Moons Ago

               Moons ago, forgotten and gone

                Along the currents of dawn

                 Rolling, tossing, bouncing, listing

                 Sturdy ‘Tebnol’ kept on sailing

                 Helm man held Capella port side

                 Arts of currents in skipper’s sight

                 Led ‘inej’ in shouts acclaiming’

                Land O! Land of mine ‘iin’

                Isles of sea, Isles of peace

                Shinning sands for me to kiss

               Land of mine under the sun

               Adorn with green lustrous palm

               Never will I ever forget

               Dreams of my forefathers ago

               Sailed and won just for me, moons ago

                              ( ‘tebnol’- big canoe, ‘inej’- fleet, ‘iin’- yes!)

Long ago, the people of the Marshall Islands sailed in big ocean going canoes called ‘Tebnol’ to go from island to island. They sailed with only the stars, the sun and the ocean currents to guide them. Their traditional navigation knowledge was unique because they could give an exact course to an island with their eyes closed! As long as they felt the movements of the currents under their canoes, they knew exactly where they were. The technique they used was known as ‘meto’.

Meto has two meanings in a Marshallese language: an open water sailing technique and a stick chart used for training young boys to memorize all the ocean currents in the Marshall Islands water. According to one local captain, every current has a land somewhere along its path.

The last traditional 'meto journey was more than two years ago. The 'WAM' program sponsored this amazing journey with the help of an old local captain from the island of Ujae. A 'tebnol' was built at WAM located in Majuro, and the crew was Alson Kellen and some boys studying there. The journey went from Majuro to Aur and was under Captain Thomas Bokin’s command.