This is the place to find out everything that we’re doing at Waan Aelon in Majel (Canoes of the Marshall Islands). Take a tour of the site and then be sure to stop by again soon to see what’s new!
Majuro Day 2015 Canoe Race Results
Saturday, February 21 was a beautiful day for sailing and it was wonderful to see so many colorful canoes competing in the Majuro Day Canoe Races. And the winners are:
Three canoes race to the rounding mark in the Majuro Day 2015 Canoe Race.
CLASS A – KORKOR
1st Place, Wola I Wola O, owned by Sandy Alfred, skippered by Aembi Snight
2nd Place, Di In Ek, owned by Acme River, skippered by Paul River
3rd Place, Rakjen Maan, owned by Randy Abot, skippered by Sammy Abija
First and Second Place Winners, Kibed and Bud Lite, Majuro Day 2015 Canoe Race
CLASS B – TIPNOL
1st Place, Kibed, owned by Sandy Alfred, skippered by Jebi Langineo
2nd Place, Bud Lite, owned by Albert Albertar, skippered by Reed Wonne
3rd Place, Bud, owned by Albert Albertar, skippered by Risen Aluka
Di In Ek, skippered by Paul River, heads for home after placing 2nd in the Majuro Day 2015 Canoe Race.
All photos: Bruce Masterson
WAM’s Winning Team
Grant Bilyard (second), Moten Naisher (participant’s prize), Dr. Bob Blue (first), and Linton Baso (third). Photo: Karen Earnshaw
WAM instructor Linton Baso came third in the grand final of last weekend’s annual Mieco Beach Yacht Club Recycle Can Race, while colleague Binton Daniel made the finals. WAM friend Davidson David ‘crewed’ for Canvasback’s Dr. Bob Blue, whose little aluminum boat took out first place overall. The WAM team made the boats, so it was fitting that they did well in the competition. A record 38 boats took part in the race. Pictured above are Davidson David, Binton Daniel, Linton Baso, Grant Bilyard and his son Tayne in the grand final of the Mieco Beach Yacht Club Recycle Can Race. Photo: Karen Earnshaw
National Geographic supports WAM
The plan to begin coaching a new generation of traditional navigators this summer has taken another leap towards reality thanks to a grant for Waan Aelõñ in Majel (WAM) from an organization linked to National Geographic.
The Genographic Legacy Fund is providing $25,000 for the project, which is officially called the Preservation and Training of Marshallese Voyaging and Navigation.
Alson Kelen, Joe Gen, Captain Korent Joel on the yacht Mali in 2006. Photo: WAM
Joe Genz, the Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, who has worked on the navigation program for many years with WAM director Alson Kelen, is thrilled with the news of the grant. “The National Geographic grant will substantially move WAM’s navigation program forward by supporting a long-distance canoe voyage on which a younger generation can begin to learn the traditional Marshallese methods of wave navigation.
“Passing on this knowledge now is critical to the safeguarding of Marshallese voyaging for future generations.”
The grant follows an equally generous donation of $31,000 to WAM from the US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation, which was provided in September last year.
Kelen said National Geographic has long had a relationship with the Polynesian Voyaging Society. “He realized that what we’re doing at WAM is the same goal as the Society’s, so he approached National Geographic to see if they would want to support us. Both programs are all about teaching youth about traditional skills by reviving those skills and passing them on down.
“As well, we know that there aren’t too many skilled navigators left today, so time is of the essence.”
There is already a lot of work being done on the project, especially at the university in Hawaii, Kelen said. “There’s a team working on devices that will help us understand the traditional navigation in a scientific way. This is one of the requests from our master navigator Captain Korent Joel. He’s very keen to see the scientific knowledge and compare it to what he knows, so that we can all understand it better.”
Here in the Marshalls, Alson is beginning the process of following tradition in selecting the first group of novices for the summer canoe program. “Joe and I have been working on this for years and we are now about to see our efforts come to fruition,” Kelen said. “This is a time we’ve long been waiting for and now it’s nearly here we’re very excited!”
