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Analysis Of The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters In The Modern World

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A Dive Into Culture When you think of culture, what comes to mind? Some may say they think of evolution, families, differences, similarities, the list goes on. One thing that they all have in common is that it’s all about people. Whether it’s genetics, or language, it all revolves around us. In the book “The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World” by Wade Davis, he talks about genetics and how they are important to all of human society. Genetics laid out the foundation for all of humankind (Davis 10). Yet throughout history, the world has grown less interested in where it came from, and more to where it’s going. We all know that extinction is unavoidable whether it be life or language. Before explaining the main themes …show more content…

Wayfinding is a way to travel across the sea, but without any fancy technology or tools. The only tools used would be your mind, and the canoe. One special canoe was the Hokule’a, which was meant to travel around the islands and regather the history that was lost to it’s people. A lot of people wondered why Polynesians would take the risks of traveling the open ocean, and a lot of it had to do with pride and family status. Another reason was purely curiosity. The teachings of wayfinding were hard to accomplish though, because it was all orally taught, as stated, “ Theirs were oral traditions, with all knowledge stored in memory, transmitted from generation to generation” (Davis 51).The fundamental aspect of wayfinding was evident while looking at these people, and to understand them, you need to understand certain aspects of their culture. These aspects include the wind, waves, clouds, stars, sun, moon, birds, fish, and the water. These all make up Polynesian culture and their world. Wayfinding uses all of these aspects in the steps taught. The first step is to picture all of the islands you know of in your mind, and set sight in your imagination the destination you will find. The second step is to look to the clouds, which will help determine if you will have smooth sailing or storms. The third step is to observe wildlife and seamarks, which will notify how close land is. Another step, which is normally considered the most difficult, would be to memorize constellations and stars, mapping them out in your mind. A true navigator will always know where they are due to the stars and their placement. Discovery isn’t always about traveling to new islands, or conquering new worlds. Yet it is about learning of new cultures and developing a better sense of cultural relativity for people around you. Davis shows this through his own discovery of

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