Navigating the Pacific Ocean

The Marshall Islands are a chain of twenty-nine coral atolls and five coral islands located about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii. To navigate the large expanses of open ocean between them, islanders developed a type of map that was called a rebbelib. These charts use bamboo sticks and cowrie shells to represent ocean currents, wind patterns, and wave swells. This one dates from the 1920s and was used as a training aid and therefore represents no particular geographical area. The shells stand in for islands and the sticks denote patterns of waves. A Marshallese navigator could determine from his stick chart the relative location of his outrigger canoe in relation to the specific wave patterns observed on the sea to find his way safely between islands.