There was a time, so very long ago (about 1200 AD to be exact) when sailors travelled mainly on a large stretch of blue liquid, for as a wise woman once said that in the beginning, there was nothing but the ocean that seemed to cover half the world. It corresponded with the sky of blue, reflecting its colors into various shades based on the day and the night: turquoise, azure, cobalt, sapphire, cerulean, all of which represented the colors of the ocean among many others. It was accompanied by a breeze that swept above the surface at differing heights and pitfalls that came from downdrafts and gales. At this time in the year, you could never tell what happened next, whether it be a rainstorm or a tsunami. It was around this day and age that the Polynesians, descended from the speakers of the Austronesian languages, migrated from South China to the islands that formed a sub region in the Pacific Ocean known as Oceania. It was the start of a time of exploration. The Polynesians, using their own senses alone, had developed their own navigational system if they were to get to Micronesia, for the proceeding area of Melanesia had better islands that offered food and animals to last them for the next millennium.
It was also a time when ocean voyages were primitive necessities instead of pleasure cruises, but for some families, it was fun. Children would look at the aquatic life of fish with their hands perched against the edges of the rafts made from the bark of a Eucalyptus tree, in varying pieces held together by ropes. The ropes, made from abacá fiber, were also used to hold the open sails crafted with pandanus monocots, allowing the boats to sail wherever the wind would take them. The high sun did not mind a young girl wearing a crown of leaves, as she and her parents lowered their right arms into the water, feeling the blue liquid and burst a cooling temperature into their pores. All through the purple-reddish sunset they went and on into the night under a bright moon with it's glowing light. Early or late, they would gaze into the stars, counting constellations and knowing which way to turn by north, south, east or west. The red and yellow featherheaded chief, who had a black goatee and a necklace made of teeth with a stone of half blue and half white, held his left hand up, letting his fingers touch the stars, where by the next morning, the sign of a white seagull alerting his fellow passengers as to where their new home would be.
Motunui Island was located north of New Zealand, and had almost everything a tropical Southern Pacific island had to offer: white-sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, many trees of coconut palms, houses made of wood and straw, and high earth elevations of mountains that expanded towards the sky but could never touch the hemisphere…all of which would come later once they had settled in. The flora of the island seemed to offer the beauty of an island like no other, with pink alpinia purpurata flowers, frangipanis, haleconias and palmgrass; perfect for ceremonies and flower crowns. The tide was low as the regatta of thirteen ships slowed to a stop, smoothly striking the sand that grounded the underbellies.
Now the chief was the first to step foot in the water that reached up to his ankles. The less and less he felt his feet leaving the moist liquid for dry land, followed by his family and the commoners who were the last to go. The brown-skinned Polynesians at the time being wore skirts made of long leaves to conceal their modesty while some like younger children went bare. As time progressed, they had found other materials such as seashells, grass, tree barks, feathers and notably, silk which would be used for lavalava skirts. For reasons of tradition and style, necklaces, capes and helmets had also been introduced. They would use lime to bleach their hair in certain areas, while some made sure to keep their natural hair color intact.
The homes built by the new inhabitants were made from coconut fibers that formed a domed roof built on posts. Elevated above the ground at about five to eight feet, they were known as Samoan houses after neighboring island that had built them. Other buildings were made using afa or sennit rope to hold the posts into place, allowing the roof to be stern and tight, providing the habitants with a comfortable shelter against all weather that came at them. The floor of the houses were made from river stones to keep the temperature of the home at a balanced level. On hot, humid days they would cool the building, while cold days, it was the other way around, the retained heat from the sun keeping home warm and comfortable. Mats that would be piled up to the highest level of comfort were owned by the chief, signifying his wealth and the pillow used for the bed would be made of bamboo wood. It was commonly believed that sleeping on hard surfaces would give the Polynesian a hard, erect, strong stature of the body. The last house to be built was the fale fono, known as the chief's meeting house, which was always supervised by a tufuga, whose crew would take about a month to construct in order for the poles and beams to have the correct measurement and to prevent rain from leaking into the sugarcane leaves.
In a great period of time, the son became the father and it was his duty to search for other lands that were deemed inhabitable for future generations, worthy of telling stories of these explorations to their children and their descendants from time and time again. He was given the shawl by the father himself and someday he would obtain the headdress to complete his image as a wise leader of his own tribe. The son and his friends would battle their boats against the tallest waves that ever dared to capsize the boats, even smashing them to smithereens during a heavy storm and colder climates which seemed to come at an almost unexpected rate.
He returned just in time to witness the birth of a beautiful baby girl with jet black hair, skin that was as brown as her mother's complexion and eyes made to correspond with darker shade of brown. She was adorable for sure, but then there came the subject of bringing up a name…a name that would immortalize her for the story of a lifetime:
Moana.