Starting with their use in the migration from Central Polynesia, waka have been an essential component of everyday life for Maori.  But waka are much, much more - the canoe traditions are central to the identity of Māori.  Whakapapa (genealogical links) connecting back to the crew of founding canoes served to establish the origins of tribes, and defined relationships with other tribes.  Thus they also express authority and identity, and define tribal boundaries and relationships.  They merge poetry and politics, history and myth, fact and legend.

Kauri:  (Agathis australis) is a prized timber for waka building in Tai Tokerau (Northland) and has been used in all the waka built by Hekenukumai.  Kauri is one of the largest trees in the world.  It once grew across vast tracts of Northland, Auckland and the Waikato but is now sadly depleted. Some of the best examples are in the Waipoua Forest.   More

Reading:

Haddon AC and J Hornell, (1936-38), Canoes of Oceania, Special Publication 27-29, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu

Neyret J, (1974), Pirogues Oceaniennes, Association des Amis de Musees de la Marine, Paris

Best E, (1925), The Maori Canoe, Dominion Museum Bulletin No 7, Government Printer, Wellington

Evans J, (1997), Nga Waka o Nehera, the first voyaging canoes, Reed, Auckland

Click here to email us.  Copyright Arawai Ltd. All rights reserved

Waka hourua: While most people in Aotearoa probably instinctively think of the mono-hull waka taua when “canoes” are mentioned, there is a tradition of double-hull canoes here as elsewhere across the Pacific.  Both Tasman and Cook saw double-hull canoes and Best records the use of a double-hull canoe as late as 1873 in the Bay of Plenty. More

Waka Taua: The waka taua Ngatokimatawhaorua was launched at the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.  Ngā Toki can carry 80 paddlers and 55 passengers. It measures 35.7 metres long and up to two metres wide.   It can be viewed in the grounds of the Treaty House at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands.  More

Lashing: From time to time it is necessary to renew the lashings on a waka which secure the rauawa (topstrakes) to the hull.  Lashing is typically done working in pairs.  The technique involves a series of locking knots as the lashing is passed through the hull.  Pegs are use to hold the lashing in position while tension is applied.  More

Te Aurere: The first double hull canoe to be built in Aotearoa in the modern era, Te Aurere has been at the forefront of voyaging canoes here since it was launched in 1992.  The waka continues to be used for voyaging and training in sailing and traditional wayfinding as well as Arawai’s tourism operation.  More

Home  |  Waka hourua |  Pacific Waka  |  Wayfinding  |  Migration