THE PROPOSAL OF 1974
Of all the items I have collected over the years related to Hokule'a and its voyages, none is as historically significant as the
"Proposal for an Experimental Voyage Between Hawaii and Tahiti," written in 1974. I will share a few pages from this document.
The proposal outlines the dream of several individuals:
- Herb Kawainui Kane
- Ben Finney
- Tommy Holmes
- August Yee
- Larry Burkhalter
- Kala Kukea
Their vision was to build a replica of an ancient Polynesian voyaging canoe and conduct a round-trip voyage between Hawaii and Tahiti during the U.S. Bicentennial Year in 1976.
These men could not have envisioned that their canoe would one day circumnavigate the globe and become an object of admiration worldwide. They could not have foreseen that Hokule'a would be at the root of a Hawaiian, Polynesian, and even Micronesian cultural renaissance. No, they could not have imagined that in 2025 there would be a 50-year celebration of Hokule'a's journey.
Hokule'a has become a symbol of Polynesian culture and a promoter of how to care for our oceans and our planet.
Page 1 of the Proposal in which the voyage to Tahiti and back to Hawaii is charted.
Introduction - Historical and Cultural Background , Pag2 of 30
1974, The Year of the Canoe. Page 3 of 30
1975, The Year of the men: testing and training. Page 4 of 30
1976, The Year of the Voyage. Page 5 of 30
Attachments . Page 6 of 30
Budget and Funds Source, page 7 of 30
Monetary contributions, page 8 of 30
The rebirth of Polynesian voyaging began with a blueprint and a dream, described in THE PROPOSAL. This gallery preserves the foundational history of HOKULE’A ‘S historic 1976 voyage through a few authentic documents and the first vessel designs that made the impossible possible.
The painting was commissioned for the POLYNESIAN VOYAGING SOCIETY to help revive the art of wayfinding and rebuild Hawaiian cultural pride.
The poster commemorates the landmark 1976 maiden voyage of the HOKULE’A from Hawaii to Tahiti.
The poster was graciously offered to me by Dave Bell.
Promotional still for a documentary on PBS. This image depicts the Hokule’a during early sea trials in Hawaiian waters.
Promotional still for a documentary on PBS.
This is a commemorative cover from the 1976 HOKULE’A voyage between Hawaii and Tahiti, issues by the Hawaiian Philatelic Society.
The cover features a stamp from the French Polynesia (catalog #C112) depicting the Hokule’a canoe.
It is postmarked from Papeete, Tahiti, dated June 15, 1976.
The cover also appears to be signed by Kawika Kapahulehua, the captain of the 1976 voyage.
https://shawnyoung.com/writing/kawika-kapahulehua-hokulea-biography.php
This item is a FIRST DAY COVER from the Polynesian Voyaging Society commemorating the 1976 voyage of the Hokule’a canoe from Hawaii to Tahiti.
The cover features a 50 Polynesian Franc stamp issued by French Polynesia to mark the event.
It is postmarked in Papeete, Tahiti, on July 7, 1976, during the canoe’s arrival.
Vintage computer punch card issued as a souvenir to commemorate the 1976 voyage of the Hokule’a from Hawaii to Tahiti.
The cards were sold for $ 3.00 to help fund the voyage and the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
This 1976 commemorative cover was produced by the Hawaiian Philatelic Society to mark the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s bicentennial voyage of the Hokule’a canoe.
The cover features a postmark from Waikiki Station, Honolulu, dated July 26, 1976.
Some versions of this cover are signed by the ship’s captain, Kawika Kapahulehua.
This document describes the Polynesian Voyaging Society, a non-profit organization focused on Polynesian voyaging history.
It lists the society’s board of directors and advisors.
The society is best known for sailing the Hokule’a.
This document outlines the goals of the Polynesian Voyaging Society for revitalizing traditional wayfinding techniques.
It details a plan to construct a traditional double-hulled voyaging canoe to prove that ancestors intentionally explored and settled the Pacific.
The text describes the need to raise funds for materials, transportation, and public education.
The overall mission aims to preserve and celebrate Hawaiian heritage by reversing the loss of these ancient skills.
Blueprint for a Hawaiian double-hulled voyaging canoe.
The plan show detailed structural views including a transverse section (cross-section) of the hull and longitudinal section (side-view) of the hull.
This document is a Sail plan for a “WA’A KAULUA” or Hawaiian double-hull canoe redrawn by Richard Rhodes based on the final conceptual design of Hokule’a by Herb Kawainui Kane.
Technical drawings of a Hawaiian double-hulled voyaging canoe, showing multiple views including side-profile and top-down plan view.
The drawing details the structure and layout of a two-masted canoe. It includes a scale bar to indicate dimensions, suggesting it is a functional plan for construction.
This image features the lines and arrangment for Hokule’a.
The plan includes a sheer view (side profile) and a plan view (top-down perspective) detailing the hull structure..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_Triangle
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in common, including linguistic relations, cultural practices, and traditional beliefs. In centuries past, they had a strong shared tradition of sailing and using stars to navigate.
Throughout Polynesia and Oceania in general, canoes have been, and in some cases still are, a primary means of transportation between islands. They also serve as an essential method for fishing along the shores. Some canoes were specifically designed to accommodate a large number of warriors for the purpose of waging war and conquering other islands. The size and construction of canoes were greatly influenced by the materials available on each particular island. For example, Hawaii was able to build large voyaging or war canoes using the renowned Koa tree. Meanwhile, the Māori in New Zealand constructed war canoes, known as "Waka Taua," that could be up to 130 feet long, utilizing the massive Kauri or Totara trees. While most canoes, regardless of size, were dugouts, some, particularly in Samoa , were built using plank construction.
Over the last 30 years, I have compiled a list of traditional Oceanic canoes, including full-size examples, models, representations in prints and paintings, both ancient and contemporary, with significant cultural, historical, and maritime importance, that I will organize geographically by Island, archipelago, and atoll
However, I would also like this section of my website to serve an educational purpose. Many of us who have never sailed across the vastness of the Pacific Ocean may take some time to locate, let's say, Tonga or Samoa on a world map, and even much more to find Tobi or Nukuoro atoll. Therefore, I added links to locate the island or atoll and to read about its geography, history, language, and the culture of its inhabitants, as they relate to the illustrated canoe. Same for the many naturalists, ethnographers, navigators, explorers, and drafters who contributed to our understanding of the multitude of canoe types across Oceania.
1880's Hawaiians in Outrigger Boats Waipi'o Valley Maui.
This model of an outrigger canoe, fitted with a European sprit sail, resembles closely that of Hawaiian fishing canoe, and this is the reason I included this model into the Category of Polynesian canoes.
This is an early 20th-century photograph. Notice that the hulls of the canoes are darker than the tops. This difference in color may be due to the hulls being carved from Koa wood, while the gunnels and tops are made from a lighter-colored wood, such as Ahakea.
Small Hawaiian canoe model
A picture daring back towards 1915 showing a Hawaiian outrigger canoe fitted with a sprit sail. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel in the distance
Small , old canoe model. Iakos and ama look to be on the wrong side.
Hawaiian double hull sailing canoe
Hawaiian fishing canoe with striped sail I built in 2008 for the Kahala Hotel & Resort.
Hawaiian double-hull canoe with crab claw sail
Beautiful model canoe
Hawaiian model canoe
I created this model many years ago for a customer who wanted to use it as a decoration on his cruising boat.
This is an 18 inch long scale model of Hokule’a with striped sails I built 8 years ago for the Four Seasons Hotel Resort in Lana’i, Hawaii.
Scale model of Hokule’a with striped sails I built years ago to adorn the saloon of a yacht moored in Monaco.
Those 2 canoes were auctioned off in Waikiki some years ago , one Hawaiian, the second Samoan.
Hawaiian outrigger canoe
A beautiful old postcard showing canoes along the Waiakea river, Hilo, Hawaii.
Auctioned canoes in Honolulu, Hawaiian and Samoan
Showing a 12 inch long Hawaiian Fishing canoe model by F.P.
18 inch Opelu canoe with fishing spears by Francis Pimmel
A 12 inch long scale model of Hokule’a in its showcase. Built by F.P.
12 inch long scale model of Hokule’a .
An early postcard showing paddlers along the Honolulu Harbor.
Canoes of the Sandwich Islands, the rowers masked. A double canoe with an upright lateen sail holding nine rowers wearing gourd helmets, and one helmeted figure holding a carved idol. The shoreline in the background represents the north-west side of Kealakekua Bay. A drawing made by John Webber in the country visited by Captain James Cook in his first voyage 1768-1771.
British explorer Captain James Cook named the Hawaiian Islands the "Sandwich Islands" in 1778. He chose the name in honor of his patron, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, who served as the First Lord of the Admiralty and was the primary financial sponsor of Cook's voyages.
John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich, is also the historical figure credited with popularizing the modern, portable meal in which meat is placed between two slices of bread, earning it the name "sandwich".
Native Hawaiian pushing his canoe onto the shore. Postcard ca 1910
The Hawai’iloa voyaging canoe. In 1995, Hawaiʻiloa sailed her maiden voyage to Tahiti, Raʻiatea, and Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands in company with Hōkūleʻa and a third canoe from Hawaiʻi called Makaliʻi together with two canoes from Rarotonga: Te ʻAu Tonga and Takitumu, and the canoe Te ʻAurere, from New Zealand.
Native Hawaiian coming to shore. Early 20th C. post card
https://worldwidevoyage.hokulea.com/vessels/hikianalia. Photo: The Orange County Register
Hawaiian outrigger with sprit sail. Earl 20th C. post card
The Namahoe canoe in Kaui. Dreamstime photo.
Flying the ama. Early 20th C. photo.
The MO'OKIHA O PI’ILANI or The Secret of Pi’ilani. Maui
Mo‘okiha O Pi‘ilani is a 62′ wa‘akaulua, a large, double-hull transoceanic voyaging canoe that joins the likes of the Hōkūleʻaand Hikianalia. It was launched on July 11, 2014 at Mala Wharf, Lahaina after 18 years of construction lead by Hui O Wa‘a Kaulua with the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. It was built to cross oceans manned by a crew that lives and studies the way of Polynesian voyaging, a unique form of navigation that depends not on sextants or compasses, but solely on elements of the spiritual and natural world. These included the sun, moon, stars, clouds, ocean currents, birds, and more. Often times, the navigator relied on a “gut feeling” that could only be acquired through years of experience on the canoe. MAUI OCEAN CENTER.
The Mo’olele or the Flying Lizard. I built this model some years ago using my own set of line drawings.
https://kawaiola.news/moomeheu/moolelo/remembering-moolele-o-lahaina/
Original 1920 photograph about Hawaiian canoes
1920 Postcard
MAKALI’I Voyaging canoe. Big Island
https://www.nakalaiwaa.org
Native on canoe, Makahuena, Kauai, Hawaii
Showing the canoe below the halau, or hale wa’a. The halau is an open sided structure whereby the hale wa’a is a canoe house.
I have always regarded this canoe, with its elegant lines, as one of the most beautiful Polynesian fishing canoes. It is not a dugout; it is entirely built from planks. This picture was taken in 1914.
Over the last six years, I have created two large-scale models of this vessel.
Samoan VA’AALO or bonito fishing canoe from the Te-Papa Tongarewa collections, Museum of New Zealand. The Va’aalo were entirely plank built.
Visit THE GALLERY to peruse a scale model I built a few years ago for a collector.
This is a model of a Samoan canoe of the type “Soatau” I made many years ago. Notice the curved figurhead on which cowry shells were tied.
Several years ago, I created this very large scale model of the Samoan bonito canoe, entirely plank-built and crafted from Koa wood. This model is now displayed in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel Resort at Manale Bay, Lana'i, Hawaii.
Model of a four -boom sailing “soatau” I built many years ago. Notice the curved figurehead at the fore decking. Cowry shells used to be tied to the figurehead.
A Samoan canoe model in the Vatican Museums. The canoe has the shape of an “amatasi” type, whereby an amatasi is equipped with only 7 beams and not 8.
TE-PAPA COLLECTIONS. A va’a alo type Samoan fishing canoe model
Beautiful early 20c picture of a Samoan Va’aalo.
