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The Maori Canoe

Canoes of the Chatham Isles

Canoes of the Chatham Isles

The Moriori folk, natives of the Chatham Isles, possessed no timber from which they could hew out canoes, hence they were compelled to construct rude craft composed of flax-stalks, fernstalks, and seaweed built up on a timber keel. The following notes on these primitive craft, which were but little more than floats, were obtained by the late Mr. A. Shand.

1.The waka puhara, or korari, had two keels (poles or small beams); thus it was flat-bottomed. The stern-post was called a koua, and carved, and the two pieces of wood projecting from the stern were called the puremu, and were also carved. The bottom and sides were formed of dry flowering-stalks (korarl) of Phormium tenax lashed to a slight wooden framework. Through these materials, of course, the water passed freely, thus the so-called canoe was always full of water—i.e., full so far as it was sunk in the water. These craft were made up to 30 ft. or 35 ft. in length, 4 ft. wide, and 4 ft. deep. (See figs. 103, 104, 105, 106, pp. 204, 208, 210, 211.)
2.The waka rimu. This was a vessel much the same as No. 1, but sides and bottom were covered only with pieces of rimurapa, or bull-kelp. Deighton states that the frame was so covered both outside and inside.
3.The waka pahi was a deep-water vessel, used in making trips to the outlying islands. It was built up on two keels of matlpou wood, about 30 ft. in length in the case of the largest specimens. Of such the koua, or stern-pieces, of akeake wood would be about 12 ft. high, while the pur emu projected about 10 ft.; width about 8 ft., and depth about 5 ft. The rimurapa, or kelp, was used in its construction, as in the case of the waka rimu.
4.The waka ra was made of bracken-stems (Pteris) and the dry flower-stalks of Phormium, in much the same form as a Maori mokihi. The sides were low, and apparently this craft was used only in a ceremonial manner. Rude images of men, from twelve to twentyfour in number, were placed in it, each with a paddle tied to its hands, and the rude vessel with its singular freight was set adrift upon the ocean. One authority states that it was so launched from the place on the eastern side of the main island where a cave is seen, at a time when a westerly wind was blowing. It was from that cave that spirits of the dead were believed to depart on their journey page 206to the spirit-world. This curious act is said to have been equivalent to a propitiation of Rongo-takuiti, who represented seals and blackfish; it amounted to a request that that being send the people an abundance of such food-supplies. Civilized man depends principally upon spoken prayers, but uncultured man sometimes prefers to act his requests.

The following remarks on canoes of the Chatham Isles are from the late Mr. Shand's monograph on the Moriori people, published as volume 2 of the Memoirs of the Polynesian Society: "In the matter of canoes the Moriori differed essentially from all other branches of the race; in fact, they possessed none, properly so called, but used a kind of built up craft, very clumsy, especially for pulling, but otherwise very safe so long as the fastenings were sound. In heavy weather they were not liable to fill and capsize like a Maori canoe, being really, from their construction, more rafts than canoes. Their sea-going ancestors from far Hawaiki would have scorned the use of such a vessel, and certainly could not have undertaken a distant voyage in one; the material of which they were composed would not have held out. On the other hand, considerable ingenuity was shown in utilizing such unpromising material as they were possessed of. The absence of canoes arose from the fact that the islands possessed no timber of a sufficient size and quality to make canoes from. The flooring of their rafts was made of korari, the flower-stalks of Phormium tenax, with kelp placed in the crate-like frame beneath, to render the vessel buoyant. The kelp was of the large broad-leaved kind, and was inflated with air; it was taken out on landing, dried, and reinflated as before. Notwithstanding the flimsy character of these vessels, the people were accustomed to cross from Chatham Island to Pitt Island, a rough sea strait of twelve miles in width, and to undertake far more dangerous voyages to the small off-lying islands, some of which are fifteen to twenty miles away from the main island, although closer to Pitt Island. It very often happened, however, that these raft-canoes and their crews were caught in a storm and were carried out to sea, there to perish. They were large enough to carry sixty to seventy people, and were propelled by paddles (hiwa), which, contrary to the method of all other Polynesians, were used by the crews sitting with their backs to the bows, as with Europeans, and by making use of a support, or thole-pin, against which the paddle worked. They carried fire with them for warmth, which was placed on stones and earth on the floor of the raft-canoe. Their raft-canoes never had sails. The larger and sea-going ones were called waka pahii, or pepe."

