As Nautilus visits Papahānaumokuākea, the wahi kūpuna of the Hawaiian people and the largest marine conservation area in the US, we gratefully acknowledge generations of indigenous Hawaiians and today’s stewards of these waters. Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) is a place of tremendous natural wonders and is also a place of deep cultural significance for Native Hawaiians. It is a privilege for Ocean Exploration Trust to be able to conduct expeditions here under permit from the co-Trustees of the region: the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior, the State of Hawai'i, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs teaches us that, "In Papahānaumokuākea, the significance Native Hawaiians assign to ancestral and environmental resources is on an equal platform with all other interests."
Throughout the expedition planning process, Ocean Exploration Trust has had the great opportunity to work closely with the PMNM staff to inform research priorities at sea and integrate priorities including uplifting ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) and culturally-grounded collection protocols, and to lay a foundation for many years of collaboration as the ship returns to the Central Pacific. Ocean Exploration Trust and our expedition sponsors are committed to including, amplifying, and making space for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander explorers and perspectives in our programs. As our ship, our team, and our audience of explorers participating through telepresence enter Papahānaumokuākea, we recognize the responsibility to enter this place with a mindset of openness, humility, and learning.
The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group nomenclature committee generously shared a tremendous amount of thought and energy to support naming upcoming E/V Nautilus expeditions to PMNM.
Learn more about the inspiration and stories behind these expedition names.
Introduction - background about names
In crafting appropriate names for the expeditions, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group nomenclature committee found inspiration in nane. Nane are playful, and sometimes serious, riddles, used in contests of wits. The nane, “Luʻu a ea, luʻu a ea, a hiki i Waikoloa,” was selected to represent the physical work on the expeditions and the long-term relationships being created between people and place. Literally, the nane can be translated as “dive and come up, dive and come up, until you arrive at Waikoloa.” As it applies to the names of the expeditions, “luʻu a ea,'' represents the physical diving and rising of the ROV from the ship. Moreover, it represents human exploration of the ocean. Whether it be sending sound waves to the seafloor or capturing footage from the ship, there is an imagined action of diving and rising between the surface and the floor.
The latter part of the nane, “a hiki i Waikoloa,” represents the journey itself from port to place. Waikoloa is a place name on various islands in the archipelago. In the expedition names, Waikoloa is replaced with words that describe the specific place the ship will be working in. This is a reminder to those engaging in this work of our responsibility to that specific place.
Lastly, the answer to the nane that provides the framework for our naming process is simple - to sew. As a sewing needle dives in a fabric and comes up, the name also represents the relationships being sewn together between Hawaiʻi, Papahānaumokuākea, the Cultural Working Group, Ocean Exploration Trust, and individual participants. These relationships will be strong and long-lasting because of the important threads of our individual and collective works.
Name descriptions
Luʻu a ea, a hiki i ke kai lipolipo (recorded pronunciation)
● Luʻuaeaahikiikalipolipo (Luʻu-a-ea-a-hiki-i-kekai-lipolipo) - NA133 in October 2021
This name represents the journey to and the work in the kai lipolipo, or the deep blue ocean, that includes the mapping of the Liliʻuokalani Seamounts. This name references the Kumulipo, or Native Hawaiian origin chant that speaks to the birth of the universe, the earth, and all earthly things. The inclusion of Native Hawaiian language and practice to the Nautilus Live | Ocean Exploration Trust expeditions to Hawaiʻi or Papahānaumokuākea is the first of its kind, thus the name reflects the birth of new relationships and collaborative ways of practicing that are inclusive of Kānaka (Native Hawaiians) worldview.
Luʻu a ea, a hiki i ka papakū (recorded pronunciation)
● Luʻuaeaahikiikapapakū (Luʻu a ea, a-hiki-i-ka-papakū) - NA134 in November 2021
This name represents the journey to and the work in the papakū, or the ocean floor, which includes surveying and mapping seamounts, and investigating macro-biology and deep-sea rocks in the Wentworth Seamounts. Because corals will be a main focus on this expedition, using the term papakū, the area where corals are found, continues to expand upon the idea of the Kumulipo referenced in the name of the October 2021 expedition. As the Kumulipo tells us, corals are the first to be born, and one of our oldest living ancestors.
Luʻu a ea, a hiki i ke kualono kai (recorded pronunciation)
● Luʻuaeaahikiikekualonokai (Luʻu-a-ea-a-hiki-i-ke-kualono-kai) - NA135 in December 2021
This name represents the journey to and the work in the kualono kai, or the sea ridges in the Chautauqua seamounts. Located south of the Hawaiian Islands, the seamounts may hold key information to deepen our understanding of Hawaiʻiʻs volcanic history. Moreover, like a kualono, or ridge that offers protection to those within its domain, the Chautauqua seamounts offer important marine habitats that protect various ocean organisms.
Luʻu a ea, a hiki i ke kumu (recorded pronunciation)
● Luʻuaeaahikiikekumu (Luʻu-a-ea-a-hiki-i-ke-kumu) - NA138 in April 2022
This name represents the journey to and the work in the foundation, or the foundation of the ocean/islands. The mappings of the Liliʻuokalani Seamounts conducted in October 2021 will allow us to look at the source and foundation of our oceans and islands with ROV dives. Ke kumu refers to the foundation, the source or origin. The Ocean Exploration Trust Hawaiʻi and Papahānaumokuākea expeditions close with a return to the Liliʻuokalani Seamount thus returning to the source or beginning of your journey. This action of returning to or arriving at the source reflects an action of pani (to close). The work is complete—for now, as the kumu is also a source of inspiration for future work.
