Drua Drua , also known as Na Drua , N ' drua , Ndrua or Vaka Tepu ( sacred canoe ) , is a double - hull sailing boat that originated in the south - western Pacific islands . Druas do not tack but rather shunt ( stern becomes the bow and vice versa ) . Both ends of each hull are identical , but the hulls are of different sizes and the smaller one is always sailed to windward . The main differences compared to other Pacific proas , are that the hulls have a symmetric U - form profile , and a second hull is used instead of an outrigger . When a float ( ama ) is used in place of the smaller hull , the craft is called a Camakau ( or Tamakau ) . " The Fijian double canoe ( " wangga ndrua " ) was the largest and finest sea - going vessel ever designed and built by natives of Oceania before contact with europeans . " Druas were large , up to 30 meters long , and could carry over 200 people . Despite being called " canoes " they were not dugouts , but plank - built ships . Origins . No written record exists of the diffusion of the drua design , but most anthropologist s assume its origin in Micronesia , and it probably came to Fiji through the Kiribati and Tuvalu islands . The only Polynesian shunting type is the Pahi of the Tuamotu archipelago , but it uses equal hulls and does not appear related to other proas . From Fiji , druas spread to Tonga ( where they are called Kalia ) and Samoa ( where they are called ' Alia ) . Captain Cook visited Tonga in his second and third voyages , and noticed that druas were rapidly displacing the Polynesian catamaran design . Tongan chiefs taking part in Fijian wars used to carry them back as prizes of war . Drua construction eventually became a monopoly of Tongan constructors living in the Fijian Lau Islands . War canoes . Druas were sacred canoes in the sense that only aristocrats could own one . Their main role was as war ships , taking part in naval battles and transporting warriors during raids . They also had a representative role , and were used to collect taxes . Following Fijian custom , it was an insult to cross her bows , or to sail to her windward , where the mast stay could be easily cut bringing down the sail . It was also custom to paddle and not to sail in sight of another chief ' s territory . Launching a drua required a bloody ritual , including human sacrifices . " With regard to the human sacrifice associated with the launching ceremonies , Wilkes ( 1985 , vol . 3 , p . 97 ) records that when Tanoa launched a canoe 10 or more men were slaughtered on the deck in order that it might be washed with human blood . Wall ( 1916 ) also says : A new canoe was launched over men ' s bodies that mana might enter into it and make it swift and safe , but I can find no trace of living men ever having been used for this purpose ; they were clubbed first . Certain small islands and districts enjoyed by hereditary right the doubtful honour of supplying the victims for these occasions , as for instance the island of Laucala for the launching of the vessels of the Cakaundrove chiefs . " Sailing performance . The speed of druas became a legend for western sailors , who sometimes confused " fijian canoes " with " flying proas " ( the latter being the original Micronesian design ) . The low freeboard of the hulls outside the central platform predates the " wave - piercing " bows of modern racing designs . The one course that could not be sailed , was with the wind directly aft ; otherwise her bows would be driven underwater . Her performance upwind is unclear , with some authors claiming it to be fast and close to the wind , and others describing it as making too much leeway with the wind in the quarter . The steering oars were massive , and big canoes would carry one at each end because they were too heavy to transport to the other side while shunting . The steersman ( or men ) risked being crippled or killed when hitting big waves . The chief used to stand on the platform ' s top , being responsible for cutting the sheet to avoid capsize . Heritage . " The disappearance of the double canoe of Fiji coincided with the close of the nineteenth century . Few if any were constructed after 1883 , the year of the death of King Cakobau , for his grandson , Ratu Popi , informed me that the king ' s sons two or three years later broke his double canoes to pieces and buried them in a swamp that they may be preserved and kept from being used by anyone else " Only two original druas appear to have survived , both of them small . One , named Sema Makawa , is in the New Zealand National Maritime Museum . The second one is Ratu Finau , at the Fiji Museum in Suva . Today , druas are still a symbol of Fiji , and Fiji ' s telephone booths are decorated with the characteristic mast - tops of druas .