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The account of the canoes of the Chatham Isles furnished by Lieutenant Broughton, discoverer of the group, is as follows: "The canoes we examined were more in form of a small handbarrow without legs than anything to which they can be compared, decreasing in width from the after to the fore part. They were made of a light substance resembling bamboo, though not hollow, placed fore and aft on each side, and secured together by pieces of the same wood, up and down, very neatly fastened with the fibres of some plant in the manner of basketwork. Their bottoms, flat, and constructed in the same way, were two feet deep and eighteen inches in breadth; the openings of the seams on the inside and bottom were stuffed with long seaweed; their sides meet not abaft, nor forward; their extreme breadth aft is three, and forward two feet; length, eight and nine feet. In the stern is a seat very neatly made of the same material, which is movable. They appeared calculated alone for fishing amongst the rocks near the shore; were capable of carrying two or three persons, and were so light that two men could convey them anywhere with ease, and one could haul them into safety on the beach. Their grapnels were stones, and the ropes to which these were made were formed of matting, worked up in a similar way with that which is called French sinnet. The paddles were of hard wood, the blades very broad, and gradually increasing from the handle."

Evidently this voyager did not see any of their larger vessels, such as are described above.

The following account of the so-called canoes of the Moriori folk is taken from the journal of the "Chatham," published in volume 2 of McNab's Historical Records of New Zealand: "Here we found two canoes, if they may be allowed that name, for so little did they resemble anything we knew of that kind that had they been found inland instead of on the sea-beach I believe we should have thought of various other uses before we had hit on the one for which they were really intended. In shape they were not unlike the body of a common wheelbarrow; their sides were made of small sticks lashed tightly with withs [withes] upon one another about eight or nine feet long. The widest end about three feet, the other about two, and narrowing downwards, left a flat bottom better than a foot broad. Their depth was nearly two feet, and compactly filled with seaweed almost to the top. The paddles were a rough piece of wood rudely made into a flat form without the least neatness. The whole of their construction made it pretty evident that they were most probably used merely in the bays and amongst the rocks for fishing"

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Two of the small Moriori craft, such as were used by one person for fishing purposes, have been preserved in the Dominion Museum. As these rude vessels are formed of materials that are already yielding to decay, it has been thought advisable to record some description of them, as also illustrations.

In fig. 104 we see the better of these two specimens, the other one not being complete. The former shows a very primitive craft that might be better described as a float than a canoe. The term "catamaran" has been applied to these vessels by some, but, as it is also applied to log rafts and to outrigger canoes, the name is not of much service to us. The length of this specimen is 9 ft., which does not include the projecting ends of the keel-pieces. At 20 in. from the stern end is the deepest part of the craft, 18 in. (outside mesurement), which includes the projecting keel-pieces. From this point the stern sweeps upward, and the depth also decreases toward the prow, the keels rising gradually to the prow in a slightly curved sweep from the middle sections of the two keels.

The frame consists principally of two keel timbers of small di-mensions, 10 ft. 3 in. in length over all, each composed of four pieces, and placed parallel to each other. These are the only two timbers that possess any strength, and that is impaired by their three joinings. The balance of the frame is composed of rods about 1 in. in thickness, and of slight supplejack canes. The main piece of each keel is that forming the lowest (or central) part; it is 4 ft. 5 in. long, its upper surface 1¼ in. to 1½ in. thick, but narrowing to ½ in. at the bottom. The stern-piece is 31 in. long, and curved; it is fitted to the upper part of the lower piece with a scarf and slight shoulder. In form it Fig. 104 A Waka Puhara of the Chatham Isles, in Dominion Museum. resembles the lower piece, but narrows somewhat toward the upper end, where it projects 7 in. from the body of the craft.

