Welcome to the Keiki Wa'a Project! Keiki (KAY–kee) is the Hawaiian word meaning child or children. Wa'a (VAH–ah) is the Hawaiian word meaning canoe, sailing canoe, or paddling canoe.
This site is a collection of resources about the culture and history of ancient navigation techniques that enabled early Polynesians to explore the vast reaches of the Pacific Ocean. The massive voyaging canoes did not randomly drift guided by currents and wind, but were purposely steered by knowledgeable navigators trained to determine their position and course using the stars, sun, moon, bird flights, and waves.
Click on any of these links to jump to the desired page or click on the links at the top right of this window:
Keiki Wa`a Digital Lesson - free digital version of the Keiki Wa'a lesson for the classroom.
Star Compass - different options of star compass images
Wa`a Kits - build a wooden wa'a model
This site is a work in progress, so please visit us on this site as we expand and organize the resources about the ancient wisdom of navigation that can be applied to vast bodies of water or deserts.