The Stick Chart Navigation of Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean was settled by the Micronesians more than three thousand years ago. These early settlers had to make frequent journeys between more than 1,100 islands spread out over 29 coral atolls. They lacked modern navigation equipment such as compasses and sextants, but possessed an incredibly detailed knowledge of the sea, the waves, the swells and the currents which they utilized to develop a simple yet sophisticated system of navigation made up of sticks and shells. These so called “stick charts” consist of thin strips of coconut frond and midribs or pandanus root bound together in straight or curved lines using coconut fiber to create a frame like structure. At various places in the frame, small sea shells were tied together by creating junctions, using two or more sticks. The shells and junctions represent the location of islands, whereas the sticks represent currents and swells in the sea. In essence, stick charts are crude maps of the ocean. Photo credit: Walter Meayers Edwards/National Geographic The curved sticks show where swells are deflected by an island. The short, straight strips indicate currents near islands. The longer strips may indicate the direction in which certain islands are to be found, and the small cowry shells represent the islands themselves. Unlike modern maps, stick charts are not literal representation of the sea, but more an abstract illustration of the ways that ocean swells interact with land. Indeed, individual charts varied so much in form and interpretation that many times a stick chart could only be read by the person who made it. The charts were also not used for navigation in the way we use maps or charts today. Seldom did sailors carry the charts with them when they made their journeys, or even if they did, they probably did not consult stick charts on their long journeys.