Piailug began his lessons by drawing a circle on the ground to represent the night horizon and using stones to indicate where fifteen different stars rose and set. Having memorized the sequences of stars on voyages he had taken to the Caroline Islands, the Philippines, and Guam, Piailug was also able to recite the order of stars for journeys that he himself had never taken to North and South America, Tahiti, Samoa, and Japan. Piailug knew the courses of more than 150 stars and how their location on the circle changed each season. Piailug received international acclaim in 1976 when he
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