Te lapa is a Polynesian term for an unexplained light phenomenon underneath, or on the surface of, the ocean.
[5] 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.
[7] The book dispelled the former academic belief that Polynesians colonized the islands haphazardly by drifting and without navigational aids.
[5] Later on in 1993, Marianne George would voyage with Lewis and together worked with Kaveia, a native of Taumako, to define the origin and nature of te lapa.
[5] Lewis, who had also seen the lights, described it as "streaking", "flickering", "flashes", "darts", "bolts", or "glowing plaques" but never as jagged, like lightning.
[5] 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."