item details
Overview
This is a model of an eighteenth century tipaerua - a doubled-hulled sailing vaka (canoe) from Tahiti in the Society Islands. Tipaerua were the vessels of kings and chiefs and could be up to 21 metres (70 feet) in length. They had names such as Tiaitoerau (Wait for the west wind) and Anuanua (Rainbow).
Construction
Tipaerua were made by specialist builders. Sails were usually woven from the long narrow leaves of pandanus - a plant similar to flax. The leaves would be dried and slit into thin strips, which were then woven together.Tipaerua were constructed upon a narrow dugout keel. Tahitian vaka builders used stone adzes to shape the individual planks. Planks were stitched together using fibre cords made from coconut husk.The joins and lashing holes were caulked with coconut fibre and breadfruit sap. The cordage and rope were made from the braided fibres of coconut husk or hibiscus bark fibre. Ropes were made to varying qualities and thicknesses and used as fishing lines, nets, and to lash masts and rigging.
Ancestral connections
It is possible that many of the great Tahitian voyages to Hawai'i and New Zealand were made in vessels similar to tipaerua. Their low prows and upturned sterns are a design feature typical of many large Māori waka (canoes) to this day.