The Making of Tupaia’s Map
- Tupaia’s Map is one of the most famous and enigmatic artefacts to emerge from the early encounters between Europeans and Pacific Islanders. It was drawn by Tupaia, an arioi priest, chiefly advisor and master navigator from Ra‘iātea in the Leeward Society Islands in collaboration with various members of the crew of James Cook’s Endeavour, in two distinct moments of mapmaking and three draft stages between August 1769 and February 1770. To this day, the identity of many islands on the chart, and the logic of their arrangement have posed a riddle to researchers. Drawing in part on archival material hitherto overlooked, in this long essay we propose a new understanding of the chart’s cartographic logic, offer a detailed reconstruction of its genesis, and thus for the first time present a comprehensive reading of Tupaia’s Map. The chart not only underscores the extent and mastery of Polynesian navigation, it is also a remarkable feat of translation between two very different wayfinding systems and their respective representational models.
Author details: | Lars EcksteinORCiDGND, Anja SchwarzORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-423091 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-42309 |
ISSN: | 1866-8380 |
Title of parent work (English): | Postprints der Universität Potsdam Philosophische Reihe |
Subtitle (English): | a Story of the Extent and Mastery of Polynesian Navigation, Competing Systems of Wayfinding on James Cook’s Endeavour, and the Invention of an Ingenious Cartographic System |
Publication series (Volume number): | Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Philosophische Reihe (154) |
Publication type: | Postprint |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2019/01/22 |
Publication year: | 2018 |
Publishing institution: | Universität Potsdam |
Release date: | 2019/01/22 |
Tag: | Indigenous knowledges and ontologies; Tupaia; artography; first contact; sea of islands; star navigation; translation; wayfinding |
Issue: | 154 |
Number of pages: | 96 |
Source: | The Journal of Pacific History (2018) DOI: 10.1080/00223344.2018.1512369 |
Organizational units: | Philosophische Fakultät / Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik |
DDC classification: | 3 Sozialwissenschaften / 39 Bräuche, Etikette, Folklore / 390 Bräuche, Etikette, Folklore |
9 Geschichte und Geografie / 90 Geschichte / 900 Geschichte und Geografie | |
9 Geschichte und Geografie / 99 Geschichte anderer Gebiete / 990 Geschichte anderer Gebiete | |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access |
Grantor: | Taylor & Francis Open Access Agreement |
License (German): | CC-BY-NC-ND - Namensnennung, nicht kommerziell, keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International |