Mayor sponsors canoe races
Canoes will be zipping across the lagoon on Saturday, February 21, when Mayor Mudge Samuel of the Majuro Atoll Local Government sponsors a series of canoe races. There will be two canoe divisions competing, plus a riwut (miniature canoe) division. The races will be part of the Majuro Atoll 2015 Liberation day celebration. First to race will be the riwuts at 1:30pm. Their course will be from Enearmij Island (the V7AB antenna island near Ejit) to Delap. Both divisions of canoes (14-18 feet and 18-24 feet) will begin their races shortly after the finish of the riwut race. The courses will be decided on the day of the race, depending on wind speed and direction.
The Guys, the Dolls, and WAM
Tuesday, March 3, to Saturday, March 7: WAM gets involved in lots of great projects going on around town, including the musical Guys and Dolls, which premiers March 3 at the International Conference Center, Delap. The play is produced under the auspices of the Youth Bridge Global and is directed by Professor Andrew Garrod of Dartmouth College with youth from all around Majuro starring. What parts did WAM play? First, WAM Director Alson Kelen is the traditional translator for the Professor’s annual plays and this year is no exception. The play will be performed in Marshallese with the musical numbers sung in English. Second, the play’s artists needed a big open space to create the sets, so Apo Leo, Alexis Bilyard, Rebecca Lathrop and David Fisher, along with many student volunteers, were welcomed to WAM and you can see their efforts on stage from 8pm each evening this week.
WAM builds boats for yacht race
The WAM construction team has been busy building boats for the Mieco Beach Yacht Club’s annual Recycle Can Race on the afternoon of Sunday, February 8, at the Marshall Islands Resort’s beach. This is often voted as the yacht club’s best event of the year. You come along and buy a boat for $5 and see if you’re America’s Cup material by competing in the elimination heats! Pictured are Linton Baso and Binton Daniel with the newly-made boats, which earn WAM a nice bit of pocket money. Photo: Laura Masterson.
Tamie Bowman Associate Director
“It’s a privilege to be part of the WAM organization. They have developed a unique program that combines preserving Marshallese culture through canoe building and sailing with teaching life skills that assist in navigating the ‘real world’ job market.”
Background
Tamie started work as WAM’s Associate Director in October, 2015. She hails from Washington State and she and her husband, Joel, arrived in the Marshall Islands on their yacht Good News in December, 2014. The Bowmans have lived in Micronesia since 2008, mainly based in US Territory of Guam. Tamie was excited to learn about WAM and the program’s efforts to teach traditional canoe building and sailing skills to the youth of the Marshall Islands. As Associate Director she is assisting Director Alson Kelen in all aspects of program operations, the writing of grant applications, promoting the organization … and managing the website!
Qualifications
Tamie has been involved in various business and volunteer activities and is now actively receiving training to raise her skills in program management and grant writing.
Home
Bellingham, Washington State, US
“Great sail, great sailors!”
US Embassy folk and their friends set sail on WAM canoes. Photo: WAM
On Saturday, January 17, friends of WAM from the US Embassy and their visiting guests from Minnesota, US, went on a canoe ride between torrential rain-squalls and had the time of their lives! They sent kudos to these spirited sailors and their skillful crew with the words: “Should have done this months ago! Great sail, great sailors.”
WAM canoe hard at work in Ailuk
Ten years ago, the Local Government of Ailuk Atoll commissioned WAM to design and build a unique style of canoe. The council had decided the atoll was in need of a workhorse that would complement the many traditional canoes that were in everyday use on the atoll.
Ailuk’s islands run along the western side of the atoll in a north-south direction, while the eastern shore is mostly just coral walls. The prevailing north-east winds make this layout of the islands perfect for reaching (sailing with the wind on the beam) between the main island of Ailuk Ailuk, the northern community of Enejelar, and the uninhabited islands in between. While these middle isles no longer have villages, they are often visited for the harvesting of coconuts for copra, which makes for a heavy load.
It was decided that a catamaran-style, double-hulled canoe could support a strong, wide platform, as well as provide double the amount of storage in the hulls. Ailuk officials approached the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and was given a grant to pay for the building of the catamaran.
And so it was that the instructors and trainees in the 2004 program built the canoe, giving it a bright blue and white paint job, with contrasting red lashings.
The canoe was delivered to Ailuk, where it was immediately put to service. But, as the years slipped by, even the sturdiest of objects will succumb to the elements of a low-lying outer island. And so, in 2013, a grant was successfully sought from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a team was chosen to do a refit of the catamaran. The RMI National Training Council also assisted with funding for the project.