● Luʻuaea,ahikiikawawāaPalaoa (Luʻu-a-ea,-a-hiki-i-ka-wawā-a-Palaoa) - NA142 in July/August 2022
The primary goal of this expedition is to use sound to collect high-resolution mappings of portions of the seafloor in Papahānaumokuākea. The particular mapping data collection methods are likened to the ability of Palaoa (Sperm Whale) who are the ultimate echolocators. Other familiar creatures who use echolocation or communicate with sound are naiʻa (dolphins) and koholā (Humpback whales). “Palaoa” was selected after examining the use and function of DriX, the vessel to be used to survey the seafloor via sound. We noted its visual similarity to a Palaoa taking a deep breath of air at the surface before a dive. Thus, “ka wawā a Palaoa,” refers to the echoing sounds that a Sperm whale makes to communicate and see through the depths of the ocean. Palaoa is also used in the name as a way to honor the sacred ocean spaces, its inhabitants, and Kanaloa (the ocean deity of Moananuiākea).
Luʻu a ea, a hiki i ka wawā a Palaoa (recorded pronunciation)
● Luʻuaea,ahikiikapapahākuʻiwawā (Luʻu-a-ea,-a-hiki-i-ka-papa-hākuʻi-wawā) - NA143 in August/September 2022
The Nomenclature Hui felt this name appropriately reflects this second mapping expedition in PMNM. One will note the use of “wawā” in both names (Wawā a Palaoa & Papa Hākuʻi Wawā) as they are a continuation of OET’s efforts to map and better understand the papa (seafloor). “Hākuʻi” and “wawā” are two sound-related terms that point to the mapping methods via sound. “Hākuʻi,” like “wawā” refers to an echo. In addition, “hākuʻi” also means “to reverberate.” The OET team shared a recording of a bird-like chirp that echos and reverberates through the ship and down to the ocean floor when mapping is in progress. Thus, we felt that “hākuʻi wawā” was an appropriate reflection of this activity.
Luʻu a ea, a hiki i ka papa hākuʻi wawā (recorded pronunciation)
Closing Summary
The framework of this series of names, “Luʻu a ea, luʻu a ea, a hiki i (insert name)” represents the long-term work that Ocean Exploration Trust will be doing in Papahānaumokuākea. The intent is to build upon the relationship established each time OET returns to work in the main Hawaiian islands or Papahānaumouākea. Each expedition will be named with “Luʻu a ea, luʻu a ea, a hiki i” as a prefix reminding us of the genealogy of work that is being built upon.
The oli (chant), Luʻu a ea, a hiki i ke kai lipolipo, includes each expedition name and will be taught during the Ocean Exploration Trust expeditions. Each time OET engages Hawaiʻi, another line to the oli is added. This will tell the story of our journey and remind us of OET’s important work in Hawaiʻi. This practice will also represent the continued growth of and contribution to a larger movement to protect, preserve, and perpetuate. The chant reminds us of the protocols and severity of our work and recalls the memories made on each expedition. Each time we add a line and voice the chant, we honor the work that has been done and reaffirm our commitment to the work yet to come.
Oli (chant) - Luʻu a ea, a hiki i ke kai lipolipo (recorded)
Luʻu a ea, a hiki i ke kai lipolipo,
Luʻu a ea, a hiki i ka papakū (e),
Luʻu a ea, a hiki i ke kualono kai,
Luʻu a ea, a hiki i ke kumu (e).
Dive and rise, until reaching the deep blue ocean,
Dive and rise, until reaching the sea floor,
Dive and rise, until reaching the sea ridge,
Dive and rise, until reaching the foundation (of the ocean/islands).
Luʻuaeaahikiikalipolipo - Mapping Liliʻuokalani Seamounts in Papahānaumokuākea MNM
This 20-day expedition will involve multibeam and sub-bottom profiler mapping on Liliʻuokalani Seamounts, located in an expansion area of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM). PMNM encompasses 582,578 square miles of the Pacific Ocean, an area larger than all the United States’ national parks combined, and is one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world.
Luʻuaeaahikiikapapakū - Ancient Volcanoes in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
Returning to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) after an expedition in 2018, our team will be conducting ROV surveys on a chain of seamounts, and document whether these underwater mountains support vibrant coral and sponge communities like others in the region.
Luʻuaeaahikiikekualonokai - Chautauqua Seamounts
Located south of the Hawaiian Islands, Chautauqua Seamount and the un-named seamount chain comprises seven seamounts measuring between 15 and 25 kilometers across and rising more than 2 kilometers from the 4-kilometer deep abyssal seafloor. Aside from sparse bathymetric and geophysical surveys, these underwater mountains are unsurveyed by ROVs or high-resolution seafloor mapping.
Luʻuaeaahikiikekumu - Ancient Seamounts of Liliʻuokalani Ridge
This expedition will have E/V Nautilus returning to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) to build on the accomplishments of the 2021 Luʻuaeaahikiikalipolipo expedition, which mapped the previously unmapped Liliʻuokalani Ridge Seamounts. The team returns for the first visual exploratory surveys of the seamount chain looking to investigate a puzzling split in the seamount trail.
Luʻuaeaahikiikawawāapalaoa: Dual-Technology Seafloor Mapping
This expedition focuses on high-resolution mapping areas of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) currently lacking data using ship-based mapping surveys in deep waters as well as deploying the uncrewed surface vessel DriX for nearshore mapping.
Luʻuaeaahikiikapāpahākuʻiwawā Mapping
This expedition focuses on high-resolution mapping areas of deep waters in the northern extent of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) using ship-based mapping surveys.
