Waka (Canoe)

A waka is a traditional canoe of the Maori people of New Zealand and, more broadly, of other Polynesian cultures across the Pacific, used historically for fishing, transport, warfare and long-distance ocean voyaging. Waka range in scale from small single-hull vessels paddled by one or a few people to large ocean-going double-hulled canoes, known as waka hourua, capable of carrying dozens of people and provisions across open water using sail as well as paddles. These large voyaging canoes are central to the history of the Polynesian settlement of the Pacific islands, including the migrations that brought Maori ancestors to New Zealand, and waka remain an important cultural symbol in Maori ceremonial and community life today.