The upward sweep of the forward ends of the two keel-stringers is formed, in each case, of two pieces. The lower piece or section is 3 ft. 8 in. long, and is curved, its lower end scarfed and fitted on to page 209the horizontal central piece, the scarf being 8 in. long and carrying a shallow ½ in. shoulder. This piece decreases in width and thickness upwards towards the prow, and its under part is brought to a sharp edge, unlike the other two already described. The last and smallest piece of the keel is but 21 in. long, and it decreases in size in sympathy with the lower part, to terminate in a point projecting 9 in. from the forward end of the vessel. These four pieces forming each of the slight keel-pieces are lashed together, the lashing-material being cords of Phormium fibre passed through holes bored in both pieces, and also the toe of each scarf. The extreme ends of both keel-pieces are rudely carved, those projecting from the stern showing no particular design. (See fig. 105, p. 210.) One prow projection has been broken, but the other is carved into a fair representation of the head of a bird, reminding the observer of certain Melanesian carvings, but which is not a Maori form.

The two keel-pieces are thus shown to be alike: they are 11 in. apart at the prow, and this space decreases gradually to 8 in. or 9 in. at the stern. On this foundation the slight framework of the sides is built up, consisting of small ribs and two fore-and-aft rods on each side. There are seventy-six slender supplejack ribs—pieces of the pliant, tough stem of a climbing-plant (Rhipogonum scandens)— placed about 1 in. apart. These form the bottom of the craft, and are laid across on the upper surfaces of the two keel-pieces and bent sharply upwards at the outer edge of the keels to form side ribs. The upper ends of these are tied to fore-and-aft rods extending from the stern-board to within 28 in. of the forward end of the keels. To hold the floor-ribs in place, and attach them to the keels, three pieces of supplejack are laid fore-and-aft on them, one along the middle and one over each keel. These are tied to each rib, and the side ones are also lashed to the keels, at intervals of from 3½ in. to 6in., the lashings passing through holes cut (with a steel chisel in this case) in the keels.

Here we have the framework of the craft; but the sides have been raised 8 in. by fixing two more rods, ¾ in. to 1 in. in thickness, fore-and-aft, extending from the upper part of the small horizontal stern-board to within 27 in. of the prow end of the keels, where an angle occurs, and two short rods meet the two long ones. Between the two side rods, 8 in. apart, are lashed horizontally small bundles of dried stalks of fern (Pteris), through which pass vertically short sticks which are lashed to the rods and so form a continuation of the main or lower side ribs. Why the latter should not have been continued to the upper side rod, and so saved the trouble of inserting so many short pieces, is by no means clear. On the outer sides of these short ribs are lashed other small bundles of fern-stalks, which extend to page 210 Fig. 105 Stern End of the Rude Morion Craft Shown in Fig. 104. and cover the lower side rods, below which the longer supplejack ribs are exposed and carry no lining.

The whole fabric is braced by short cross-sticks placed about 1½ in. apart and tied to the sides. This grating-like structure is 8 in. below the top of the sides in the middle of the craft, which decreases to zero at the prow end, and to 4 in. at the stern end, which is closed by a piece of board. The width of this rude vessel across the top is 20 in. in the middle, 18 in. at the stern, and 16 in. at the prow. The whole space between the grating or cross-rods and the bottom is closely packed with fern-stalks and dry flower-stalks of Phormium. All lashings are neatly made with strips of Phormium leaf, except those of the keels, where plaited cords are used. Four pegs, 16 in. long, pointed at the lower end, have been thrust diagonally into the massed packing under the grating, their upper ends projecting above the upper side rod, to which they are tied.

