Va'a

Vaʻa is a word in

Samoa

The Samoans have four kinds of canoes, smaller fishing vessels or the larger oceangoing

• outrigger canoe
  made from a single log;
• vaʻa-alo A small fishing-canoe.
• Large single canoes, termed respectively la'au lima (five-barred), or six or seven-barred, as the case might be, were canoes varying in length from thirty, fifty, sixty, and even seventy feet, as required. They were balanced by an outrigger firmly lashed to the canoe on the left side at a distance of three feet if meant for pulling, but of five or six feet if required for sailing. The single canoes have a light appearance, the prow and stern being slightly curved upwards, so that merely the bosom or central part of an unloaded canoe rests upon the water.
• ʻalia. Samoan double canoe, va'a-tele (the big canoe), was much larger, and consisted of two canoes, one longer than the other, lashed together with cross-bars amidships, and having the thatched shed or cabin built upon a stage that projected over the stern, instead of in midships, as in the Tonga canoes. It was much larger than this canoe, but more difficult to manage, yet able to carry one or two Vaʻa-alo, or small fishing-canoes, on deck as required.

Construction

A main hull of a vaʻa can be made in one piece, from a hollowed out trunk of a large tree with the ama float attached later. Other types of Polynesian construction include 'sewing' planks of wood together with special cords and ropes, a type of hand made sennit, important in the material cultures of the people of Oceania.

Other meanings

Vaʻa is also a surname in the

• Earl Va'a (b. 1976), Samoan rugby player
• Justin Va'a (b. 1978), Samoan rugby player

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Va'a.

• Culture of Samoa
• Polynesian navigation
• Hokulea
• Lakana
• Wa'a

References

External links

• Takia Outrigger Canoe Club Fiji