{"id":219984,"date":"2025-08-08T14:20:22","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T00:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=219984"},"modified":"2025-08-12T14:33:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T00:33:17","slug":"uh-hilo-marshallese-wayfaring-and-brain-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/08\/uh-hilo-marshallese-wayfaring-and-brain-science\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> Hilo anthropologist: Marshallese wayfaring and brain science"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Men
Marshallese master navigators read the water and wind to find their way. (Photo: Chewy Lin via University of Stirling)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n A University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo professor is collaborating on a groundbreaking study into the heart of Marshallese seafaring and the human brain.\n<\/p>\n

\"Genz
Joe Genz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n This August, UH<\/abbr> Hilo anthropology professor Joseph Genz and an international crew of scientists will study Indigenous sailors who will set sail aboard a trimaran. Researchers will analyze the documentary-filmed voyage to examine how traditional wave-piloting techniques can deepen our understanding of spatial awareness and possibly neurological disease.\n<\/p>\n

\n “The most exciting aspect of this project for me is the applied nature of research on traditional navigation to the medical field\u2014mariners\u2019 knowledge of Marshallese seascapes, geographies of the coral atolls of the Marshall Islands, and orientation during inter-island voyaging has the potential to provide culture-specific insights into detection of early onset Alzheimer\u2019s Disease,” said Genz.\n<\/p>\n

How navigators move, see, think<\/h2>\n
\"Myazoe
Jerolynn Myazoe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n The project brings together experts in physics, neuroscience, philosophy, oceanography, anthropology and computer science. At its core: two master navigators from the Marshall Islands who rely on feel and sight to read ocean swells, allowing them to sense islands beyond the visible horizon.\n<\/p>\n

\n Genz, whose work has long focused on the revival of Marshallese navigation, said the research could lead to earlier detection of Alzheimer\u2019s, a disease that affects spatial orientation. He first connected to Marshallese voyaging 20 years ago through a canoe-building program. He never imagined that journey would one day link to neuroscience research.\n<\/p>\n

\n Fellow researcher and UH<\/abbr> Hilo alumna Jerolynn Myazoe, a Marshallese anthropologist, studied under Genz and is a key partner in the project.\n<\/p>\n

\n The team will use mobile eye-tracking and 360-degree motion capture to document how navigators move, see and think while sailing. The results could not only preserve these ancient skills, but help heal a community deeply impacted by U.S. nuclear testing and displacement in the mid-1900s.\n<\/p>\n

\n “[This] invokes a model of knowledge co-production and empowers the Marshallese community,” Genz said.\n<\/p>\n

\n The collaborative project brings together researchers from UH<\/abbr> Hilo, University of Stirling in Scotland, University College London and Harvard University.\n<\/p>\n

—by Susan Enright<\/em><\/p>\n

\n For more go to UH<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers will examine how traditional wave-piloting techniques can provide insights into spatial awareness and neurological diseases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":219988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[137,14,907],"class_list":["post-219984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-anthropology","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-hilo-stories","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t