There is a rich tradition of canoe-building in the Pacific with a wide range of styles and sizes of waka, (vaka in the Cook Islands and Tokelau, va’a in Samoa and French Polynesia, wa’a in Hawai’i, and bangkha in the Philippines).
The key elements of construction are present in the simplest of outrigger canoes like the one from Atiu - hollowed out logs, planking/strakes, two hulls, cross-beams and lashing.
Kanak sailing canoe
Fijian drua
Solomon Islands Lisi
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
Kiribati fishing canoe (Tarawa)
Click here to email us. Copyright Arawai Ltd. All rights reserved
Home | Maori waka | Te Aurere | Wayfinding | Migration
