- published: 30 Jan 2013
- views: 42056
Pwo is a sacred initiation ritual, in which students of traditional navigation in the Caroline Islands in Micronesia become master navigators and are initiated in the associated secrets. Many islanders in the area indicate that this ceremony originated on the island of Pollap, or nearby islands.
The Pwo today is having a comeback in importance. In the days before World War II, it was common to have Pwo take place. After WWII, through westernization and the influence of missionaries traditional practices including Pwo started to be abandoned. Mau Piailug, famous for helping Hawaiians regain their traditional navigation skills, was the last person to go through Pwo, in 1951. For thirty-nine years, the ceremony lay dormant. Then, in May 1990, Pwo again took place. This time Urupiy, a master navigator, with help of an American documentary anthropologist, Eric Metzgar, conducted the Pwo for his son and four other students on the island of Lamotrek. This event was subsequently made into the film Spirits of the Voyage.
Donna yoru mo ake ru kyou ga umare teyuku
No one mita kotonai brand new morning
Sotto namida fuite I will arui te iku
Kie nai negai wo utsusu ano silent sky
Tooku tatte tadori tsuke rebaii
Ikisaki ha jibun ga kime rukara
Brave kono mune niitsudemo
Ima hokore ruyouni
Just osore zuni iki teku
Yume dakewo shinji te
Donna sukima dattara you and I ume raretano
No more wakaranaikedo yes life goes on
Kitto kizutsu itemo we can doa wo akete te sorezoreno michi sagasu mou I
Won't cry
Sugi ta kioku itsuka kotae ninaru
Sayonaramohajimarini kawa rukara
Brave kinou yorimo takaku
Mottosono teno bashite
Just negai kanae teyuku
Yuru ginai kokoro de
Brave kono mune niitsudemo
Ima hokore ruyouni
Just furimuka zu iki teku
Yume dakewo mitsu mete
Brave kinou yorimo takaku
Mottosono teno bashite
Just negai kanae teyuku