19.5 Dating the Birth of Hema
333
Fornander’s rough estimate of 1080 for the beginning of the southern migrations.
As a level 5 El Niño, it could have provided both motivation and support for the
southern migrations. The passage to Hawaii for the migrating canoes would have
been speeded by a weakening during an extreme El Niño of one of the strongest
currents in the Pacific, the South Equatorial Current which feeds the West Pacific
Warm Pool. Reaching Hawaii from the south meant crossing this current. The 1096
El Niño was preceded by a level 3 El Niño in 1085. It is conceivable that Eastern
Polynesian explorers may have reached Hawaii during the earlier El Niño, so that
when drought and famine became extreme during the 1096 El Niño, the decision
to migrate to Hawaii was made by the several groups that Fornander cites. That the
1096 El Niño was the strongest El Niño in 200 years makes it a prime candidate
both for motivating and for facilitating the southern migrations.
A total solar eclipse occurs close to the 1096 El Niño. It provides a second
means of dating the southern migrations to Hawaii. This eclipse is associated with
a sorcerer Kahano-a-newa. Tradition tells us “When the sun vanished and the earth
became dark, Kahano brought the sun back again” [11]. Kahano-a-newa was a contemporary (some traditions say the uncle [11]) of Paumakua, whom Fornander saw
as a central figure in “the intrusion and influence of the southern element” in Hawaii
(p. 197). In the 600-year period from AD 800 to AD 1400 there was only one
total solar eclipse in the southern part of the island of Maui where tradition tells us
Kahano-a-newa lived. The eclipse, lasting 4 min and 37 s, occurred on 27 February
1104 at 11.02 a.m. (Tony Beresford, personal communication).
This solar eclipse, the date it provides for Paumakua (which we shall see in the
next section is relevant for dating the birth of Hema), its closeness to the 1096 El
Niño and its correlation with Fornander’s genealogically based rough estimate of
about 1080 for the beginning of the migration era demonstrate the potential for
defining a chronology for oceanic migration in the Medieval Climatic Optimum
by exploiting astronomical events and El Niño proxy data in combination with
genealogical data.
Clearly in this case we are dealing with the combination of two rare events. The
1104 solar eclipse was the only total solar eclipse in the region in the 600 years
between AD 800 and AD 1400. The El Niño of 1096 was the strongest ENSO event
in 200 years. The rarity of these events makes chronological precision possible. The
closeness of Fornander’s estimate shows the robustness of associated genealogical
data.
19.5 Dating the Birth of Hema
The birth of Hema has chronological significance for Tahitian, Hawaiian and Maori
traditions, in all of which Hema is regarded as an important ancestor. A precise
date for Hema’s birth can therefore provide a chronological anchor for genealogies
spread across the Pacific. This example is useful for illustrating our approach to
genealogical data.
333
Fornander’s rough estimate of 1080 for the beginning of the southern migrations.
As a level 5 El Niño, it could have provided both motivation and support for the
southern migrations. The passage to Hawaii for the migrating canoes would have
been speeded by a weakening during an extreme El Niño of one of the strongest
currents in the Pacific, the South Equatorial Current which feeds the West Pacific
Warm Pool. Reaching Hawaii from the south meant crossing this current. The 1096
El Niño was preceded by a level 3 El Niño in 1085. It is conceivable that Eastern
Polynesian explorers may have reached Hawaii during the earlier El Niño, so that
when drought and famine became extreme during the 1096 El Niño, the decision
to migrate to Hawaii was made by the several groups that Fornander cites. That the
1096 El Niño was the strongest El Niño in 200 years makes it a prime candidate
both for motivating and for facilitating the southern migrations.
A total solar eclipse occurs close to the 1096 El Niño. It provides a second
means of dating the southern migrations to Hawaii. This eclipse is associated with
a sorcerer Kahano-a-newa. Tradition tells us “When the sun vanished and the earth
became dark, Kahano brought the sun back again” [11]. Kahano-a-newa was a contemporary (some traditions say the uncle [11]) of Paumakua, whom Fornander saw
as a central figure in “the intrusion and influence of the southern element” in Hawaii
(p. 197). In the 600-year period from AD 800 to AD 1400 there was only one
total solar eclipse in the southern part of the island of Maui where tradition tells us
Kahano-a-newa lived. The eclipse, lasting 4 min and 37 s, occurred on 27 February
1104 at 11.02 a.m. (Tony Beresford, personal communication).
This solar eclipse, the date it provides for Paumakua (which we shall see in the
next section is relevant for dating the birth of Hema), its closeness to the 1096 El
Niño and its correlation with Fornander’s genealogically based rough estimate of
about 1080 for the beginning of the migration era demonstrate the potential for
defining a chronology for oceanic migration in the Medieval Climatic Optimum
by exploiting astronomical events and El Niño proxy data in combination with
genealogical data.
Clearly in this case we are dealing with the combination of two rare events. The
1104 solar eclipse was the only total solar eclipse in the region in the 600 years
between AD 800 and AD 1400. The El Niño of 1096 was the strongest ENSO event
in 200 years. The rarity of these events makes chronological precision possible. The
closeness of Fornander’s estimate shows the robustness of associated genealogical
data.
19.5 Dating the Birth of Hema
The birth of Hema has chronological significance for Tahitian, Hawaiian and Maori
traditions, in all of which Hema is regarded as an important ancestor. A precise
date for Hema’s birth can therefore provide a chronological anchor for genealogies
spread across the Pacific. This example is useful for illustrating our approach to
genealogical data.