Model canoe replicating a type seen on the island of Tutuila.
A Samoan double hull voyaging canoe of the type “Alia”. It is the Samoan version of the Fiji Ndrua.
The Fiji Drua and Samoan 'Alia are essentially the same type of large, double-hulled voyaging canoe (also known as kalia in Tonga), representing the pinnacle of Pacific naval architecture, distinguished mainly by name and regional use, though both featured unequal hulls, Micronesian lateen sails, and the ability to "shunt" rather than tack for direction. The primary difference lies in their cultural context, with the 'Alia being Samoa's adaptation of the Fijian drua design, used for trade, exploration, and warfare, sometimes even carrying cannons
Te-Papa Collections. Samoan Va’aalo fishing canoe
Te-Papa Collections.
Small fishing canoe model of the type Va’a alo.
An early 20th Century postcard illustrating a Samoan Va’a alo fishing canoe.
Samoan canoe model
The Fautasi race . This is a traditional Samoan canoe race that takes place on Flag Day, a national holiday in American Samoan. The canoe is actually a derivative , in shape and form, from the early whaling boats. These boats were long and narrow, with sharp ends.
A Va’aalo canoe model in the collection of Francis Pimmel
Samoan Fisherman sitting in his Va’aalo canoe
A Va’a alo canoe on the left and a Tokelau fishing canoe vaka on the right.
Beautifully preserved va’a alo canoe.
A Va’a alo at display in the Tradewinds Hotel, Tutuila.
Native Samoan aboard a Va’a alo fishing canoe
A beautifully preserved Va’ a alo in the Tradewinds Hotel, Tituila, Samoa
Model canoe from the island of Tutuila
Va’a alo canoe model.
Samoan Voyaging canoe by Francis Pimmel. Property of the Four Seasons Hotel Resort, Lana'i. On display in the lobby of the Resort.
Samoan canoe of the type Kalia. Double-hulled canoes were introduced to Samoa in the 19th century due to Tongan influence. They are identical in every way to Tongan double-hulled canoes, which were themselves modeled after the Fijian Dru canoe. The picture is illustrating the famous Alia canoe RAMARAMA.
Samoan Paopao type model canoe.
Va’a alo model canoe
Gaualofa voyaging canoe
Samoan canoe model with 5 beams usually only to be seen on the “Iatolima” with sail.
The stern of the Gaualofa voyaging canoe
The bow of the Gaualofa voyaging canoe
Small Samoan va’a alo model canoe
Canoe in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. It has a front top very similar to those in Hawaii. Note the carvings along the hull.
Te-Papa Collections. Cook islands canoe
A double-hulled Cook Island canoe, of which each hull is a scaled-down reconstruction of the single life-size hull in possession of the Te Papa museum of New Zealand.
This is a small double-hull canoe from the island of Atiu. The small canoes of the Cook Islands share many similarities with Hawaiian fishing canoes, particularly in their shapes, which feature a raised stern and a lower bow piece, known as the manu, at the front. Most notably, the Cook Islanders used wood from the breadfruit tree to construct their canoes.
TePapa_Vaka-canoe Collection
A double hulled Cook Islands voyaging canoe model built by Francis Pimmel some years ago. Now in private collection.
Top view of the “Manihiki” canoe model at the Horniman Museum, London
Te Papa_Vaka-canoe-Auau Collection
Manihiki canoe, 4.68 meter long, 61 cm wide. Illustrated in Hadden and Hornell, “Canoes of Oceania”, p. 177-8, figs. 113 and 114.
This appears to be the canoe purchased by the British Museum in 1907. A letter from Capt. Percy Atkin (in the Department of Prehistory and Europe) dated 20 July 1907 says: “The canoe was made by the people of Rakahanga…it is built of the only three woods grown in the island.
This particular model of a Manihiki canoe from the Cook Islands is at the Horniman Museum, London. I know of 4 more models, one at the Scottish Royal Museum, one at the Peabody Museum, Salem , the third at Te Papa Colletions,, NZ., and finally the forth at the Vatican Museums which I have visited in May 2025.
Side view of the “Manihiki” canoe model
Front view of the Manihiki canoe model at the Horniman Museum, London.
Canoe model, Manihiki Atoll
Manihiki atoll model canoe. 6 7/8 × 35 inches. Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Morton D.
Manihiki canoe model , Vatican Collection. Notice the cross in the sail. It is actually labelled as a Tahitian canoe in the Vatican Museum.
The Te-Au-O-Tonga, anchored in the Tahitian capital Papeete
Pukapuka sailing canoe by Herb Kawainui Kane
MAIRE NUI VOYAGING CANOE
In 1992, vaka building and voyaging experienced a resurgence in the Cook Islands when the country hosted the sixth Festival of Pacific Arts. Many southern group islands built vaka and sailed them to Rarotonga for the opening of the festival in October 1992.
The Mauke canoe, Maire Nui, is pictured above under sail in an atmospheric photograph by Ewan Smith.
On its 240km journey from Mauke it broke a boom, which halved the speed of travel to about 4 knots, but the boat arrived safely with a happy, although exhausted crew.
After the festival the Maire Nui languished in a tin shed at the old Kia Orana Food Factory until the government property corporation decided it needed the shed for other purposes. The vaka, by now somewhat dilapidated was moved outside.
The library and Mr T (Tetini Pekepo) wanted to build a lean-to in the library’s garden area and teach local youth to renovate and then sail the boat, but no funding was available. Maire Nui was relocated to Mr T’s property where he works on it when he has time.
Cook Islands Voyaging Society.
MARUMARU ATUA.
A crowd admiring a Maori war canoe. An illustration dated 1866
A picture dated 1880 showing a Maori war canoe of the type “Waka Pitau”.
New-Zealand
Auckland Harbor Regatta by Frederick Rice Stack ( steel engraving)
New-Zealand Maori war canoe “waka-taua” by James-Cook, copper engraving 1774, but hand colored at a later date.
An illustration by by Dumont D'Urville 1841, showing Maori canoes of the type “Waka Tete” or fishing canoes approaching a sailing ship.
Māori war canoe (steel engraving)
A Maori war canoe by Parkinson Sydney.
1830 steel engraving of a Maori war canoe.
Historical lithograph titled “Vue du Cap Wangari, Nouvelle Zelande, depicting a view of Cape Wangatrei in the Bay of Islands, New-Zealand, with Maoris rowing a war canoe.
A “waka Taua” canoe model created by Volker Thomas. L: 230 cm, L: 90.6 inch
This is a “waka tete”, a Maori fishing canoe . The figurehead at the bow of the canoe is a rudely carved representation of a human face sticking out the tongue. The representation of a human body is sitting at the stern of the canoe.
Showing the ornamental carved stern of the canoe or “Tau-rapa”
Showing the ornamental bow of the canoe or “ Tau-ihu”
Pirogue de guerre Wangari, New-Zealand
Wangari war canoe model
A waka pitau from New Zealand. Te-papa Museum.
A beautiful 52 inch long model of a Maori war canoe built towards 1835.
In Māori tradition, Kupe, a legendary explorer, is said to have discovered New Zealand using his voyaging canoe, the Matawhaorua. Kupe, with his wife, family, and crew, traveled from their ancestral homeland of Hawaiki, using stars and ocean currents for navigation. The Matawhaorua was a double-hulled canoe, also known as a waka hourua. The above illustrated canoe is actually a Tahitian Tipairua.
It is strange to me why the Tapa Tongarewa Museum is using a Tipairua canoe as an example of how the Matawhaorua may have looked.
Maquette de bateau, Pirogue de la baie de Charaka, Nouvelle-Zélande
Natives carrying a canoe into the sea. A ship can be seen in the distance. B.L.
Kororareka as painted by Augustus Earle
Haunui voyaging canoe
Two Maoris standing by the elevated sternpost or “TAURAPA” of a WAKA TAUA in 1842.. Artist/creator: Sinclair, Alexander; Clarke, Cuthbert; Merrett, J. British Library
Traditional Maori waka Haunui, double-hulled canoe in the Te-Papa Tongarewa Museum, Wellington, New-Zealand. Illustration by Pierre André Leclercq.
The Waka hourua “Te Aurere Iti” is a voyaging canoe model replicating the “TeAurere”which sailed to Rarotonga in 1992 and to Tahiti and Hawaii in 1995. The canoe was moored at Pier 41 in 1995. It is important to mention Sir Hector Busby when it is about Te Aurere,
New Zealand War Canoe. Waka Taua, Maori James Cook Print 1774. Original engraving in black and white.
Te Aurere canoe
Nouvelle Zélande. Pilogue de l anse de l'Astrolabe. (Baie tasman.), Pirogue du canal de l'Astrolabe.
By Dumont d'Urville, Jules-Sébastien-César, 1790-1842 (Author)
From the collections “Voyage de la corvette l'Astrolabe exécuté par ordre du roi: pendant les années 1826-1827-1828-1829”
Who was Jules Dumont D’Urville ?
A plate containing details of canoes of Tolaga and Bream Bays, New Zealand, including whole views from above and the side, showing a triangular sail, a close-up of a sail, carvings from sterns and prows.
In Dumont d'Urville, Jules Sebastien Cesar, 1790-1842: Voyage de la corvette l'Astrolabe execute pendant les annees 1826, 1827, 1828 et 1829. Atlas historique. Paris, Tastu, 1833.
A waka Taua or war canoe model, late 19thC, 18.5 × 7.5 × 76 inches. Saint Louis Art Museum
Titled 'View of Charlotte sound in New Zealand, by Clevely and Jukes.' in the Catalogue of Maps, Prints, Drawings, etc, forming the geographical and topographical collection attached to the Library of his late Majesty King George the third, etc, London, 1829 ; View of Queen Charlotte sound, two large crowded British ships at anchor in the calm bay with several boats and outrigger canoes on the water, longhouses and canoes on the shore amongst palms and other exotic trees, an officer amongst a group of Maori to the right foreground with a sailor saluting and two others folding a sail and another seated on the hillock to the right, a group of Maori working on a canoe to the left ; part of a series of South Seas views, published by Thomas Martyn. British Library
MARQUESAN CANOE hull ornamented with incised patterns as shown in this model. The fore end piece is often carved with a human face whereby the end piece is bearing a recumbent tiki figure.
19 C canoe model
The models is graced with a tiki standing at the stern of the model. I was commissioned to build some identical models for The Four Seasons Hotel Resort Suites, Lana’i, Hawaii.
A 38 inch long model of a double-hulled Marquesan Voyaging canoe built by Francis Pimmel.
A carved tiki sitting at the stern of one of my models.
The remains of a double-hulled Marquesan canoe in 1910
Single hull Marquesan canoe model by Francis Pimmel
Miniature de pirogue à balancier de Niue MNM
Te Papa collections. The shape of the Niu island canoes is similar to the one of Tuvalu
Niue Island Polynesia, 19eme siecle, 21 inches long
Formerly Savage Island. 19C model. 25 inches long.
An entirely planked Tipairua canoe model built by the author. The model now belongs to a large private canoe collection in Los Angeles
Tahitian fishing canoe equipped with a sprit sail.
Small fishing canoe of the type “ Pu Hoe”
Early 20th Century postcard showing outrigger canoe with sprit sail.
A First-day cover ( 16 December 1976) issued in Papeete showing a Raiatea canoe.
A Sailing Canoe of Otaheite by John Webber. Published in 1792. Four figures in a boat, two rowing in the stern, a woman standing at the mast, to which is secured a tall, narrow sail with a long tassel flying from the top, with another ship in the background to right, near a mountain.
Otaheite canoe. Sketches and colored drawings made by J. Webber, during Captain Cook's third voyage, in 1776-1780,
Society islands. “A view of the islands of Otaheite with several vessels of that nation.” Sketch drawn during Capt. Cook first voyage. Engraved by E. Rooker.
The island of Otahiete bearing S.E. distant one league. Painted by William Hodges and engraved by W. Watts. In the foreground, two double canoes, one with a cabin. Several other sailing vessels in the bay.
Illustration of three different Pacific canoe style observed by Bougainville at: Tahiti, Choiseul (one of Solomon Islands) and Navigators Islands (Samoa). 1771
This is another watercolor by Capt. Henry Byam Martin, drawn around 1846-47.
