Tupaia: Polynesian Navigator, Guide to James Cook, and Cultural Mediator

Tupaia was a navigator and religious leader from the Leeward Society Islands who utilized his considerable cultural and linguistic expertise to explore the Pacific. As he traveled throughout the Pacific, he expanded his own vast knowledge and mediated numerous cross-cultural encounters. His contributions to James Cook’s first voyage through the region were invaluable, as his knowledge of islands, currents, winds, and reefs enabled Cook to chart much of the South Pacific for the British.

Born on Ra'iatea around 1725 CE, Tupaia eventually achieved the rank of an ‘arioi, high priest of the Taputapuatea marae, or temple. Following an invasion of Ra'iatea by rival islanders in the early 1760s, Tupaia fled to Tahiti and involved himself in the local politics there. While in Tahiti, Tupaia formed an alliance with Purea and Amo, who were fighting for political control of the island. As part of this alliance, Tupaia used his own political cunning to assist in installing Amo and Purea’s son Teri’irere as high chief of Tahiti. Upon the arrival of Samuel Wallis and the HMS Dolphin in 1767, Tupaia learned much about the British visitors as Purea worked to help secure an alliance with foreigners and further her own political clout and that of her young son.

But his political influence on Tahiti waned, and when James Cook and the HMS Endeavour arrived on Tahitian shores in 1769, Tupaia and his Tahitian allies had recently been defeated in a political struggle. For Tupaia, Cook’s imminent departure offered an opportunity to expand his own knowledge about the world. Accordingly, Tupaia chose to accompany the British explorer as Cook set out in search of the mythical southern continent.

After leaving Tahiti, Tupaia guided Cook’s ships westward to the leeward islands of Huahine, Ra'iatea, and Borabora, before heading to other island groups. Cook drew upon Tupaia’s knowledge considerably, and Tupaia told the British of nearly ninety different islands in the region, as well as other important information that enabled Cook to chart much of the region. Because Tupaia shared this knowledge over multiple sessions, historian Anne Salmond has suggested that these islands were only a fraction of Tupaia’s overall voyaging knowledge.

In sharing some of his navigational expertise with the British, Tupaia drew upon his knowledge of stars, currents, wind patterns, and a host of other signs that he had learned as part of his cultural and religious training. In some cases, if Tupaia had previously been to an island or had learned of an island in the past, he knew not only the name of the island but also whether or not it had reefs or deep harbors, whether it was inhabited, and the types of food and plants that were there.

As the Endeavour sailed to islands with which Tupaia was familiar, the expert navigator also used his cultural skills to facilitate interactions and exchanges between the Pacific Islanders and European sailors. Even when the Endeavour arrived at the islands of Aotearoa/New Zealand, islands that were beyond Tupaia’s own knowledge, the skilled high priest found that he was able to understand and communicate with local Maori. Word of Tupaia’s linguistic abilities and his knowledge of ceremonial practices spread around the islands, and as the Endeavour circumnavigated New Zealand, groups of Maori met them to glimpse what they considered to be Tupaia’s ship.

From New Zealand, Tupaia then traveled with Cook to Australia and beyond to the Dutch colony of Batavia. Along the way, Tupaia became sick, first with scurvy while at sea, and then later with either dysentery or malaria while in Batavia. Additionally, Tupaia’s traveling companion Taiato, a young ‘arioi musician, died of pneumonia while in Batavia. Tupaia himself passed away on December 20, 1770.

His impact on oceanic voyaging cannot be understated. Tupaia’s skills and knowledge enabled James Cook to successfully navigate through much of the South Pacific and chart numerous island groups for the British. Not only did Tupaia serve as a cultural mediator and facilitate encounters between Pacific Islanders and Europeans but he also recorded many of the encounters through the medium of watercolor. Many of his sketches and paintings illustrate the negotiation of cross-cultural exchange and encounters and can still be found today in the British Library.

FURTHER READING: Druett, Joan. 2010. Tupaia: Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. Salmond, Anne. 2010. Aphrodite’s Island: The European Discovery of Tahiti. Berkeley: University of California Press.