Evidently this craft was meant to hold one person, who sat at the stern. At this end is an open space of 30 in., forward of which a curious and detachable apparatus is seen. It looks like a diminutive but unfinished platform, possibly used to put things on. Two rods, 6 ft. long, are placed 9 in. apart within the vessel between the topsides. Their forward ends rest on the upturned prow, and they are otherwise supported by six pegs, sharp-pointed, and thrust down into the packing beneath the grating or floor. On the top of these parallel rods three diminutive platforms have been formed, each page 211about 11 in. by 12 in. in size, by tying short cross-pieces of Phormium flower-stalk (korari) on to the rods. It will be seen that the blocked packing is to gain additional buoyancy, and that the water would wash freely through the whole structure.

In fig. 106 we have a similar specimen of the rude Moriori craft, of which the keels are made up of three pieces. It lacks the packing or filling of buoyant materials in the hold, below the grating or cross-pieces. The length of this float is 8 ft. 7 in.; depth of interior is 17 in. Fig. 106 A Waka Puhara of the Chatham Isles. at the deepest part, which is at 26 in. from the stern end, from which point the stern rises, and, towards the prow, the flat bottom ascends gradually, as shown in the illustration. The two keel-pieces, or light stringers, are of the same form as those of the specimen already described; the three pieces of which they are composed are fastened together in the same manner, but they do not project at the prow, their ends being covered with small cross-pieces of split supplejack tied on them. The whole fabric is of very similar construction to fig. 104, except that three horizontal side rods are used, and the bent supplejacks forming the ribs are carried up to the gunwales, so that no short supplementary pieces are employed as in the other craft. The absence of packing below the cross-pieces or grating allow of the details of construction being better seen in fig. 106.

The upturned prow is lined with stalks of fern and Phormium, and the upper parts of the sides are finished off as in fig. 104. In the stern is a small movable seat made by tying short pieces of fern-stalk on to three cross-rods. A similar but smaller contrivance near the prow is but 6 in. wide. No form of outrigger was used by the Moriori on these frail craft, and it is probable that when in use the water-logged bodies sank deep enough to prevent a capsize.

When the ancestors of the Moriori folk of the Chatham Isles made the voyage from New Zealand to that group they did so in page 212large seaworthy canoes, as is shown in tradition. At the Chathams they found no timber large enough to make canoe-hulls. During the seven hundred years or thereabouts that these folk occupied the Chathams they evolved the frail craft we have described—an illustra-tion of how new forms may be invented under the stern law of necessity.

Although the Moriori used no form of double canoe, yet they seem to have preserved in tradition a dim knowledge of them as known when their ancestors lived in New Zealand or elsewhere. Some interesting traditions of the voyage of the immigrants to the Chathams are contained in volume 2 of the Memoirs of the Polynesian Society.

The following notes applying to one of the raft-canoes described above have come to light: they were written by the late Mr. A. Shandin 1889:—

"The model is one of the large sea-going canoes which were used to go from Chatham to Pitt and the various outlying islands—to the latter to get fur-seals for clothing, and the young of various seabirds before they were quite ready to fly, as well as for going out to fish round the coast. Owing to the lack of suitable timber on the island to make anything like a Maori canoe, they devised and made this raft-canoe, if it may be so termed, capable of carrying fifty or more, stuffing the inside with large bladders of blown-out kelp, which were taken out on landing at their destination, to be dried for future use.

"As will be perceived, the water washing through the body of the canoe made progress rather slow: but, being skilful and daring navigators, they took advantage of the tides, which run very strongly round the coast, such carrying them generally in close proximity to their destination. Further, they say that, owing to their peculiar construction, these boats were safer in rough weather than a Maori canoe or a whale-boat—not shipping water, or, when spray came over, it ran off without doing mischief; and requiring a very heavy gale to capsize them. In going to a distance they plaited large baskets (kona), which they filled with earth, on which to light a fire and cook food, taking also a large supply of firewood with them as well as drinking-water. Everything being tied necessitated their taking lashing-materials with them wherewith to make necessary repairs. The paddles were used oar-fashion against projecting pins, while at the stern two or three steersmen, according to the size of the canoe, sat directing others with such commands as 'To tu,' 'To waho,' 'Here ka raw'—this more especially when landing on surf beaches. The large sea-going canoes were called wakapahi."