The raised stern of this vessel must have inspired the builders of Hikianalia and those other identical double-hulled contemporary voyaging canoes.
A very large “Kalia” type canoe which is the Tongan adaptation of the drua or double-hulled Fijian voyaging canoe.
The Tongan Kalia
A beautiful model of the ancient double hulled Tongan voyaging canoe “TONGIAKI’. This type canoe was very similar to the Samoan “Va’a tele” and the Fiji Drua.
A top view of the "Tongiaki" canoe model highlights its similarities with the Fijian drua.
Maquette de bateau, Vaca, pirogue à balancier des îles Tonga MNM
A 19th century steel plate showing a “Tongiaki” canoe
Sailing canoe of Tonga Tabu [formerly New Amsterdam]. June 1774. Drawn in Indian ink, by William. Hodges, during the second voyage of Capt. Cook, in 1772-1774.,
A Tongiaki or traditional Tongan double-hulled canoe used for long distance voyaging. The “Tongiaki “ was eventually replaced by the “Kalia”, another double-hulled canoe that incorporated Fijian design elements.
A Tongan Kalia by Herb Kawainui Kane
Tongan Kalia
Drua and Kalia Design. Kalia is the Tongan adaptation of the Fiji drua.. Kalia stands for double-hulled canoe in Tongan language.
Showing the typical canoe prow of a Tokelau vaka . Kanava trees were used to build those canoes.
Vaka model (outrigger canoe) from the Te Papa Collections.
A pahi sailing canoe model in the TE-PAPA collections. Apparently there is also a model at the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, as well as in the Louvre, Paris.
Those double-hulled voyaging canoes were long by 40 feet with a beam of 11 feet. The canoe could take up to 16 people on board.
A pahi model.
A Pahi model.
Pahi Drawing by Admiral Paris
Maquette de bateau, Pirogue double des îles Tuamotou MNM
Tuvalu canoe. Te-Papa collections.
This is a model canoe replicating a Tuvalu canoe. of the type “Paopao”.
TePapa_Vaka-model-outrigger
A Niutao island canoe on exhibit at the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin-Dahlem.
Canoe model
Formerly “Ellice” Island. Fishing canoe vaka alo from Nui island
Showing the typical stern end section of the Funafuti canoes. Tuvalu canoes were traditionally plank built sewn together with coconut fiber rope
Hard to localize but looks to be from Vaitupu which is an atoll in Tuvalu
Fishing canoe vaka alo from the central island NUI
Fishing canoe vaka alo from the northern islands like Nanumanga and Niutao
A northern canoe.
Line drawings and tGerman terminology of the various canoe parts
19C photo of a Tuvalu canoe in Funafut
Fishing canoe “Vaka Alo”
Small Futuna Island canoe model
19th Century lithography illustrating canoes from Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia
Te’Enana canoe model, late 19C, 5 ¼ x 3 11/16 × 33 ¾ inches . Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Morton D.
Illustration by Jules Dumont D’Urville showing New-Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Sulawesi canoes
Hawaiian fishermen in canoe. Photographic postcard, published by Hilo Drug Co. , Hilo, Hawaii
Antique photograph of people from islands in the Caribbean and in the Pacific Ocean; Cuba, Hawaii, Philippines and others: Wainae, Oahu, Hawaii
Antique photograph of people from island of Hawaii
Antic photo showing Hawaiian in a racing canoe.
Vintage engraving showing a view of Tahiti with native pirogues. 19th Century
As I mentioned in my introduction on the Page POLYNESIAN CANOES, there will come a time when I list them under the island, atoll, or archipelago to which they belong, and I will start with Hawaii. There are, of course, hundreds and hundreds of pictures illustrating Hawaiian canoes, but I will only list some of them for their historical significance, functional design, and cultural revival.
17th-century copper etching of a Hawaiian double-hulled voyaging canoe.
Canoe of the Sandwich Islands, the rowers masked by John Webber, c. 1778
Who was John Webber ?
Hawaiian double canoe with crab claw sail. Archives Collection Te Papa. From a plate in Captain Cook's voyages.
Canoes of the Sandwich Islands, the rowers masked. A double canoe with an upright lateen sail holding nine rowers wearing gourd helmets, and one helmeted figure holding a carved idol. The shoreline in the background represents the north-west side of Kealakekua Bay. John Webber made pictures of this event in 1779 during Cook's third voyage.
Hawaii was named the Sandwich Islands by British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778. He named the archipelago to honor his patron, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, who served as the First Lord of the British Admiralty and helped fund his expeditions.
The Earl of Sandwich was a prominent figure in British history—and yes, he is the same nobleman famously credited with popularizing the modern sandwich. Cook routinely named newly discovered geographic locations after his financial and political benefactors.
While European mapmakers and foreign governments widely adopted the name "Sandwich Islands" for over 50 years, it was never accepted by the Native Hawaiian people or local leadership. Over time, as European and American influence in the region grew, the archipelago took on its traditional name, derived from the largest island, Hawaiʻi
King Kamehameha's canoe, from a drawing by Admiral Paris.
Who is Admiral Paris ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois-Edmond_P%C3%A2ris
1913 magic lantern slide showing a Hawaiian pushing his outrigger to sea.
Hawaiian war canoe by Herb Kawainui Kane
Hawaiian war canoes, historically known as waʻa peleleu, were massive, deep, and wide double-hulled vessels built to transport warriors, weapons, and provisions during inter-island conflicts. These formidable catamarans played a critical role in the unification of the Hawaiian Islands, most notably utilized by Kamehameha I during his military campaigns between 1796 and 1801. Unlike the highly decorated canoes found in other parts of Polynesia, the Hawaiian war canoe was heavily streamlined and engineered for maximum speed, stability, and open-ocean survival. Ulukau.org.
Who is Herb Kawainui Kane ?
c.1880 albumen photograph showing Hawaiian in outrigger canoe , Waipi’o Valley, Maui
A photo dating back to the beginning of the 20th century showing a native paddling along the shore.
Original c.1920 photograph of a Hawaiian canoe padler.
Hawaiian double-hull canoe model in the Musee de la Marine, Paris, made in France under supervision of Admiral F.E. Paris.
Who was Admiral Paris ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois-Edmond_P%C3%A2ris
The Hahalualele voyaging canoe or the Flying Manta Ray. Big Island
Photographic postcard 1916-1922
This image depicts a model of Queen Kapi’olani canoe, also known as “Na mea makamae o Hawaii” having been sent to the Smithsonian in 1888.
c.1920 Photographic postcard. The scene depicts traditional outrigger equipped with a sprit sail with the Royal Hotel visible in the background.
1919 photographic postcard featuring an outrigger with sprit sail on the beach near what looks the Outrigger Canoe Clubhouse
A beautiful double hull canoe model. Maker unknown.
c. 1920 photographic postcard of a Hawaiian using a fishing spear.
ca. 1920 photographic postcard illustrating a Hawaiian outrigger canoes known as wa’a kaukahi, equipped with a Western-style sprit sail.
ca. 1890 photographic image of a Hawaiian fisherman in a malo and ahu la’i
Mo’olele canoe model
The canoe house or Hale Wa’a at Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, Big Island Hawaii.
The Hawaiʻiloa is a historic 57-foot traditional double-hulled voyaging canoe built between 1991 and 1994 by the Polynesian Voyaging Society. Named after the legendary Polynesian navigator, she was designed for deep-ocean voyaging and sails using traditional celestial navigation.
Hikianalia is a traditional Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe and the official sister vessel to the famous Hōkūleʻa. Built in New Zealand in 2012, she is named after the companion star to Hōkūleʻa. While Hōkūleʻa relies solely on the wind, Hikianalia is equipped with zero-emission electric motors powered by solar panels to serve as a high-tech escort and safety vessel. She also functions as a floating classroom, communications hub, and a platform for marine science
The Iosepa is a 57-foot, double-hulled traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe housed at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Lāʻie, Oʻahu. Built in 2001, the all-wood vessel serves as a "floating classroom" for Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii) students to study ancient celestial navigation, seamanship, and Polynesian history
Rare Magic lantern slide showing Hawaiian pushing a large canoe to sea.
Maui’s double hulled sailing canoe, Mo’olele, was lost in the Lahaina fires last August. The 42 foot Mo’olele, which means flying lizard. She was built in Lahaina and sailed throughout the Hawaiian Islands for nearly 50 years.Mo’olele. Photo credit to Hui O Wa’a Kaulua.
Moʻokiha O Piʻilani. Photo by Sue Hudelson
This photograph, titled Hawaiian Canoe, Kaneohe Bay, was captured by A.R. Gurrey Jr. around 1915.
AI Overview
Hawaiʻiloa is a historically significant, double-hulled voyaging canoe built by the Polynesian Voyaging Society in the early 1990s. Named after the legendary voyager who discovered the Hawaiian Islands, it was originally designed to use traditional materials. Its construction catalyzed an environmental and cultural exchange between Native Hawaiians and Alaska Natives.
Key Facts and Background
Meaning: Named after the legendary Polynesian navigator and first discoverer of Hawaiʻi.
Construction: Built between 1991 and 1993 to revitalize the ancient art of canoe building.
The Alaskan Connection: Because there were no longer koa trees large enough in Hawaiʻi to carve its twin hulls, the Sealaska Corporation donated two massive Sitka spruce logs.
Symbolism: The gift of the spruce logs sparked a cultural bridge between Hawaiians and Tlingit communities in Alaska. It also highlighted the importance of global forest conservation and reforestation.
Restoration: After rotting and spending over a decade on land, the canoe was lovingly restored by volunteers and returned to the ocean in 2014
Hokule'a cruises past Chinaman's in 1992. In 2010 I acquired a photo album on E-bay, in which the above iconic page was included.
In 1992, the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hōkūle'a sailed from Hawai'i to Tahiti, and then on to the Cook Islands as part of the "No Nā Mamo" (For the Generations) voyage. The historic journey served to celebrate Pacific voyaging traditions and was a major educational and cultural milestone
Tahiti, largest island of the Îles du Vent (Windward Islands) of the Society Islands, French Polynesia, in the central South Pacific Ocean. Its nearest neighbor is Moorea, 12 miles (20 km) to the northwest. The island of Tahiti consists of two ancient eroded volcanic cones, Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti (the Taiarapu Peninsula), connected by the narrow Isthmus of Taravao. The island, with an area 403 square miles (1,043 square km), accounts for almost one-third of the total land area of French Polynesia. Papeete, on Tahiti’s northwestern coast, is the capital and administrative center of French Polynesia. The Tahitian village of Teahupo’o is the site of the surfing competition in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
18th-century engraving titled Vue de l’isle d’Otahiti et de plusieurs pirogues. The artwork depicts Matavai Bay in Tahiti, featuring ytaditional Polynesian vessels known as ivahahs (short trip canoes) and pahies (long voyage canoes)
Painting. Beach of Raiatea by Coulon, around 1906.
Titled “Cleopatra’s barge: a free translation, Utaroa, 27th October, 1846” by Capt. Henry Byam Martin while being stationed in Tahiti.
Utaroa is a community on Raiatea, one of the Society Islands.
Who is Capt. Henry Byam Martin ?
This is another watercolor by Capt. Henry Byam Martin, drawn around 1846-47.
The raised stern of this vessel must have inspired the builders of Hikianalia and those other identical double-hulled contemporary voyaging canoes.
1792 engraving SOUTH SEA Society Islands w VIEW of OTAHEITE
Canoe of Utaheite. Society Islands. Sketch drawn during Capt. James Cook first voyage.
Tipairua voyaging canoe
A View of Matavai Bay in the Island of Otaheite Tahiti, William Hodges, 1744–1797, British, 1776, Oil on canvas. (Photo by: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Society islands. Canoes of Utaheite. Sketch drawn by Alexander Buchan in the countries visited by James Cook on his first voyage.
Society islands. “A view of the islands of Otaheite with several vessels of that nation.” Sketch drawn during Capt. Cook first voyage. Engraved by E. Rooker.
John Webber,, R.A. (1751-1793) Aquatint engraving with original hand color. Plate 3. A Sailing Canoe of Otaheite by John Webber. Published in 1792. Four figures in a boat, two rowing in the stern, a woman standing at the mast, to which is secured a tall, narrow sail with a long tassel flying from the top, with another ship in the background to the right, near a mountain.
