Kon-Tiki: A Brave And Fascinating Expedition Across The Pacific
Kon-Tiki is the title of a very interesting, fascinating, and adventurous novel by Norwegian author, ethnographer, and explorer Thor Heyerdahl which was published in 1948, based on the namesake expedition carried out one year earlier. It revolves around a brave voyage of the author alongside his crew consisting of several Norwegians and a Swede (in total 5 other initially amateur sailors, apart from one member of the crew, more specifically Erik Hesselberg who previously worked as a merchant navigator, plus a green parrot called Lorita and a little sympathetic crab called Johannes) across the Pacific Ocean from the port of Callao in Lima, Peru, South America in 1947 on a balsa wood raft in order to prove the fact that the ancestors of the Polynesians actually stemmed from South America (instead of the conventional, academically-accepted hypothesis according to which the ancestors of the Polynesians voyaged from south-eastern Asia, namely from present-day Taiwan, to the Polynesian islands between 3,000 and 1,500 B.C./B.C.E.).
The original title of the book published in 1948 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) by George Allen & Unwin is The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas while the original Norwegian title is Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen (i.e. Kon-Tiki expedition). Back in November 1948, when the book was published in Norway by Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, it was a massive commercial success, having sold out in fifteen days. Up until the early 1960s, the novel was already translated in 55 languages (which is quite commending indeed).
As I don’t want to give too many spoilers here regarding the contents of the book, I would like to limit myself by writing that it is truly worth buying and reading (you wont be disappointed if you are searching for a great adventure book, trust me)! Nonetheless, with the risk of giving some unwanted spoilers after all (please excuse me for this particular aspect), I also have to bring to your attention the fact that the book was also accompanied by a 1950/51 documentary film as well as a 2012 Norwegian feature film (which differs somewhat in terms of its narrative structure from the book but is, nevertheless, a great work of art and definitely high quality entertainment, at least for me) starring Norwegian actor Pål Sverre Hagen as Thor Heyerdahl. The cast also includes highly talented and charismatic Swedish actor Gustaf Skarsgård who is renowned for playing Norse explorer Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson (or Raven Flóki for short) in History Channel’s TV series Vikings.
The initial or original black and white documentary film on the Kon-Tiki expedition was released in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark in 1950 and one year later in the United States of America (USA) as well. It was directed by Olle Nordemar from Sweden and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1951 at the 24th Academy Awards which was hosted by the legendary Danny Kaye. Swedish director Olle Nordemar also received an Oscar award.
The Kon-Tiki expedition was named as such given the name of the balsa wood raft on which the Scandinavian crew of Thor Heyerdahl ventured from Callo, Peru to Polynesia on a relatively long and tumultuous voyage spanning three and a half months (or 101 days) over 4,300 miles in 1947. Kon-Tiki is the name of an ancient Inca god. The expedition proved to be a success as the crew force landed in the Raroia reef pertaining to the Tuamotu archipelago in French Polynesia.
While Thor Heyerdahl’s theories had been rejected and dismissed as pseudoscience by the academic community time and again, he was partially right with the Kon-Tiki expedition in that he had successfully proved the transoceanic contact between ancient civilisations over the Pacific Ocean. The actual origin of the Polynesians is still Asian (more specifically from contemporary Taiwan, and, according to relatively recent genetic tests, the Asian mainland as well). Therefore, trade and ethnic intermixing between the ancient South Americans and the Polynesians was possible, as demonstrated by genetic tests as well.
The historical legacy of this brave voyage continues to fascinate readers and sailing enthusiasts alike to this very day and I am quite certain it will continue to do so well beyond in the future. In case you are interested to learn more about the historical legacy of this fascinating journey, then the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway (which was established in 1950 by Thor Heyerdahl in collaboration with brave, resilient, and heroic Norwegian Knut Haugland, one of the crew members of the voyage) is certainly the perfect choice for you!
Side view of the Kon-Tiki balsa wood raft on display at the Kon-Tiki Museum located on the Bygdøy peninsula, Oslo, Norway. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Black and white photograph representing a front view of the Kon-Tiki balsa wood raft on display at the famous Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway (photograph taken prior to 1947). Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Black and white photograph depicting the entrance to the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway (1958). Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Furthermore, below you can watch a short video presentation on YouTube made by the channel Exploration Journals on Thor Heyerdahl’s fantastic journey along with his Scandinavian crew from South America to the French Polynesia back in 1947 (credits for making this video go entirely to the creators of the Exploration Journals YouTube channel):
Last but not least, below you can watch the trailer of the 2012 Norwegian drama film Kon-Tiki which is one of the most expensive Norwegian cinematographic productions to this day:
Bonus section: Kon-Tiki in popular culture
The story of continue influenced British (predominantly) instrumental rock band The Shadows to write an eponymous song released as a single in September 1961. Below you can listen to the song embedded via YouTube:
Moreover, the Kon-Tiki is briefly depicted starting at 2:24 in the music video of the song Bones of Saints by the legendary British rock musician Robert Plant (frontman of Led Zeppelin back in the 1970s as well). Also, Robert Plant performed on several occasions in the past in Bergen, Norway (including as a solo artist at Ole Bergen Festival, currently Bergenfest).
Documentation sources and external links:
- Thor Heyerdahl on www.britannica,org (the online version of Encyclopædia Britannica)
- Kon-Tiki, raft on www.britannica.org (the online version of Encyclopædia Britannica)
- Kon-Tiki expedition on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- Kon-Tiki (1950 film) on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- Kon-Tiki (2012 film) on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- Pål Sverre Hagen on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- New research supports Thor Heyerdahl’s theory on South Americans in the Pacific on www.sciencenorway.no