Empire Leaders
The 2 leaders that I researched were Nainoa Thompson and Ismail I. Ismail I was a very strong leader in war, he was able to adapt to new weapons and use them against his enemies to conquer and expand his empire. Nainoa Thompson was a very skilled leader in celestial navigation, and almost single handedly revived the art of celestial navigation. He became a teacher for people who wanted to learn and did a world wide voyage to spread a message to take care of the earth. The 2 icons that I chose for these leaders fit each of them well. For Ismail I, I chose a sword because he was a good leader in war and that is a type of sword that he used. For Nainoa Thompson, I chose the star compass, because that is used for celestial navigation. The traits that I chose for both leaders fit each of them well. Ismail I had determined, strong, and leader, while Nainoa Thompson had Ho’omau, ‘Imi na’auao, and Kuleana. For Ismail I, it is all said right there, was a strong leader who was determined to make his empire great. For Nainoa Thompson, ho’omau is perseverance, because learning the art is very hard, ‘imi na’auao is wisdom, because he gained a lot of knowledge on the art, and kuleana is responsibility, because he felt that it was his duty to learn and spread the art of celestial navigation.
Empire Leaders
Tecun Uman and Nainoa Thompson
The empire I researched was the Mayan empire. The Mayan Empire was Land-based. It covered all of the Yucatan Peninsula and modern day Guatemala; Belize and parts of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas and the western part of Honduras and El Salvador. The leaders I chose were Tecan Uman and Nainoa Thompson. Tecun Uman was born in 1485 and died in 1524 during a war with the Spanish. He was known as the last ruler of the kʻiche maya people who lived in the highlands of modern day Guatemala. He had a big impact on his civilization in the sense of agriculture. His civilization was agricultural based and he helped his people with knowing how to and keeping it alive. Another big impact that he had was his service for his people and land. Tecun uman was a man of the people he fought with bravery and pride no matter what the circumstances, which then led to his death within the war with the Spanish. The icon I chose was the quetzal bird. I chose it because it represents leadership and light. Two things that he brought his people on a daily basis to help him and his people thrive. My other leader was Nainoa Thompson. He was Born on March 11 1953 in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. In 1980 Thompson became the first Hawaiian and the first Polynesian to practice the art of wayfinding on long distance ocean voyages since voyaging ended in Polynesia around the 14th century. I chose the Hokuleʻa to symbolize Nainoa because I feel like that was a big impact to Polynesia and specifically Hawaiʻi. He was able to practice the art of wayfinding and was the first Hawaiian to do so. He could have inspired others and also can have impact on others by also teaching them. Hokuleʻa had a big impact on Hawaiʻi and it was led by Nainoa. The leadership traits I chose for both leaders were Kūlia i ka nuʻu, Naʻauao, and Kōkua. I chose Kōkua and Kūlia i ka nuʻu because both leaders wanted the best for their people and helped them as much as possible in order for their people to succeed. I also chose Naʻauao because both leaders needed to be smart. Nainoa needed to know how to voyage which takes a lot of learning and practice to do so. Tecun Uman was also smart because he knew what was best for his people. He also had the knowledge of agriculture to bestow upon his people in order for them to be sustainable.
The empire I researched was the Mayan empire. The Mayan Empire was Land-based. It covered all of the Yucatan Peninsula and modern day Guatemala; Belize and parts of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas and the western part of Honduras and El Salvador. The leaders I chose were Tecan Uman and Nainoa Thompson. Tecun Uman was born in 1485 and died in 1524 during a war with the Spanish. He was known as the last ruler of the kʻiche maya people who lived in the highlands of modern day Guatemala. He had a big impact on his civilization in the sense of agriculture. His civilization was agricultural based and he helped his people with knowing how to and keeping it alive. Another big impact that he had was his service for his people and land. Tecun uman was a man of the people he fought with bravery and pride no matter what the circumstances, which then led to his death within the war with the Spanish. The icon I chose was the quetzal bird. I chose it because it represents leadership and light. Two things that he brought his people on a daily basis to help him and his people thrive. My other leader was Nainoa Thompson. He was Born on March 11 1953 in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. In 1980 Thompson became the first Hawaiian and the first Polynesian to practice the art of wayfinding on long distance ocean voyages since voyaging ended in Polynesia around the 14th century. I chose the Hokuleʻa to symbolize Nainoa because I feel like that was a big impact to Polynesia and specifically Hawaiʻi. He was able to practice the art of wayfinding and was the first Hawaiian to do so. He could have inspired others and also can have impact on others by also teaching them. Hokuleʻa had a big impact on Hawaiʻi and it was led by Nainoa. The leadership traits I chose for both leaders were Kūlia i ka nuʻu, Naʻauao, and Kōkua. I chose Kōkua and Kūlia i ka nuʻu because both leaders wanted the best for their people and helped them as much as possible in order for their people to succeed. I also chose Naʻauao because both leaders needed to be smart. Nainoa needed to know how to voyage which takes a lot of learning and practice to do so. Tecun Uman was also smart because he knew what was best for his people. He also had the knowledge of agriculture to bestow upon his people in order for them to be sustainable.
Reflections
Reflections
The trait that stood out to me the most and seemed to be the most effective for the people they served were Tecun Uman’s priority in agriculture. Tecun Uman’s land was agriculture based. Not only that, but as a leader he put in effort to teach his people how to keep the land alive and how to take care of it. I feel that because of this his land was able to prosper the crops they needed to survive. As well as thrive on the land that flourished with different plants and foods to eat. The people were indeed greatly impacted by this. Another trait I found to be impactful was Nainoa Thompson’s determination. His determination encouraged and inspired other Hawaiians to the art practice wayfinding. Eventually leading to the travel of Hawaiians to the other islands. Because he practiced the art, many of the people around him were influenced to also try. Nonetheless both of the leader’s traits impacted the people greatly. I believe I have a trait similar to Tecun Uman’s trait of prioritizing agriculture. Mine is a bit different because although I’m not too fond of agriculture, however I do prioritize organization. Organization affects your everyday life, and being organized is something small, but it can make your life much easier sooner than you’d expect. A trait that I’d like to develop is determination as strong as Nainoa Thompson’s. I believe that determination is an important trait to develop in the modern day to navigate through issues that we face today as a Lāhui. Because determination seems small, but a bit of determination can make the biggest differences. For example college, say you were about to finish your 3rd year, and suddenly give up, just a little bit of determination can make you change that entire decision. You could finish college, and not waste those 3 years you’ve spent.
The leadership traits that I can see impact amongst other people is that they all put their lāhui before themselves. It takes a lot to be open to new ideas from others either if it is good or bad. These leaders hold out with taking time to engage with others and understand what they feel would be best. As a leader, you aspire to be someone that you would want to follow. You take the first steps so other people can follow you. My leadership style consists of performing the first ideas for something. However, I lack some skills when it comes to taking the first step. It is way easier said than done when you are confident that you are able to lead such a big community and everyone around you. I would like to develop speaking up with what I feel and addressing what I feel is wrong before anyone else. I always tend to wait for someone to address something, where it would then not exactly prefer me as a leader since someone needed to give me a boost to shoot my ideas. To lead the lāhui, you need to be greatly open to other people’s ideas. It is important to listen to the community as they are also the ones that face issues first thing. Also, we need to be strong willed and confident with our decisions on what the community may need. There will be occasional disagreements where people feel that your ideas are not going to work whereas you need to believe that you have done enough to understand your ideas will be beneficial. Being a leader takes a lot of strength, but with the correct mindset, you as a leader will be powerful.