Who was John Webber ?
The Fa’afaite voyaging canoe.
Otaheite canoe. Sketches and colored drawings made by J. Webber, during Captain Cook's third voyage, in 1776-1780,
Notice the raised stern section of the canoe, which seems to have inspired the one on the Hikianalia.
TE-PAPA COLLECTIONS. _Model Double-Hulled Canoe Vaka, Society island.
The island of Otahiete bearing S.E. distant one league. Painted by William Hodges and engraved by W. Watts. In the foreground, two double canoes, one with a cabin. Several other sailing vessels in the Bay
William Anderson - A Pahie engraved by Thomas Milton (1743-1827) 1820
Native throwing spear on bord a “tipai-Hoe”
There is a notable similarity between old Tahitian and Hawaiian outriggers; however, their connection hull to float or ““ama” varies significantly. Both “iako” of the Hawaiian outriggers have a similar shape, while in the Tahitian design, one iako is straight, and the other is highly curved.
Early twenty century photo of a Tahitian racing canoe. Note the two different types of attachment iako to ama.
Tahitian outrigger with sprit sail.
Society islands. “A view of the islands of Otaheite with several vessels of that nation.” Sketch drawn during Capt. Cook first voyage. Engraved by E. Rooker.
Early 20th Century postcard showing outrigger canoe with sprit sail.
Tahitian Tipairua
A fully planked canoe model with the bow and stern extremities decorated with a tiki. The tikis should be looking inside the canoe.
1792 historical sketch of Tahitian canoes.
Tahitian fishing canoe. View in front of the Clement Lindley Wragg's bungalow, Patutoa, Tahiti
Colored drawings of a Tahitian Tipairua canoe made by J. Webber, during Captain Cook's third voyage, in 1776-1780,
Illustration of three different Pacific canoe style observed by Bougainville at: Tahiti, Choiseul (one of Solomon Islands) and Navigators Islands (Samoa). 1771
In 1768, Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729–1811) was a French admiral and explorer leading the first French expedition to circumnavigate the globe (1766–1769). During his 1768 Pacific voyage, he charted parts of the Solomon Islands (including the island now named after him), reached Tahiti, and cataloged the bougainvillea vine
The illustration depicts a sacred Tahitian voyaging canoe, specifically an Epharre Noa (House of God). This drawing is historically significant, likely originating from the voyages of Captain James Cook in the late 18th century, and documents the religious practices and maritime engineering of Otaheite (Tahiti)
Key Features and Descriptions
The drawing includes a detailed legend (A-H) identifying the specific components of the vessel and the rirualistic items on board:
A- The Epharre Noa (House of God)
The small thatched structure situated on the deck
B- A place occasionally for the Side of God: A designated area for religious relics.
C- The Morai: Representing a sacred platform or altar area
D- A kind of through called “Eorae” : used for ceremonial purposes
E- The stays or supporters of the Epharre: Structural supports of the sacred house
F- The Offering of Hogs, Fowls, etc: items placed on the altar as sacrifices
G- The Eatua ORO: Referring to the primary deity, ORO, the god of war and fertility.
H- Two Drums: Located on the deck, used to accompany rituals and signal during voyages.
Antique engraving titled “A view of the new discovered island of Ulietea” which depicts a scene from Captain James Cook’s first voyage in 1769. The location shown “Ulietia” is the historical name for the island of Raiatea in French Polynesia.
Watercolor titled “A double canoe with the Eotooa (God) and provisions on the Prow” and was created by George Tobin in 1792.
Who was George Tobin ?
From 1788-90 Tobin was employed in the service of the East India Company, voyaging to Madras and China, and after joining the Tremendous 74, which was fitting out at Deptford but not commissioned during the Spanish Armament of 1790, he was awarded a lieutenant s commission on 14 November.
From 1791-3 he served in Captain William Bligh s second mission to Tahiti aboard the Providence 16, the first mission having been curtailed by the mutiny on the Bounty in 1789. During this voyage he proved his skills as a draughtsman, and he made many excellent sketches and drawings. Upon returning to England in August 1793 his work, also including, charts and comments, was handed over to the Admiralty, and despite many requests in his later years he was never able to retrieve it.
TAHITIAN WAR CANOE BRITANNIA
The Britannia was a traditional Tahitian war canoe observed by Captain James Cook during his voyages in the 18th century. This canoe is notable for its intricate design and construction, reflecting the maritime culture of Tahiti.
Details of the Britannia War Canoe
The Britannia war canoe showcases unique features of Tahitian craftsmanship.
Historical Context — The canoe was documented during Cook's second voyage from 1772 to 1775, highlighting its significance in maritime exploration.
Design Features — The canoe's plan and sectional views reveal its structural design, emphasizing proportions and construction techniques used by Tahitians.
Cultural Significance — War canoes like the Britannia played a crucial role in Tahitian society, used for warfare and ceremonial purposes.
Artistic Representation — Engravings of the canoe, created by artists like William Hodges, provide valuable insights into the aesthetics and functionality of Tahitian canoes.
The Marquesas Islands are a remote, rugged archipelago in French Polynesia. Located 900 miles (1,500 km) northeast of Tahiti, these 12 volcanic islands lack protective lagoons but boast towering cliffs and deep valleys. Only six islands are inhabited, offering adventurous travelers a raw, ancient Polynesian experience.
Marquesas Islands map
Marquesan model canoe at the Bishop Museum, Honolulu
TePapa Collections model vaka touua (sailing Marquesan canoe)
This is a historical illustration titled “ANTIGUAS PIRAGUAS” featuring traditional canoes from the Marquesas islands, New-Guinea, Sumatra and New Zealand.
The artwork was created by Rafael Monleon (1853-1900)
Old Marquesan canoe model.
Small model of a Marquesan voyaging canoe or “Vaka, Va’a, sometimes equipped with a sail.
French Polynesian voyaging canoe sailing near Nuku -Hiva
Old Marquesan canoe model.
The painting of a “Waka Tou’ua” by Herb Kawainui Kane .
Resolution Bay in the Marquesas. Drawn from nature by William Hodges during Capt. James Cook second voyage , and engraved by B.T. Pouncey. Shows two Marquesan men with elaborate head-dresses in a canoe in the foreground, another manned canoe with a triangular sail to the right, two further canoes in the background and Cook's ship the Resolution in a sheltered cove in the rocky headland in the background. Print published by John Hawksworth's in 1776.
Marquesas islands. Titled Vaitahue by Charles-Claude Antiq. 1845-47. Vaitahue is the main village and administrative center of Tahuata, the smallest inhabited island in the Marquesas. Known for its fine bone and wood carvings, as well as being one of the centers for traditional Polynesian tattooing.
Fishing canoe near Nuku-Hiva island.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Eles_Tuamotu-Gambier.
The traditional Tuamotu canoe, known as a Pahi, is an ancient double-hulled sailing vessel uniquely adapted for voyaging and fishing in the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia.
Key Characteristics of the Tuamotu Pahi
Because of the rarity of trees and consequently wood, all the smaller or larger double-hulled canoes were built from stitched, short wooden planks. Some canoes reached 40 t0 50 feet in length with a beam of 11 feet..
A particularity of the smaller Tuamotu fishing canoes was that the “ama” or float of the vessel was placed on the right side (starboard) , contrary to the custom generally followed in Polynesia.
Models of Pahi can be viewed at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the British Museum and the Bishop Museum in Honolulu
The Tuamotu archipelago has a rich maritime history, historically renowned for two main canoe types: the pahi (a large, double-hulled sailing vessel) and the va'a (outrigger canoe). These plank-built vessels were lashed together with coconut fiber and used for deep-sea voyaging, fishing, and atoll-to-atoll travel.
This image is titled “Double canoe of the Tuamotu Islands” and was created by Captain Henry Byam Martin in 1847.
Te Papa Collections Model pahi (sailing canoe from Tuamotu). This item is a 1:35 scale model of a Pahi, a double-hulled sailing canoe from the Tuamotu Archipelago. It was crafted in 2007 by Izzat Design Ltd in New Zealand.
Model of two-masted double hull voyaging canoe from Fagatau, made about 1854. Bishop Museum, Honolulu
Tuamotu canoe model at the British Museum.
According to Beechey, who was one of the first European to visit Gambier Islands in 1825, natives used rafts. Some were 13 to 17 meters long and could carry an average of 20 people (D’Urville says that some could carry 40)
These rafts were simply constructed from a number of large tree trunks, sharpened to a point at the front and decreasing in length from the middle to the edges.
These rafts could sail. They rigged an Oceanic lateen sail.
This engraving depicts a Mangareva raft canoe from the voyage of Frederick William Beechey, likely dating to the early 19th century’
It illustrates indigenous inhabitants of the Gambier islands, or Mangareva, in French Polynesia navigating the sea on a traditional raft.
Who was Frederick William Beechey ?
Sketched by Lieutenant Blondela and engraved by Louis Joseph Masquelier and published in Paris in 1797 in the Atlas du Voyage de la Perouse., depicting an Easter Island canoe.
This image is an engraving tiled “Bateaux a cames de l’ile de Paques (Canoes of Easter Island) by Louis Choris, created around 1823
It illustrates traditional outrigger canoe (waka ama) and a paddle (hoe) used by early inhabitants of Rapa Nui. (Easter Island).
Louis Choris was a painter and naturalist who documented Pacific island culture during his travels in the early 1800s.
Choris' works are now held in public collections by such museums as the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, the Honolulu Museum of Art and the Oakland Museum of California.
The Austral Islands are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia. The population is about 6,300 on almost 150 km2. The capital of the Austral Islands administrative subdivision is Tubuai.
Geographically, they consist of two separate archipelagos, namely, in the northwest, the Tubuai Islands, consisting of the Îles Maria, Rimatara, Rurutu, Tubuai Island, and Raivavae or Raevavae, and in the southeast, the Bass Islands, composed of the main island of Rapa and the small Marotiri.
From ancient times, these islands were in frequent contact with Tahiti. Capt. Cook was thus able to discover Rurutu in 1769 based on the directions of Tupaia, the high priest of Tahiti, who was very knowledgeable in the science of navigation. Unfortunately the old canoes of the Austral Islands have long since disappeared and were only very poorly described by early travelers.
A painting by Herb Kawainui Kane depicting a canoe from Rurutu arriving at Mo’orea, Tahiti.
The drawing of a Rurutu canoe as illustrated in the work of J. Neyret.
Cook Islands map
Geography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronesia#/media/File:Oceania_UN_Geoscheme_-_Map_with_Zones.svg
Micronesia is a region in Oceania that includes approximately 2100 islands, with a total land area of 2,700 km2 (1,000 sq mi), the largest of which is Guam, which covers 582 km2 (225 sq mi). The total ocean area within the perimeter of the islands is 7,400,000 km2 (2,900,000 sq mi).
There are four main island groups in Micronesia:
the Caroline Islands (Federated States of Micronesia and Palau)
the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati)
the Mariana Islands (Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, U.S.)
the Marshall Islands
This does not include the separate island nation of Nauru, along with other distinctly separate islands and smaller island groups.
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago consisting of about 500 small coral islands, north of New Guinea and east of the Philippines. The Carolines consist of two nations: the Federated States of Micronesia, consisting of approximately 600 islands on the eastern side of the chain with Kosrae being the most eastern; and Palau consisting of 250 islands on the western side.
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands, arranged in an approximate north-to-south line. In a geographical sense, the equator serves as the dividing line between the northern Gilbert Islands and the southern Gilbert Islands. The Republic of Kiribati contains all of the Gilberts, including the island of Tarawa, the site of the country's capital.
Mariana Islands
Mount Marpi in Saipan.
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of fifteen volcanic mountains. The island chain rose as a result of the western edge of the Pacific Plate moving westward and plunging downward below the Mariana plate, a region that is the most volcanically active convergent plate boundary on Earth. The Marianas were politically divided in 1898, when the United States acquired title to Guam under the Treaty of Paris, 1898, which ended the Spanish–American War. Spain then sold the remaining northerly islands to Germany in 1899. Germany lost all of her colonies at the end of World War I and the Northern Mariana Islands became a League of Nations Mandate, with Japan as the mandatory. After World War II, the islands were transferred into the United NationsTrust Territory System, with the United States as Trustee. In 1976, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States entered into a covenant of political union under which commonwealth status was granted the Northern Mariana Islands and its residents received United States citizenship.