Team leader of the refit was Rice Snight, a champion canoe sailor, who over the years has often come to Majuro to compete in the annual National Cup. The refit took a number of months, but by early 2014 was back in action on Ailuk’s lagoon.
Micronesian Journal
In November, 2006, WAM co-founder Dennis Alessio wrote an article for the Micronesian Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences titled Waan Aelon in Majel: Cultural Development in the Marshall Islands. The Journal’s web site can be found at http://marshall.csu.edu.au/MJHSS/
Counseling Program
‘Our persistence in showing the trainees a brighter path does pay off.’
Counselor Tolina Tomeing
Counseling is an integral part of the Waan Aelõñ in Majel program as the majority of the trainees have issues that have held them back from realizing their potential, which brought them to the program in the first place.
WAM is fortunate to have two highly-trained counselors: Tolina Tomeing* and the program’s Director Alson Kelen*.
“Our purpose is to help the youth in the program, who almost all left school early and lack the skills and education to be successful in employment, school and their lives,” Tolina explained. “The types of issues they are facing when they first enroll in the program are substance abuse, including alcohol and other drugs, gang involvement and being young mothers.”
WAM’s counseling consists of both group and individual sessions with the trainees. “This involves emotional and behavior issues and why they are resorting to substance abuse.”
The following are some of the techniques applied in the counseling sessions:
Listening skills: It is important to listen attentively to the trainee in an attempt to understand both the content of their problem, as they see it, and the emotions they are experiencing related to the problem. In many cases, this is the first time the trainees have had the opportunity to discuss these issues and most feel liberated to be able to go through this process.
Resistance: At WAM we understand that changing human behavior is not usually a linear, direct, and logical process. It is often very emotional and many habits of behavior and thought that are dysfunctional are difficult to break.
Persistence: Our persistence in showing the trainees a brighter path — be it in the classroom, the workshop, or, indeed, through the counseling sessions — does pay off. At every WAM graduation, the counselors are often the most emotional as they see the broad changes that have come about in these young people in such a brief time.
* Tolina is a graduate and a continuing student at the College of the Marshall Islands and has also successfully completed many certificate programs. You can read more about her in her profile page.
* Alson is a certified counselor. You can read more about him in his profile page.
‘We loved it!’
‘Our sail guides were very skilled and the ride was very smooth.’
Olli-Pekka and Auli Ollila take their grandson Gideon for a smooth ride on a WAM canoe. Photo: Karen Earnshaw
Four years ago, Mikko and JoAnn Ollila, who live in Seattle, came to Majuro to adopt their son Gideon. In the four weeks that they spent in Majuro, Mikko said that “aside from Gideon, sailing the lagoon with WAM was my most enduring and fun memory of the Marshall Islands.”
In late 2014, the couple returned with their two children and Mikko’s parents from Kangasala, Finland. Mikko said: “When we had a chance to return today, I told my parents that sailing the canoe with WAM was a must-do. I was so excited that they could do that with my son Gideon. It was really special for us.”
Here’s what his parents had to say:
Captain Linton Baso with the Ollila family. Photo: Karen Earnshaw
Olli-Pekka: “Our son Mikko told us that the canoe sail was wonderful. And it was. It was a great day out on the water – and a great way to see the island and enjoy the weather and waters of the Marshall Islands”
Auli: “Our sail guides were very skilled and the ride was very smooth. It was so smooth that our grandson Gideon even fell asleep for a few minutes! We loved it.”
Dennis Alessio’s Legacy
Dennis Alessio, co-founder of Waan Aelõñ in Majel. Photo: WAM
Dennis Alessio spent 20 years researching canoes and reviving the art of building and sailing the culturally-important treasures.
His efforts included the development of the Waan Aelõñ in Majel program before he left the Marshalls in 2007.
Featured below is a three-part series by Giff Johnson published in the Marshall Islands Journal shortly after Dennis left the RMI.
To read the series in pdf format, click here.
Below are the jpgs of the pages in the Journal.
Traditional Navigation Chant
VIDEO: The late Lijon Eknilang, a master navigator from Rongelap Atoll, reads a traditional Marshallese navigation chant. A chant is called a ‘roro’ in Marshallese. Chants are integral elements in many Marshallese folktales.