''Te lapa'' is a Polynesian term for an unexplained and scientifically unproven light

phenomenon A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried W ...

underneath, or on the surface of, the ocean. ''Te lapa'' has been loosely translated as "flashing light", "underwater lightning", "the flashing", or "something that flashes". It was used by historic and modern Polynesians as a

navigation aid Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

to find islands in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. In some instances, it has been theorized to be

bioluminescence Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some b ...

electromagnetic In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...

in nature. Other hypotheses include the interference patterns of intersecting waves creating a raised curve acting as a lens, but would not explain the source of light. David Lewis speculated that ''te lapa'' may originate from

luminescence Luminescence is spontaneous emission of light by a substance not resulting from heat; or "cold light". It is thus a form of cold-body radiation. It can be caused by chemical reactions, electrical energy, subatomic motions or stress on a cryst ...

of organisms, or related to deep swell, ground swell, or backwash waves from

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

s or islands.

History

''Te lapa'' was brought to the attention of

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

by David Lewis with the publication of his book ''

We, the Navigators ''We, the Navigators, The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific'' is a 1972 book by the British-born New Zealand doctor David Lewis, which explains the principles of Micronesian and Polynesian navigation through his experience of placing hi ...

'' in 1972. The book dispelled the former academic belief that Polynesians colonized the islands haphazardly by drifting and without navigational aids. Lewis documented many non-instrumental methods used for navigation, most explainable by science except for ''te lapa''. Later on in 1993, Marianne George would voyage with Lewis and together worked with Kaveia, a native of

Taumako Taumako is the largest of the Duff Islands, in the Solomon Islands. This island has steep sides and rises to a height of above sea level. It is composed of basaltic lavas and pyroclastics like the other islands in the Duffs. The inhabitants of ...

, to define the origin and nature of ''te lapa''. Eventually George would witness ''te lapa'' on several occasions with help from Kaveia. She described it as a natural phenomenon and used for

piloting Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or air ...

, best seen at night. The light is followed toward its origin from islands, or to reorient boat pilots at sea. Kaveia noted that ''te lapa'' is used for navigation no more than 120 miles from shore, and rarely as close as 2 miles from shore due to the island already visible from that distance. It is typically white in color, though its color may be dependent upon the makeup of the water. It was also described as having the shape of a straight line. Lewis, who had also seen the lights, described it as "streaking", "flickering", "flashes", "darts", "bolts", or "glowing plaques" but never as jagged, like

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

. Lewis noted that ''te lapa'' would travel slower farther out at sea, and faster when closer to shore, often having a "rapid to-and-fro jerking character." Lewis was instructed by Bongi, a native of Matema atoll, that ''te lapa'' was best seen 80 to 100 miles from shore. Other Polynesian cultures are likely to have different names for the same phenomenon. On the island of

Nikunau Nikunau is a low coral atoll in the Gilbert Islands that forms a council district of the Republic of Kiribati. It consists of two parts, with the larger in the northwest, joined by an isthmus about wide. There are several landlocked hypersaline ...

it is referred to as "te mata" and "ulo aetahi" (Glory of the Seas). On

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, "ulo aetahi" may be "ulo a'e tahi" and have other names such as "te tapa" translated as "to burst forth with light." Lewis noted that

Tikopia Tikopia is a high island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It forms a part of the Melanesian nation state of Solomon Islands but is culturally Polynesian. The first Europeans arrived on 22 April 1606 as part of the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fer ...

ns were unaware of ''te lapa''. George, having been to sea many times, had seen many "ocean lights" from known sources, ruled out what ''te lapa'' was not. Ruled-out phenomena include:

ball lightning Ball lightning is a rare and unexplained phenomenon described as luminescent, spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Though usually associated with thunderstorms, the observed phenomenon is reported to last c ...

tektite Tektites (from grc, τηκτός , meaning 'molten') are gravel-sized bodies composed of black, green, brown or grey natural glass formed from terrestrial debris ejected during meteorite impacts. The term was coined by Austrian geologist Franz ...

s, bioluminescence, luminescence,

St. Elmo's fire St. Elmo's fire — also called Witchfire or Witch's Fire — is a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a rod-like object such as a mast, spire, chimney, or animal hornHeidorn, K., Weather Element ...

, shooting stars/

meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as micr ...

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...

s, unique colors visible at sunset or when the sun is occluded,

celestial bodies An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are often us ...

, military

firing range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by military ...

s, fishing and military

buoy A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...

s, ice mirages, light mirroring,

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

s, glories,

crepuscular rays Crepuscular rays are sunbeams that originate when the Sun is just below the horizon, during the twilight period. Crepuscular rays are noticeable when the contrast between light and dark is most obvious. Crepuscular comes from the Latin word ...

sun dog A sun dog (or sundog) or mock sun, also called a parhelion (plural parhelia) in meteorology, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Sun. Two sun dogs often flank the Sun within a 22° ...

moon dog A moon dog (or moondog) or mock moon, also called a paraselene (plural paraselenae) in meteorology, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Moon. They are exactly analogous to sun dogs. M ...

s, iceblink,

looming ''Looming'' is a term found in the study of perception, as it relates directly to psychology. Looming occurs when an object begins moving closer to the eye. As the resulting image becomes increasingly larger on the perceiver's retina, i.e., when ...

from clouds,

aurorae An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in polar regions of Earth, high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display ...

, asterisms,

earthquake light An earthquake light is a luminous aerial phenomenon that reportedly appears in the sky at or near areas of tectonic stress, seismic activity, or volcanic eruptions. There is no broad consensus as to the causes of the phenomenon (or phenomena) inv ...

s, and a large range of light shadowing, fractured lights, color, and

mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...

arcs from light phenomenon above 60° latitude. George also mentioned that Kaveia interpreted other known and explained phenomena, as well as other unexplained phenomena such as "Te Akua" also known as "the devil lights".

Skepticism

Richard Feinberg, a

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

professor, has, however, stated that the phenomenon has not been scientifically written about, that there are few references to it, and that there are disagreements among sailors about how the phenomenon operates. Still, Feinberg interviewed sailors who believed in ''te lapa'' and said that they used it to navigate. He concluded his publication on ''te lapa'' with the remark " though I am not quite ready dismiss ''te lapa'' out of hand, it is hard to see how a phenomenon so rare and difficult to find could be a dependable navigational tool, particularly in an emergency situation—precisely when it would be needed."

History

Skepticism

References

Further reading