Marshall Islands
Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands are located north of Nauru and Kiribati, east of the Federated States of Micronesia, and south of the U.S. territory of Wake Island. The islands consist of 29 low-lying atolls and five isolated islands,[15] comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The atolls and islands form two groups: the Ratak Chain and the Ralik Chain (meaning "sunrise" and "sunset" chains). All the islands in the chain are part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, a presidentialrepublic in free association with the United States. Having few natural resources, the islands' wealth is based on a service economy, as well as some fishing and agriculture. Of the 29 atolls, 24 are inhabited.
Bikini Atoll is an atoll in the Marshall Islands. There are 23 islands in the Bikini Atoll. The islands of Bokonijien, Aerokojlol and part of Nam were destroyed during nuclear tests that occurred there. The islands are composed of low coral limestone and sand. The average elevation is only about 2.1 metres (7 ft) above low tide level.
Nauru
Nauruis an oval-shaped island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, 42 km (26 mi) south of the Equator, listed as the world's smallest republic, covering just 21 km2 (8 sq mi).With 12,511 residents, it is the third least-populated country, after Vatican City and Tuvalu. The island is surrounded by a coral reef, which is exposed at low tide and dotted with pinnacles. The presence of the reef has prevented the establishment of a seaport, although channels in the reef allow small boats access to the island. A fertile coastal strip 150 to 300 m (490 to 980 ft) wide lies inland from the beach.
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll with a coastline of 19 km (12 mi) just north of the Marshall Islands. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States. Access to the island is restricted and all activities on the island are managed by the United States Air Force. While geographically adjacent, it is not ethnoculturally part of Micronesia, due to its historical lack of human inhabitation. Micronesians may have possibly visited Wake Island in prehistoric times to harvest fish, but there is nothing to suggest any kind of settlement.
I chose to illustrate this flying proa as it is representative of the Micronesian canoes. This model shows a type of canoe that used to be built on Yap island but still are on Santawal atoll.
Santawal is located in the Caroline Islands (part of the Federated States of Micronesia). The atoll is recognized for its continued practice of traditional navigation techniques, including the construction of ocean-going canoes.
While modern materials are also used in canoe construction, the spirit of traditional canoe building and its significance in cultural preservation continue in Satawal.
Canoe model 19C
Canoe model representing the type of vessel built on the island of Abemama and Tarawa.
Model canoe
Top view of the model canoe
Model canoe
Model canoe
Model Canoe 19 C
Showing bow of previous model
Canoe model
Line drawings of a Gilbert Islands canoe by Alamy
This type of canoe, called “Baurua” were the biggest and longest single hull canoe built on those islands. The “Baurua” could attain a length of 100 fr or 23 meters. They could transport up to 30 people.
Those vessels were mostly built on the Island of Nonuti and Tabiteuea.
Model canoe
Kwajalein Atoll , Talik Chain, model canoe,
Ralik Chain model canoe
The horizontal beams would indicate that it is not a Marshallese canoe.
Walap model
Walap model
A Jaluit sailing canoe, also called “Wa lap” showing all essential features of the design used in the Marshall Islands.
For more information about Marshallese canoes visit:
https://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/essays/es-tmc-1.html
Names of canoe parts by Karen Earnshaw
https://www.canoesmarshallislands.com/2014/09/names-of-canoe-parts/
A Walap from Jaluit atoll, 1880.
Image extracted from page 133 of Suedsee Erinnerungen (1875-1880) with a preamble by HERNSHEIM. British Library
Model of a Marshallese walap, 1891. Staatlichen Museums fuer Voelkerkunde, Munich, Germany
Marshall island canoe under sail
Navigational chart, Marshall Islands. It is worth mentioning the work by Captain Winkler at this point on his work: “On Sea Charts formerly used in the Marshall Islands, with Notices on the Navigation of These Islanders in General“, 1899, describing the unique Marshallese stick charts, which documented wave and swell patterns to aid in seafaring between the low-lying islands of the Marshall Islands in eastern Micronesia. These complex, non-portable charts used sticks to represent wave paths and shells to mark island locations, providing a system of navigation that relied on interpreting oceanographic data rather than simply mapping landmasses.
Navigational chart. Hudson Museum
Old photo showing a walap on the beach
https://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/culture/Enewetak_Walap.html
A 20th C model of a Palau canoe ?
A Mokil outrigger canoe, side view (courtesy of Hamburg Museum fuer Voelkerkunde)
Mokil is a small reef about 90 miles eastward of Ponape. It was discovered in 1824 by Duperrey.
Proa of Satawal, 1833, by Francois-Edmond Paris
Flying proa from Yap or Santawal atoll.
Front view of a flying Proa or “popo”
Illustration of fishermen sailing a proa near Tamatam atoll. Drawn by Louis Auguste de Sainson, from Voyage Pittoresque autour du monde by Dumont d’Urville, 1835
Voyaging canoe or flying proa; “popo” from the island of Yap and Santawal
A flying proa of the tiny atoll Satawal by Admiral Francois Edmond Paris. Highly interesting is the blog written about those famous flying proas or “popo”
https://indigenousboats.blogspot.com/search/label/Caroline%20Islands
Flying proa model , Yap Island
War canoes on the island of Weno (formerly Moen Island), part of Truk lagoon. The ornamentations at the extremities of the canoe is supposed to represent Sea swallows. They can be put up or taken down depending on the crew's peaceful or hostile intentions. Putting up the decorations means war; taking them down means peace..
This picture was commercialized as a magic lantern slide in 1899.
A war canoe from Truck lagoon.
An 1845 copper etching illustrating the 4 Spanish volumes “Historia de Oceania, o quinta parte del Mundo”
“Popo” or flying proa plan by Admiral Francois-Edmond Paris, 1841
Another “Flying Proa” or Popo plan by Admiral Francois-Emond Paris, 1841
Flying proa sailing towards Tinian atoll in the Mariana Islands (formerly Ladrones Islands)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinian,_Northern_Mariana_Islands
It is interesting to mention the following at this junction :
Trade between the Caroline and Mariana Islands, primarily driven by the Carolinian people, existed before and continued after European contact, though it was interrupted by colonization. Carolinians brought their own handicraft and resources, such as canoes, to Guam in the Marianas to trade for iron and other goods, a pattern that began in the pre-contact era and persisted into the 19th century. Efforts to reestablish these trade routes in the late 18th century, with knowledge passed down through traditional chants, highlight the importance and resilience of these interactions.
Side view of a canoe model of the type built on Falalop Island, Yap State.
Top view of a Falalop island canoe model.
Where is Falalop ?
A 19 C. watercolor illustrating some “prao” sailing past Ualan or Ulong Island.
Voyage de l”Astrolabe, 1826-1829, original hand colored engraving. Picture by Admiral Francois -Edmond Paris
Koror canoe model, Palau Islands
Front view of a Koror fishing canoe
Popo canoe model from Yap, Caroline Islands, Federated States of Micronesia
Wa’a Serik by Herb Kawainui Kane
Satawal navigators arrives at Okinawa for Expo “75.
Navigational chart.
Small fishing canoe , Pohnpei or Ponape. The indigenous KA TREE of Pohnpei and Kosrae, not to confound with the Koa tree of Hawaii
Where is Pohnpei ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pohnpei
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosrae
The ka tree (Terminalia carolinensis) is a species of tree found in the Micronesian islands of Kosrae and Pohnpei, known for its unique buttressed bases and umbrella-shaped crowns. It is an important timber and canoe-making resource for the local communities and is also used for its edible nuts and medicinal properties. The largest stand of ka trees is located in the Yela Forest on Kosrae, which is protected as a significant freshwater swamp forest and a valuable ecosystem.
A model outrigger sailing canoe made by Mau Piailug and donated to the Smithsonian in 2000. The sail is woven from strips of Pandanus leaves. Photograph by Chris Urwin.
Who was MAU PIAILUG ?
A Nukuoro canoe model, also called WA
Where is Nukuoro?
A model representative of those built in Koror, Palau Islands
Nukuoro canoe model
Plan of a flying proa or “popo” drawn is 1895 by the Kubary.
Who was Kubary ?
Nukuoro atoll, 19th C.
Outrigger canoe model c.1950 -Kapingamarangi Atoll ,Caroline Islands-Emerick Collection/ Hudson Museum
Truck island canoe model, c. 1950. Emerick Collection/ Hudson Museum
Model, canoe, Palau
A tsukupin type canoe model from Yap
Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum / Heinz-Günther Malenz
A beautiful proa model from the Satawal archipelago.
A fishing canoe on Truk island with the name Mog-mog
Prao de Satawal
Canoe on mud flat, Port Lottin, Kusale Island (1899-1900), Kusale type canoe
Port Lottin, Kusale Island. Natives in canoe, (1899-1900) Kusale type canoe
The start of a canoe on Sonsorol island
Native and canoe , Ron KIte village, Kite Harbor, Ponape (1899-1900)
Chamoro flying proa
Visit https://www.guampedia.com
Post card ca.1900 illustrating natives fishing on a proa
Tinian Island flying proa model.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinian,_Northern_Mariana_Islands
Technical drawing of the Chamorro flying proa or “Sakman”.
This refers to a type of traditional sailing outrigger canoe, particularly known from the Chamorro people of the Northern Marianas.
Technical drawing of a Flying proa specifically a design by R.M. Munoz.
Canoe model of the type Waka Siu . Kapingamarangi atoll
Drawing of the famous Chamorro flying proa or Sakman
A Chamorro outrigger model I built many years ago.
Flying pro model I built some years ago.
Windward side of the single outrigger sailing canoe, or flying proa from Guam. Photo courtesy of Keo Santos.
An engraving by John Harris illustrating a breadfruit tree or Rima Tree, a Duku tree, a fish hook and most of all the sketch of a Guam Flying Proa.
John Harris, an English engraver and cartographer active from the late 17th to the mid-18th century, was frequently employed to engrave plates for English publications, particularly those related to travel and exploration, such as the widely popular accounts of William Dampier's voyages.
Palau canoe by Herb Kawainui Kane. The painting is based on Augustin Kraemer’s drawing of a Palau rowing canoe in her Volume 3 “Results of the South Seas Expedition”.
Palau canoe drawing by Augustin Kraemer in Volume 3 of “Results of The South Seas Expedition”. The Painting by Herb Kawainui Kane “Palau Canoe” is base on this drawing.
Looks very much like a Solomon island canoe, but no, it is a “Tatala” canoe from Taiwan…The history of Polynesia does go through Taiwan.
A scale model built by the author several years ago, commissioned by a visitor to the Fiji Museum in Suva.
One look at the mast head and it is definiyely a Fijian sailing canoe of the type Thamakau or Kamakao. The topmast or " ndomondomo" end is in a typical two-horned "truck”
This is a beautiful and helpful line drawing of a Fiji Drua illustrated in the book VOYAGERS by Herb Kawainui Kane.
The drua was considered one of the fastest ocean going voyaging canoe.
A ve rare magic lantern slide showing a Fiji drua near a beach in Fiji. Author’s private collection.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Fiji
A small, very old Fijian Drua model
Judging from the high gunwales and 3 outrigger beams, it has all the aspect of an Isle of Pine canoe model and not Tonga, as often described.
Photo postcard 1920. The islands were named “New Hebrides” by Captain Cook in 1774, after the Hebrides in Scotland.
This is the last surviving original drua canoe on display at the Fiji Museum., Suva . Suva is the capital of the South Pacific island nation of Fiji.
A canoe of the type “Takia” under sail which is the traditional Fijian outrigger canoe
A small incomplete model canoe. of the type Takia. The railings would indicate it to be Fijian.
Fiji camakau racing or “Veitau Waqa” A Veitau Waqa is an annual event in Fiji that celebrates traditional Fijian boat building and sailing skills, particularly of the camakau (a type of outrigger canoe). The event, organized by the Pacific Blue Foundation, aims to revive and preserve this fading cultural heritage through races, demonstrations, and other activities.
