go dormant again.
Pwo isn't just a certificate of skill. It signifies a lifetime commitment to leadership, service, teaching and stewardship, with core values Mau described as light, love, kindness and compassion. The Polynesian Voyaging Society, founded in 1973, built Hōkūleʻa to revive traditional Polynesian voyaging — a launch that sparked a cultural renewal across Hawaiʻi and Polynesia that still shapes how visitors experience the islands today.
For travellers, this is living history you can actually see. The Hōkūleʻa remains active, and voyaging traditions are woven into Hawaiian cultural sites, education programmes and community life across Oʻahu and the neighbor islands. Understanding the wayfinding revival adds real depth to any Hawaiʻi trip — this is the story behind the canoe, and the ceremony that ensures it continues.
