Overview
This vaka (canoe) is one of two from atolls in the Cook Islands that feature in Tangata o le Moana. They were both made about 1900 and were exhibited at the New Zealand International Exhibition of Arts and Industries, held in Christchurch in 1906. Both are extremely rare in the world today.
Tauhunu
Tauhunu is from Manihiki in the northern Cook Islands. It is one of only three such vaka that survive in museums worldwide. It is called Tauhunu after the main village on Manihiki.
Originally, Tauhunu would have had an outrigger for stability. It would have been paddled mostly, but it could also have been sailed, mainly inside the lagoon. Removing the outrigger would have allowed it to be used as part of a double canoe.
Making Tauhunu
Tauhunu is made from wood lashed together with sennit (coconut husk fibre) and is decorated with inlaid pieces of pearl shell a very precious material in the Cook Islands. Canoe building continued on Manihiki until recently, but modern vaka do not match Tauhunu for quality of workmanship.
Tauhunu in New Zealand
Tauhunu was sent to the New Zealand International Exhibition of Arts and Industries by Lieutenant-Colonel Gudgeon, the New Zealand Resident Commissioner in the Cook Islands at the time. It was bought for the Dominion Museum, Te Papa’s predecessor, in 1907.
Nothing more is known about the history or makers of Tauhunu.
Connecting past and present
In 2006, the Manihiki community celebrated the 100th anniversary of the arrival of Tauhunu in New Zealand. They presented Te Papa with the gift of a pearl necklace to mark the occasion. The occasion renewed the connection between the people of Manihiki and their rare cultural treasure.
A‘ua‘u
This vaka, or outrigger canoe, is from Mangaia in the Cook Islands and is called A‘ua‘u – an old name for the atoll. It is the world’s only surviving example of an old-style Mangaian vaka.
A‘ua‘u is just over four metres long. British explorer James Cook saw painted vaka this size at sea in the 1700s. A‘ua‘u, however, is not a voyaging vessel, which could measure up to nine metres in length. It would have been used for fishing and short journeys between islands.
Making A‘ua‘u
Three Cook Islands carvers – Tangitoru, Terepo, and Autemate – made A‘ua‘u and travelled with it to Christchurch for the exhibition. They created the hull from a hollow log.
Tangitoru painted the hull patterns, which were said to replicate the tattoos on his own body. The carved star motif on the bow is believed to have been used as a navigational aid.
Connecting past and present
In 2006, members of New Zealand’s Mangaian community marked the 100th anniversary of the vaka’s first display in this country with a celebration at Te Papa.
Text originally published in Tai Awatea, Te Papa's onfloor multimedia database (2007)