The three booms connected to the float with the reverse V arrangement of the pair of stanchions would indicate it to be a thamakau canoe, and not any Samoan type canoe.
Fiji voyaging canoe of the type “vakau” displayed in the Fiji Museum, Suva. This type canoe was very common on the island of Lau and built to be used on the high sea.
Fijian Camakau voyaging canoe of the type “Vakau” at the Auckland Memorial Museum. This type canoe was prevalent on the province of Tailevu.
Fiji fishing canoe of the type camakau
This is the Fiji voyaging canoe in the “Fiji House” at the Polynesian Cultural Center, Lai’e, Oahu, Hawaii. The canoe is an old, original Camakau. The author thanks the PCC for allowing the author to take measurements and photos of the canoe , which allowed him to scale replicate the vessel.
https://www.polynesia.com
Fiji Drua acquired by the Stiftung Humbold Forum at Berliner Schloss. Note the drums or “lali” at the foot of the canoe.
One of the ways to find out whether a canoe is of a Fiji type, is to look no further than the masthead, the “ndomondomo,” which looks like a tow-horned spear. But a masthead of the same shape was also seen on some Tonga voyaging canoes.
1920s Photo postcard . Small camakau fishing canoe
The life-size drua on display at the Fiji Museum in Suva is a remarkable example of the most significant and finest sea-going vessel ever designed and built by the indigenous peoples of Oceania prior to European contact. Its construction features an entirely plank-built design, distinguishing it from outrigger boats.
https://fijimuseum.org.fj
Line drawing of a Fijian Camakau or Tamatau.
A famous painting by Herb Kawainui Kane illustrating a Drua sailing on the high seas.
1930s postcard. Fijian fisherman and turtles.
The Sema Makawa canoe at the New Zealand Maritime Museum.
A fishing canoe model with its “PIU” prow replicating those found in the Humboldt Bay, Papua New-Guinea. Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art)
Humboldt Bay sailing canoe model . This type canoe is described in Hadden in page 314
Beautiful model of a painted Humboldt Bay area canoe.
Large double outrigger Geelvink Bay canoe model. Geelvink Bay is now called the Cenderawasih Bay. This type canoe was mostly built on Japen island.
A beautiful and well made Fiji double canoe model or “wangga ndrua” in the Otago Museum, New-Zealand.
Takuu atoll canoe model.
Takuu, formerly known as Tauu and also known as Nukutea, Mortlock Island, or Marqueen island, is a small, isolated atoll of the east coast of Bougainville.
This picture was taken By F.H. Dufty of NAVUKINIVANUA - “The turner of the land” - one of the last of the great drua or hulled-outrigger voyaging canoes of the nineteenth century, and the last to be owned by Ratu Seru Cakobau, anchored just off Nasova on the eastern shore of Ovalau. Given the prestige and the ceremonial dress of the many high chiefs visible in this picture, the occasion is probably that of 20 November 1877, when Navukinivanua was sailed from Bau to Nasova and symbolically presented by Cakobau, together with a big rootstock of yaqona, to Lady Gordon.
In this picture the kata or hull of the canoe is towards the camera, with the smaller outrigger hull or cama masked by it. The mualevu, or “big prow” is to the right, the mualailai or “little prow” to the left. The coconut leaf matting sunshades which were usually rolled down in port are still rolled up, giving a fine view into the deckhouse, which is open to the kata side, the kata allways being kept to leeward in sailing. The mast or vana has been hauled upright from the raking position it is held in when sailing, and the sail and yards rolled and laid along the deck platform, forming a comfortable seat for Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, eldest son of Ratu Cakobau, who is wearing a white iwabale shoulder sash and has his right leg cocked over a coil of heavy vau bark rope towards the left hand duruduru or pilaster of the deckhouse, with lesser chiefs left of him. A group of chiefs wearing white barkcloth ivauvau hair-wrappers are seated on deck before the deckhouse, the bearded old man to the right of the mast being one of Cakobau’s brothers, Cakobau himself is the old man with the resplendent side whiskers (such as he favoured in 1876-77) wearing a shirt and a smoked masikuvui hair-wrapper, who is sitting just to the right of the lali slit drum that is positioned across the right hand outside end of the deckhouse. Several men stand posing on the prow, pretending to pole the canoe along. [Fergus Clunie, 14/7/2003, from record P.27781.VH, JD 7/1/2012]
A nice model of a Huon Gulf canoe. This type of canoe is considered one of the most beautiful in Melanesia, known for its excellent nautical qualities. Some of these canoes were up to 60 feet long. On the islands of Tami and Siassi, they were called "wang," but nowadays, we mostly refer to them as "Siassi" canoes.
The Takuu canoes are very similar to those from the islands of Leuaniua and Nuku-manu; however, their canoe prows are more elaborate than those of the latter ones
“WHEN WATER EMBRACES EMPTY SPACE” by Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn
Outrigger canoe of Luf island, within the Hermit Islands, at the Humboldt Forum, at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
Outrigger boat of Luf Island
This outrigger boat originates from Luf Island, which today belongs to Papua New Guinea. In 1881, the trading company Hernsheim & Co built a trading station on the island. The population resisted. At the instigation of Hernsheim, in 1882/83 soldiers of the Imperial German Navy attacked the island with a “punishment detachment”, destroying a large number of buildings and boats, killing inhabitants and plundering the villages. The building of this big outrigger boat began eight years after this attack. It is said that the men in it wanted to bury their recently deceased leader Labenan at sea. However, this didn’t happen because there were too few of them to get the enormous boat onto the water. Through diseases that were introduced and the consequences of the military attack, the population decreased dramatically. For the next few years, it remained in the boathouse, deprived of its purpose. In 1903, it was acquired by Max Thiel von Hernsheim & Co and sold to the Ethnological Museum in Berlin. The circumstances of the acquisition of the boat on Luf are not documented. The building and acquisition of the boat are the subject of a media station in the “Oceania – people and the sea” room. Interviews of the film maker Martin Maden from Papua New Guinea with Luf inhabitants on the island are also shown here.
The Hermit Islands are a small group of islands in the Bismarck Sea, including Jalun, Maron, and Luf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermit_Islands
The second canoe is that picture is Samoan and there seems to be one from Tuvalu, both Polynesian.
The Luf canoe, a 15-meter-long, intricately decorated, and rare Papuan outrigger boat (or sailau), was built around 1890 on Luf Island in the Hermit Islands. It was intended for a chief's ceremonial burial, but, due to population decline from German colonial "punitive expeditions" and disease, it was never used and was later acquired by German traders in 1903. The vessel is now housed in Berlin's Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and Humboldt Forum, serving as a powerful symbol of colonial-era displacement
The image title refers to the Luf boat, a large, historic outrigger sailing vessel from Luf Island in Papua New Guinea, which is a prominent exhibit at the Ethnological Museum collection within the Humboldt Forum in Berlin
Map by Holger Behr
A beautiful model of a Hermit island canoe. This type canoe, elaborately decorated, was equipped with two analogous sails.
VIEW OF MURRAY’S ISLANDS , WITH THE NATIVES OFFERING TO BARTER 1814. An engraving by John Pye and W. Finden
This richly decorated canoe, originating in the Torres Strait was mostly adopted by the islanders of Mawata and Kiwai . This type voyaging canoe, but also used for spear fishing,
was named “gul” or “nar” on some Torres Islands, or “motomoto” and “ burai” in the region of Mawata.
Taumako canoe mode of the type Tepuke
Fine Massim, Trobriand kula canoe.
"Trobriand" most often refers to the Trobriand Islanders, Melanesian people of Papua New Guinea known for unique matrilineal culture, the kula shell exchange, and Trobriand Cricket; it can also refer to French naval officers like Jean François Sylvestre Denis de Trobriand, who explored the islands and gave them their name, or his descendant, Regis de Trobriand, a French-American Civil War general
A Massim model of a Kula outrigger canoe.
A Kula canoe is a large, ceremonial sea-going canoe from the Massim region of Papua New Guinea that is used in the Kula Ring, a complex inter-island ceremonial exchange system. These canoes, called “Masawa”, are intricately decorated by men, and used to transport Kula valuable like necklaces and armbands , as well as for secondary trade goods like food and pottery
Kula canoes were made on several islands in Papua New Guinea, particularly the Trobriand Islands, which were a major center for their manufacture and decoration. Other islands involved in the Kula ring, such as Muyua (Woodlark) Island and Fergusson Island, also contributed to the production of canoes
Trobriand Islands: These islands are frequently cited as a primary source of finely decorated Kula canoes, with master carvers creating elaborate splashboards for ceremonial voyages
Muyua (Woodlark) Island: This island was another significant production center for the ornate splashboards used on the canoes, notes Bowers Museum.
Fergusson Island: An example of Kula canoes being made on this island was documented by Travel Obscure.
Iwa Island: The Oceanic Art Society mentions a specific type of canoe, the "tadobu," that was built on islands such as Iwa Island.
Outrigger canoe model, Wuvulu island.
Canoes from Wuvulu and its neighboring island of Aua are called wa. Featuring outriggers, a sleek, pointed profile, and equally pointed vertical spurs on both their prow and stern, there are no canoes quite like them anywhere in Oceania.
A Humboldt Bay canoe model at the Vatican.
TE PUKE type canoe , Duff Island
A “vanagi” , small indigenous canoe from the region of Port Moresby, recognizable by its 3 pairs of outrigger beams .
fiji canoe under sail photographed in fiji and published by Kerry & Co.
Side view, Top view, front view and hull construction sketches of a “lia no”, Rossel Island, Louisiade Archipelago.
There is the “ma no” or male canoe, the “pia no (female canoe) and the “lia no” which is the larger sailing canoe onto which women were allowed.
“no” stands for canoe.
The above sketches are based on those by Jean Neyret, Tome !, Melanesian canoes, page 134
Side view of the Siassi canoe (Tami island) at the Hamburg Foelkermuseum.
A Siassi type canoe at the Voelkerkunde Museum Hamburg, Germany
The deck structure would show a canoe from Tami Island.
A magic lantern slide illustrating a Tami Island type .
The “Kasali” (Siassi type canoe) beaches at Malalo.
https://malumnalu.blogspot.com/2009/06/rekindling-memories-of-great-sea.html
Magic lantern slide (1920) illustrating a Siassi type canoe, Tami island.
The KASALI sailing canoe near Salamaua.
Single masted Siassi canoe at Finschhafen
Double outrigger near Wakobi, Umar Bay. Collection of the Dutch National Museum. Haddon located such a canoe along the North East coast of Papua New-Guinea. Notice the 5 outrigger beams. Double outrigger canoes were mostly prevalent in Indonesia, Philippines, Madagascar, Comores, and in the Torres strait.
Umar Bay, known in Indonesia as Teluk Umar, is located in the Nabire Regency of Central Papua, Indonesia. The bay is situated on the island of New Guinea and is part of the larger Cenderawasih Bay region, formerly Geelvink Bay.
Siassi canoes in the water, Cape Merkus. Hand colored magic lantern slide 1910
“Kula” canoe model. Massim culture
Small fishing canoes constructed to be used by children. Notice the simple construction and 5 outrigger beams
Fishing papuans from Tobati villages, Humboldt Bay. Notice the canoe tip or “PIU” at the front of the canoe. The Humboldt Bay is now officially caled Yos Sudaro Bay.
The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 40 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island.
A Tikopian canoe model built by the author in 2010.
The inhabitants of this small island are still building this style of canoe today.
A 1933 picture taken by the Templeton Crocker expedition showing Tikopian canoes
Anuta canoe at the New Zealand Maritime Museum
Myself and the canoe model Tama Moana.
Tama-Moana is a model I made many years ago replicating the double hull voyaging canoe built by James Warren.
The Tama Moana canoe was built to provide independent, self-sufficient sea transport to the islands of Tikopiaand Anuta, allowing them to reconnect with their ancient sailing heritage and navigate between islands for fishing, communication, and transport.
