This summer, four Hawaiian women became the first known females to be granted Pwo , a sacred role for master navigators in the Micronesian tradition. These new female Pwo are experienced sailors who are inspiring people worldwide to sail like their ancestors did.

Pwo navigators don’t use GPS or compasses to find their way between tiny islands in the vast Pacific. Instead, they sail thousands of miles by feeling the direction of the waves and reading patterns in the stars and clouds--much like the fictional characters in the Moana movies, which were created with expert input from modern-day Polynesian voyagers .

Historically, women were considered taboo on boats in some Pacific Island cultures or even prohibited from sailing. The four Hawaiian women newly inducted as Pwo are carving a new path for wayfinders and training the next generation of ocean voyagers:

  • Kaʻiulani Murphy , the first woman to navigate Hōkūleʻa from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi
  • Pōmai Bertelmann , who helped develop training programs for voyagers in Hawaiʻi and internationally
  • Shantell De Silva , who has more than three decades of voyaging experience
  • Lehua Kamalu , the first woman to serve as both lead captain and lead navigator on a deep-sea voyage

Murphy views Pwo as the highest form of kuleana, or responsibility. “It’s the next phase of the journey,” Murphy told me in a phone interview. She also teaches traditional navigation and voyaging at the University of Hawaiʻi.

The Next Generation Of Traditional Ocean Voyagers

The Polynesian Voyaging Society was founded in 1973 to revive the art and science of traditional Polynesian voyaging. This summer marks the 50th anniversary of Hōkūleʻa ’s maiden voyage from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti, which demonstrated that ancient Polynesian sailors navigated long-distance ocean passages without modern instruments.

The late Master Navigator Mau Piailug of Satawal , an island in Micronesia, trained the first wave of modern Hawaiian voyagers. Before that, the practice of traditional wayfinding had been dormant in Hawaiʻi for more than 600 years.

Pwo is considered the highest honor and responsibility among traditional navigators in Pacific seafaring cultures. In 2007, Piailug inducted the first five Pwo Navigators from Hawaiʻi, who have been training the next generation of wayfinders across the Pacific.

On July 30, 2026, six new master navigators were inducted in a sacred Pwo ceremony held in Niu Valley, Oʻahu. Four were women. The ceremony was officiated by three Pwo from the Weriyaeng School of Navigation in Satawal, Micronesia. This was the first time the Pwo ritual was conducted in Hawaiʻi.

“This induction of six new Pwo in Hawaiʻi is a statement of the advancement of leadership in voyaging,” said Nainoa Thompson, CEO of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, in a press release . “It’s a graduation of six leaders who will lead voyaging into the next 50 years.”

Role Models For Navigators Worldwide

Pwo is one of the highest honors in the Satawalese navigation tradition. It recognizes not only navigational expertise but also a commitment to leadership, teaching, service and passing traditional knowledge to future generations.

While women aren’t sailors in the Micronesian tradition, they do pass down the traditional knowledge of navigation to their children.

“When they were pregnant with their child, they’re actually their first teacher. They would sing so that the child in the womb is hearing these songs about navigation and voyaging,” Murphy explained.

Today’s Pacific voyagers are more than simply sailors. They are also role models for Indigenous mariners worldwide. The cultural renaissance sparked by resurrecting traditional navigation in Hawai’i has inspired Indigenous coastal communities around the globe to re-embrace their seafaring roots.

Pwo navigators “become ambassadors for all things ocean,” Kamalu told me. “People call to talk about what’s going on in the water and where are the fishes at, and everything under the sun.”

As Pwo, these women will have to make decisions about so much more than the course of one boat on one voyage. They will navigate how to keep traditional wayfinding alive and thriving in Hawaiʻi and beyond.