People have used the sea for travel for thousands of years. The modern scientific instruments that many navigators used today were not known to the early sailors. Yet, these early sailors were able to find their way. They observed the movements of the Sun during the day and knowledge of astronomy helped them to navigate at night. Even today, despite the advanced instruments, it is not uncommon to hear an old Maldivian navigator talking about the stars.
An important star that is helpful in navigation is the Pole Star. The Pole Star does not rise and set like the other stars because it is fixed almost exactly over the North Pole. Therefore, people in the northern hemisphere can always see it fixed to the north, throughout the night. It is not only helpful to find out the north
but also to determine the latitude of a place. The Pole star is known as "Gahaa" to the Maldivian sailors. In an equatorial country like Maldives, it is difficult to see the Pole star because it lies too low on the horizon. Hence, people here, use a constellation (group of stars) called Ursa Major or the Great Bear to locate the Pole Star. The seven stars of this constellation make an outline of an up-side-down saucepan with a curved handle. This is shown in the illustration and the first two stars point to the pole Star.
The Maldivian sailors inherited this traditional knowledge of astronomy and navigation over hundreds of generations. With this knowledge they were able to travel to India, Sri Lanka, Africa, South East Asia and West Asia.
Posted by Ali Fahumee