Irian Jaya, Indonesia --- Only small, narrow dug-out canoes, made from a single tree trunk, are suitable to move deep in the forest and reach the smallest creeks in the Asmat area of Indonesian New Guinea. Fishing villages are constructed entirely of natural materials, found in mangroves. Structures are constructed on wooden mangrove poles since low and high tide difference is sometimes several meters. From early childhood everybody uses the fragile bridges between the huts and children swim, canoe and fish under their homes. --- Image by © Bojan Brecelj/CORBIS
The new names for the region formerly known as Irian Jaya are Papua and West Papua
The new names for the region formerly known as Irian Jaya are Papua and West Papua
It is definitely a type of canoe built in the Admiralty Islands but I am disturbed by the Museum stating that it was built by the Motu.
The term "Motu tribe" is likely a misunderstanding or mis reference, as there is no single "Motu tribe" in the Admiralty Islands. The user is likely thinking of the Motu-speaking people of Papua New Guinea, who live in the Central Province, not the Admiralty Islands, and have historically inhabited the coastlines and nearby islands of this region. They are a seafaring people known for their traditional trading voyages using large canoes called lagatoi.
A Mailu, Island sailing canoe, 1922. Photo by Frank Hurley, National Library of Australia.
This looks to be a double-hull canoe of the type “Orou” which could transport up to 20 people.
1920 Post card
A “Te Puke” type canoe from Utupua. The crab-claw type sail is reversed.
Canoe Model, Kwaiawata island
Wuvulu island
A Wuvulu or Aua island fishing canoe
Thakambau’s drua canoe, Fiji 1888,
Who was Thakambau ?
Thakambau(or Cakobau) was Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the powerful Fijian warlord and paramount chief (Vunivalu) of Bau who became the first and only King of Fiji, uniting the islands under his rule in 1871 before ceding sovereignty to Britain in 1874, ending indigenous rule. He's a pivotal figure in Fijian history, known for his efforts to unify warring tribes and establish a kingdom, a goal that ultimately led to colonial annexation
Rare lithography illustrating Thakambau’s drua canoe, Fiji 1888 .
Double hull canoe of the type lakatoi mostly built by the Motu tribes.
Canoes of Vanikoro from Voyage de la corvette l'Astrolabe, 1833 by Edmond Francois Paris.
It illustrates a voyaging canoe of the type TE PUKE OR LEJU in view of the 6 outrigger beams
The Ratu Finau Tui Nayau Canoe at the Fiji Museum
Image by Brian J.McMorrow
Fiji drua model canoe at the Vatican
Egum atoll canoe
Egum Atoll (or Yeguma) is a large, rectangular reef system in Papua New Guinea's Milne Bay Province, part of the Marshall Bennett Islands, featuring a central lagoon with several islets, known for its rich marine life, unique local cultures (like carvings), and as a destination for remote expeditions and fishing, although technically a reef-topped bank, not a true atoll.
Rare magic lantern slide showing a camakau canoe near the beach
Large “nuatapu” canoe from Manevai village, Vanikoro.
Fiji Kamakau model- Bowers Museum
Solomon islands on the globe. Why the name Solomon ?
The Solomon Islands are named after the biblical King Solomon because the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña, the first European to reach them in 1568, mistakenly believed they were the source of the gold King Solomon used for his temple in Jerusalem, as he found some gold there. He called them Islas de Solomón (Islands of Solomon) in the hope of finding great riches, linking the islands to the legendary wealth of the biblical king
Political map of the Solomon islands archipelago, 1989.
“Qua” type canoe, also called Tomako, Santa Isabel island, with nguzunguzu figerhead at the bow of the canoe. The #Qua” are characterized by their upturned pointed ends and the absence of gunwales at the top of the hull.
Ulawa island tomako type war canoe, British Museum
Sketch of a Tomako or Tomoko canoe. The Tomako is a large war canoe .
Ulakua likely refers to Ulawa Island, which is an island in the Solomon Islands, located in the Makira-Ulawa Province. This island is near Malaita Island and is known for its connection to the story of Teonimenu, a lost island.
The canoe is named “OLA” in Malaita and Ulawa language.
San Christobal canoe model of the type “Ora”. The “Ora” is a small canoe for 3 or 4 occupants, with both ends raised, and with raised gunwales only at the front. This type canoe is often decorated with motifs in black paint and small carvings at the ends.
Model canoe of the type “mon”, which was prevalent in the North of the Solomon Islands. From a building point of view, they are nearly identical to the “tamakau or tomako” in the central Solomon Islands. They distinguish themselves with the raised gunwales at both ends of the canoe.
An “Ora” type canoe. Small Sant Christobal canoe paddled by 3 occupants. Collection Auckland War Museum
Buka island canoe model
Santa Isabel Binabina canoe 1909
Binabina or biabina is a type of plank boat from the Solomon Islands. It differs from the similar tomako and lisi in that only the stern is upturned, while the bow is horizontaL.
It's called Santa Isabel because Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira named it in 1568 after his ship departed Spain on the feast day of Saint Elizabeth of Portugal (Santa Isabel in Spanish), marking the first European encounter with the Solomon Islands, and giving it the name "Santa Isabel de la Estrella" (St. Elizabeth of the Star).
Sant Cristobal and Malaita island canoe model
San Cristobal (now Makira Island) in the Solomon Islands is famous for its rich tradition of canoe building, especially large, elaborate ceremonial canoes and canoe houses, featuring intricate shell inlay, carved figures of chiefs, and mythological beings (like sea devils or snakes) for bonito fishing rituals, using planked construction caulked with putty nut resin, reflecting deep cultural connections to the sea and ancestors, notes Joel Cooner Gallery, Oceanic Arts Australia, and Ripley Auctions. These canoes, like the tora or vura, were central to trade, warfare, and spiritual life, with ornate carvings often depicting ancestral figures or spiritual guardi
The island in the Solomon Islands known as San Cristobal (now officially Makira) was named by Spanish explorers in 1568, specifically by Álvaro de Mendaña's expedition, after St. Christopher (San Cristóbal in Spanish), the patron saint of sailors, likely due to the perils of their sea journey and the saint's protection. The Spanish explorers charted the island, giving it this religious name, though locals have always known it by names like Hanuato'o.
Santa Cruz model canoe. Missing sail.
A Mona canoe is a significant traditional, planked outrigger canoe from the Bougainville region of Papua New Guinea, used for trade, fishing, warfare, and voyages, representing pride and seafaring skill, with the annual Mona Festival in Buka celebrating this heritage through canoe races and cultural displays. The canoe is made from planks tied with vine, not a solid dugout, and is central to North Bougainvillean identity.
A canoe model from the Choiseul Island. They are known for their distinctive design, often featuring mother-of-pearl or Trochus shell inlay.
Original 1909 photograph of a Solomon Island canoe of the type “Qao” prevalent on Isabel Island. “Qua” are very similar to the “Tomako” war canoe.
Marau sound canoe of the type ai isu with its elevated gunwales at both ends of the vessel.
Marau Sound refers to a specific place: a beautiful, island-dotted area in the Solomon Islands (Guadalcanal Province) known for clear waters, marine life, traditional culture, and resorts like Tavanipupu, with "Marau" meaning "island in the distance" in the local dialect. It's a place, not just a generic noise, famous for its natural beauty and rich cultural heritage from Are'are settlers.
A San Christobal canoe model with both ends raised, raised gunwales at the front and a bird”s head decorating the fore end of the raised bow.
This model at the Vatican.
East Rennell island canoe type.
Rennell Island, part of the Solomon Islands, is known for its unique Polynesian culture and reliance on traditional dugout canoes (lakau) for transport on its large, unique Lake Tegano and the surrounding ocean, with these vessels carved from single trees, ranging from small child-sized ones to large adult versions, representing a vital part of island life and heritage, often featuring unique art like canoe prow carvin.
Nggela islands, canoe of the type “roko” on display at Vunuha, 1930. The “roko” are similar to the “Binabina” canoes, but smaller.
The Nggela Islands or Ngella Islands,[1]previously known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Provinceof Solomon Islands,[2] a sovereign state, since 1978, in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The name Florida Islands fell into disuse following Solomon Islands' independence in 1978.
New Georgia and Vella Lavella map
1910, is a large plank-built war canoe from the island of Vella Lavella in New Georgia, at the Britsh Museum. Directly above the waterline on the prow a wood-carving of an anthropomorphic head was lashed onto the prow of the war canoe for each passage. The so-called nguzunguzu (Roviana language),also called “totoisu” had a protective function to dispel the malevolent spirits of the water by always open eyes, so that water and wind would not harm men and boat . Just below the nguzunguzu a wood tablet was fixed which would deflect the sea spray and create a rainbow in front of the travelling canoe. The construction of the canoe with all its technical stages would take up to two years with steel tools, and six to seven years using only stone and shell implements
A Tomako canoe model built by the author in 2005.
Principal canoe culture in the Solomon islands:
Tomako: Famous, crescent-shaped, plank-built war canoes with shell/feather decoration, used by headhunters.
Tepuke: Traditional long-distance voyaging canoes of the Duff Islanders (nearby), built with ancient knowledge.
Anuta Canoes: Traditional Polynesian canoes, some very old and still used for fishing in surf, showcasing rich carving,
Nguzunguzu (or musumusu/toto isu) are traditional Solomon Islands canoe prow figureheads, particularly from the Western Province (New Georgia and Marovo Lagoon). These wood carvings, often featuring shell inlay, represent ancestral spirits or protectors that watched over war canoes (tomako) and ensured safe, successful voyages. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A canoe model of the type Mon 0r Muna found the Northern parts of the Solomon islands.
They are distinguished mainly by the presence of raised gunwales at the bow and stern, obviously to increase stability at sea,
The ornamentation is discreet and consists of a few black lines, some showing birds, at the bow and stern
Tomako war canoe built by Jiosi Angele at Njava, Vella Lavella and was named Lotu.
British Museum
Solomon islands canoes were all plank-built, and built for speed.
Solomon island canoe on display at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and ethnology. This canoe, called Mon in Bougainville or Muna (Buka), are specific to the northern Solomon Islands. In terms of construction, they are almost identical to the Tomako of the central Solomon Islands.
Vela Lavella war canoes readying to invade another island.
This single -log raft, carved in the shape of a dugout canoe and stabilized by an outrigger, is reminiscent of the bakanawa and the ula-toka of Fiji. A similar canoe is also used in the Solomon Islands
Solomon islands TOMAKO canoe at the Vatican
St._Christobal_canoe, Model of a lisi from Makira (c. 1887)
SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS in Canoe (TOMAKO )by Edward Salisbury VINTAGE 1923 Press Photo.
The image is a print of a watercolor showing a traditional war canoe (Tomako)). Illustration by HJ Shepstone, 1923
Kula Canoe, Kitava Island, Trobiand Islands, Papua New Guinea
Kula canoe model
A Kula canoe (or waga) is named for its essential role in the Kula ring, a ceremonial exchange system in Papua New Guinea. These specialized, highly ornamented sea-going vessels are constructed specifically to transport traders across the ocean to exchange ceremonial shell valuables, making the boat vital to this cultural ritual
A 1920 Keystone stereoview of natives sailing a Kula canoe.
New-Caledonia double hulled sailing canoe model. Museum of New-Zealand.
This type canoe is a near replication of the Fijian Drua adopted by the the Tongans.
They were apparently introduced to the Iles of Pine by visitors from Tonga neighboring islands like Wallis & Futuna.
A 1885 albumen photograph of a Lakatoi, near Elevala, Port Moresby, by J.W. Lindt.
Lakatoi canoe. The deck and sail of the canoe
Incomplete lakatoi canoe. Collection of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, New-Zealand.
Two identical huts connected with low banboo hedges were built on top of the deck of such canoes. The huts, with their slide inclination towards the end of the deck served as a shelter whereby the hedge kept children and animals within the enclosure.
This model was constructed in the village of Manu-manu, 16 miles west of Port Moresby, Papua. It was presented to His Excellency the Governor, Lord Rowallan on the 5th January, 1963, by Raho Misi. The leader of the Papua and New-Guinea Contingent of Boys Scouts on the occasion of the Tasmanian Corroboree.
Information from Mr. Graham Hall, Chief Commissioner Boy Scouts Association, Tasmanian Branch
Lakatoi canoe
The Lakatoi canoe was a trading canoe and housed two families- one at either end, the central part of the canoe being shared for cooking purposes. Voyages of up to 500 miles were made for trading. At the time of the year when certain crops could not be grown at Port Moresby, utensils made of a local clay were loaded and traded for food crops from other places in the Gulf of Papua. The column of skoirt like ornaments and other symbols were used to signal the degree of success of the voyage
Liz Tew, curatorial assistant-indigenous cultures. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
An intricate and extremely rare example of a malangan mortuary canoe model of the type found on the Emirau island. Malangan refers to intricate carved wooden sculptures and canoes from New-Ireland.
New-Ireland mortuary canoe model .Side view of an Emirau Island canoe model. The carvings at both ends of the model do symbolize crocodiles jaws.
An Isle of Pine double-hulled canoe.
Note the resemblance to the Fiji Drua
Model canoe , 1800s, Isle of Pine, New-Caledonia
Miniature model
Photographic image. Locals paddling canoes at the entrance to the Tufi Fjords on the Cape Nelson peninsula in the Oro Province of Papua-New Guinea. This type canoe with its extended 3 outriggers was observed in Mukawa.
Photographic image. Canoe rigged with a modern type gaff and boom sail.
A model replicating the old style double-hulled canoes which used to be built among the Loyalty Islands, in particular on the island of Uvea and Grande Terre. A typical feature of this type of canoe was the long railing mounted on the leeward side of the platform.
Fishing canoe rigged with a sprit sail.
A canoe of the type “takia” used on rivers and along the shores to transport goods. Guided by two men armed with long poles, one at the front and the other at the rear.
Vintage postcard depicting a scene on the Thio River in New Caledonia.
Drawing of a double-hulled canoe by A. de Neuville. Notice the very long railing on the exterior side of each hull typical of New-Caledonian construction.
Photographic image of a war canoe.
This photographic postcard of 1930’s captures a historical moment featuring a Vanuatu canoe north of Vate Island.
A 1920 postcard showing a common fishing canoe rigged with a triangular sail at the very front of the canoe.
Both ends of the canoe are designed to function as the bow. When shunting, all the ropes are untied, the sail is grasped by fluffing it between the arms, and it is carried vertically to the opposite end of the canoe, where it is set up in the same way, by sliding the mast into the hole in the corresponding plank or spreader.
A double hull canoe rigged with a Micronesian lateen sail.
New Caledonia east coast canoe with leg-of-mutton mounted sail which is a modern type sail adaptation.
An Ile of Pine double-hulled canoe on dryland. 1920 Postcard.
Notice the railings on the exterior side of both hulls as well as the pointed ends of both hulls. Characteristics typical of canoes built on the Isle of Pine or Grande Isle.
1920s postcard illustrating an ancient double-hulled canoe certainly built on the Island of Belef or Grande Terre. The sails are mounted on two tandem masts. The halyards pass through a fork at the tip of the mast. The two masts are held by a strong shroud on the windward side and supported by two stays, one foreword and one aft. The sails are of the Melanesian lateen type.
New Caledonian fishing canoe rigged with a gaff and boom sail
Model canoe at the MUSEE D’HISTOIRE NATURELLE DE TOULOUSE, FRANCE
This model is somehow replicating the look at the sailing canoes from the south of Malekula island with their characteristics pair of outrigger beams
A “Na-ak “ canoe on the island of Atchin, Malekula, Vanuatu, 1931 by Credig Richards
Notice the single outrigger bean at the front of the canoe, and the pair at the back of it. A characteristic typical to Vanuatu canoes with the V-shaped sail to be found only on Atchin.
Vanuatu model canoe. The type canoe built on the isle of Vate. This type canoe was equipped with a sail in the shape of a butterfly wing to be found only in Vanuatu. MUSEE D’HISTOIRE NATURELLE DE TOULOUSE, FRANCE.
1891 photographic view of sailing canoes at Port Havannah on the island of Efate in Vanuatu. The sails are V-shaped of the type “butterfly” typical to the islands of the north eastern coast of Malekula like of Vao, Atchi and Wala
This image captures a historical moment from ca 1885 depicting a fishing canoe in Southeast Santo, Vanuatu. Vanuatu National Museum.
This type canoe was originally equipped with a “butterfly” type sail.
The image displays a photo postcard depicting a New Caledonia “Kanak” fishing canoe from around 1906. The image is set in Noumea, which is located on the Grande Terre. It is also the location where this type canoe was built.
Drawing of a canoe from Port Dorey dating back to 1826,
Plate 108 from the publication documenting the ASTROLABE expedition (1826-1829) by French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville.
1906 photo. by Beattie, JW. Canoe on the river Fly, Gulf of Papua.
Photographic image of a double-rigged fishing canoe in Wakobi, Umar Bay.
Collectie stichting Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen
Photographic postcard of a type canoe mostly bult in the region of Daru, Gulf of Papua, There are 8 or 10 crossbeams and a very long float.
A canoe of the type “WAGA” on Teste Island, also Wari Island, Milne Bay. The above type canoe was a simplified version of the larger “WAHA UE'“
Kula trading canoe.
Canoe of the natives of Tudu Island, Torres Strait.
Tudu Island (sometimes referred to as Toud or Tud) is a low lying cay in the central Torres Strait, historically significant as a warrior base and maritime hub, particularly known for its connection to leader Maino and anthropologist A.C. Haddon. See “CANOES OF OCEANIA”
Toud (Tudu) Island was renowned for its skilled warriors and large double-outrigger sailing canoes in the 19th century. These sophisticated vessels, often over 60 feet long and capable of carrying twenty to thirty people, were essential for hunting dugong and turtle, trading, and patrolling the central Strait, serving as vital, often decorated, "social objects".
Significance of Toud: Toud Islanders were known as masters of the sea, often engaging in long-distance travel and trade with neighboring islands and the Papuan coast.
Canoe Construction: While Torres Strait Islanders built the outriggers and platforms, they often imported the main hulls from Papua New Guinea, as large suitable trees were unavailable on the islands.
Structure: The canoes were characterized by two outriggers for stability, a central cargo/living platform, and often featured three woven sails.
Cultural Importance: These canoes were seen as living beings that needed to be "woken up" before voyages. They were central to subsistence (fishing and hunting) and war.
Torres-Strait islands map
Tudu, Warrior Island
https://www.nma.gov.au/learn/encounters-education/community-stories/tudu
This image is a hand-colored lithograph depicting a traditional Torres Strait islander trading canoe at Erub (Darnley Island) in the Torres Strait, drawn by Harden Sidney Melville in 1844-1845.
It is interesting to note at this junction, the connection between the Tudu island, also known as Warrior Island, and Haddon A.C., whose work, “CANOES OF OCEANIA,” was foundational to Haddon’s shift from marine zoology to anthropology. During his 1888 visit, Haddon met and befriended Maino, the influential leader of Tudu, who provided him with crucial cultural information, artifacts, and access to traditional knowledge, laying the foundation for Haddon’s Pioneering work in the region.
Ninigo Island canoe
Canoe model lower Sepik region
Rabaul, Matupi-market canoe
This Te Puke was built by Longopuni, a famous and long-lived voyaging canoe builder of Taumako. The photo location is in the lagoon.
Postcard Suva Harbor canoe, Viti Levu Rewa province
Technical drawings of Ninigo islands canoe after Neyret page 178
Camakau diagram
Tadobu canoe drawing by David Payne. Researcher David Payne documents the vibrant, ingenious canoes of Milne Bay- each one a masterpiece of culture, color, and seamanship.
Kemwengemwenge on Wanim island with Harry Beran Photograph David Payne.
Pirogue des naturels de L'ile Toud, Detroit de Torres (Canoe of the natives of Tudu Island, Torres Strait) (plate 190 from the Atlas Pittoresque of 'Voyage Au Pole Sud Et Dans L'Oceannie' (Official report of Dumont d'Urville's second voyage), Paris, 1846) 1846
This image is a historical photograph likely taken around 1910. The scene shows a traditional outrigger canoe, known locally as a Ngwala. The original photograph is part of the Haddon Collection at the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Also known as Muyua Island.
This image is a sepia photograph from 1910 showing a traditional fishing outrigger canoe on Wuvulu Island.
Francis Pimmel's love of boats and ships began while watching the colorful freight barges sailing along French canals. As a young boy he marveled at the decorated steering houses of each barge, and wondered how her skipper could possibly load his 2 CV car on top of the hatchways and keep his pet dog, cats or bird aboard. At 14 he bought his first book about canoe building and built his first life-size canoe with the help of his brother. Many more books followed, ranging from boat building to woodworking, another of his passions. Many years later, when moving to Hawaii with his family in 1991, Pimmel read "Hokule'a, The Way to Tahiti" by Ben R. Finney.
Since reading the story of that most audacious and little-reported voyage covering 6000 miles in a reconstructed Polynesian canoe, Pimmel's collection of rare and fine books, special subjects, studies and pamphlets on specialized aspects of Polynesian seafaring, Pacific navigators and canoe building has grown considerably.
Without doubt, a great classic of the maritime ethnography of Oceania "Canoes of Oceania" by Haddon & Hornell for its depth of research. No library would be complete without "Atlas des Violiers et Pirogues du Monde" from Admiral Paris (1843) and the now rare volumes I and II of "Pirogues Oceaniennes" by Jean Neyret, containing the line drawings and descriptions of literally thousands of Oceanic canoes covering the Pacific from Hawaii to Sumatra and from Java to Easter Island and even as far afield as Madagascar. Edward Dodd's writings about Polynesian seafaring as well as those by David Lewis contain a wealth of information for the further understanding of the wonders and secrets of Polynesia and their Pacific island Navigators. Tommy Holmes' book "The Hawaiian Canoe" is outstanding in that it treats the subject of Hawaiian canoes in great depth but with great readability. And last but not least worth noting is "Voyagers", a collection of words and images by Herb Kawainui Kane.
In addition to books relating to canoe building and Pacific seafaring and navigators, Pimmel's shelves are stacked high with books about boat design and architecture, ship modeling, rigging and sailing. His library serves an educational function, to provide understanding of the culture of the people of the Pacific, and, in particular, their maritime culture and their canoe building skills and traditions. Reading these books has helped Pimmel become aware that a multitude of canoes of different size, shape and form were built in every tiny corner of the Pacific islands, and how sometimes the construction of a given type of canoe evolved from one neighboring island to another; or how Pacific migrations influenced the shape of a type of canoe 1000 miles away (for example, the surprising similarities between the Solomon islands war canoes and some types of Filipino vessels with elevated bow and stern). Similarly, years of studying the canoes of Oceania and having assisted in the construction of some of them along the Sulu Sea, have contributed to Pimmel's knowledge of the construction of these canoes; knowledge that he makes use of in his scale models not just from Polynesia, but also other parts of the Pacific rim.
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A small selection of my private collection of vintage and historical canoe models from around the Pacific.
This is a very rare model of a Yami (or Tao) people canoe from Orchid Island, Taiwan
The canoe features traditional red, white, and black geometric patterns. The circular motifs are known as mata no tatara, or “eyes of the canoe”
Forward section of the Yami (Tao) canoe model
This is an extremely beautiful, 36 inches long, carved wooden canoe hull or “Wuramon” from the Asmat people of West Papua, Indonesia.
The hull is decorated with painted carvings and used as an ancestral container. This item dates from the early 20th century.
A crocodile head makes the canoe’s prow, its carved jaws and scaled crest shaping the front.
A c. 80 year old hull of a Samoan canoe model decorated with finely carved geometrical patterns.
Model of a traditional Sri Lanka fishing canoe
A canoe model of WALOMO. The canoes of Walomo are traditional outrigger fishing vessels from Walomo village, located on the northwest coast of PNG.
The custom of carving incised designs of fishes, birds and other creatures onto the hull and splashboard of canoes belongs to the various villages and island settlements in Jayapura Bay. This area has its own distinctive style, characterized by the elaborately carved S-shaped prow ornament representing a combination of birds and fishes. Hornell wrote” No two hulls are ornamented alike”. Canoes of Walomo by Hermone Frankel.
The jewel of my canoe collection, an elaborately carved Maori Waka Taua . Long by 34 inches , the tau-ihu as well as the tau-rapa are extremely finely carved. Rich carvings all along the washstrakes , executed in characteristically Maori bas-relief would suggest that this model was built by a tohunga tarai waka.
