Waka ( canoe ) Waka ( ; ) are Māori watercraft , usually canoes ranging in size from small , unornamented canoes ( waka tīwai ) used for fishing and river travel , to large decorated war canoes ( waka taua ) up to long . Since the 1970s about eight large double - hulled canoes of about 20 metres have been constructed for oceanic voyaging to other parts of the Pacific but they are made of a blend of modern and traditional materials incorporating features from both ancient Melanesia as well as Polynesia . Waka taua ( war canoes ) . Waka taua ( war canoes ) are large canoes manned by up to 80 paddlers and are up to in length . Large waka , such as Nga Toki Matawhaorua which are usually elaborately carved and decorated , consist of a main hull formed from a single hollowed - out log , along with a carved upright head and tailboard . The gunwale is raised in some by a continuous plank which gives increased freeboard and prevents distortion of the main hull components when used in a rough seas . Sometimes the hull is further strengthened , as in the case of Te Winika , a 200 - year - old design , by a batten or stringer running lengthwise both inside and outside the hull just above the loaded waterline . The resurgence of Māori culture has seen an increase in the numbers of waka taua built , generally on behalf of a tribal group , for use on ceremonial occasions . Traditionally the war canoe was highly tapu . No cooked food was allowed in the craft and the waka had to be entered over the gunwales , not the bow or stern which were highly decorated with powerful symbols . Canoes were often painted with black or white with black representing death . The main colour was red which stood for tapu . Sometimes a waka would be placed upright as a marker for a dead chief with the curved bottom of the hull carved . Maori told missionaries during the Musket wars that battles between waka took place at sea with the aim being to ram an enemy ' s waka amidships at high speed . The ramming vessel would ride up over the gunwale and either force it under water or cause it to roll over . The enemies were either killed , left to drown or captured to be used in cannibal feasts or as slaves if they were female . Waka : traditional construction . During the classic period ( about 1500 to 1770 ) a hapū ( the basic political unit within Māori society , consisting of about eight to 14 families ) would select a Totara tree ( native to New Zealand ) , the favoured wood ( due to its high oil content and light weight ) and prepare it years ahead for felling . This would include the removal of bark from one side of the trunk and the clearing of the ground and the planting of food crops for workers . After chants and prayers the tree would be felled by a combination of fires around the base and chopping with hand adze s . On an especially large tree with aerial roots a stage about 3m high was built of wood . On this was built a framework on which was suspended a giant upside down toki ( axe ) , about 2 . 5m long . The long axis of the toki was tied to the cross member of the upper frame work so that it could pivot back and forwards , like a swing . Heavy rocks were tied to each side of the long axis at its lowest point to give momentum . The toki was pulled back and released so that the cutting edge bit into the wood that was weakened by fire . It could take two to three weeks to cut down a large tree in this manner . The head of the tree and branches were removed then the hull was roughly shaped insitu using fire and hand adzes , under the guidance of the chief designer . A stone adze was used by relatively gentle but regular and repeated blows . The head was soaked in water to make the binding swell and hold the stone blade more firmly . Once the shaping was complete , the log of 3 – 4 tonnes was pulled by teams of men to a stream or river using multiple ropes made from raupo . Some men pulled the waka forward while others restrained it on downhill slopes . Accidents at this stage were apparently common . Saplings were used as skids and rollers over uneven ground . The final shaping was done closer to the papakainga to be nearer to food . A waka could take a year to make if the construction went smoothly , but it could be abandoned if there was an accident or a death of an important person . Such abandoned , uncompleted waka have been found in post - contact times . Most large waka were built in several main interlocking sections and stitched together with flax rope . Small pegs were put in the holes which swelled and sealed when wet . Tree gum could also seal the holes . A large finished waka weighed about three tonnes and could remain in use for many decades . All large waka had names and were objects of pride and admiration . The image above shows the Waka Taua in the bay with unusually high freeboard . A noticeable feature of a loaded waka taua was its very low freeboard of 400 – 500 mm which made the vessel unseaworthy in all but good weather , despite the presence of one or two young men on board dedicated to bailing . The normal timber used , Totara , is a lightweight native podocarp , which retains its natural oils even when cut down . This prevented the timber opening up and splitting . Angela Ballara noted that they only put to sea when it was fine . One voyage across the stormy Cook Strait , was delayed for a week while the travellers waited for fine weather . The missionary William Williams , son of Henry Williams , noted that the voyage of a waka taua was a leisurely affair due to the requirements of foraging for food and waiting for fine weather . Technology changes . From the arrival of James Cook in 1769 and especially Marion Du Fresne ' s longer stay in New Zealand in 1772 , Maori were able to obtain iron and steel which did not exist in pre contact Maori culture . Maori quickly learned the superiority of this material , especially for carving . Maori learnt to ask sailors to sharpen 8 inch long ships nails to a chisel point on a ships wheel in exchange for fish . This period between 1779 and 1820 - the height of the musket wars , has been called the golden age of Maori wood carving Much of the carving was confined to waka taua . During the middle 19th century , from 1835 , the arrival of large numbers of European settlers and ships meant that ship ' s boats were far more commonly available and were increasingly used by Maori in preference to waka . In 1839 100 ships visited The Bay of Islands . This was a trend that the missionaries such as Marsden and Williams had noted had begun in the 1830s . The beamier , lighter , ship ' s boat was better load carriers with more stability and was sometimes equipped with sails for windward sailing . Use of shipsboats became common as many Maori worked on a wide variety of sealing , whaling and trading sailing vessels , both in New Zealand and in the Pacific . During the Land Wars few waka were used for movement of warriors as when the Waikato campaign started in 1863 the government forces made a point of sinking all the waka they could find on the Waikato River and its tributaries to slow rebel communications . Later , some fine examples of these waka were placed in the Auckland War Memorial Musueum . Ocean - going canoes . Ocean - going waka , whatever their size , could be paddled but achieved their best speeds when propelled by sail . The Polynesia n settlers of New Zealand migrated to New Zealand in large waka ; some of these were possibly " waka hourua " according to legend , double - hulled vessels . The names and stories associated with those waka were passed on in oral history ( kōrero o mua ) but dates , names , times , and routes are frequently muddled and confused as the descendants of the settlers multiplied and separated into iwi ( tribes ) and hapu ( sub - tribes ) . Consequently the word " waka " is used to denote a confederation of iwi descended from the people of one migratory canoe . Waka ama ( outrigger canoes ) . Early European explorers saw Māori using waka ama ( outrigger canoe s ) . " Sydney Parkinson , an artist on Captain James Cook ’ s first voyage to New Zealand in 1769 , and the German scientist Johann Reinhold Forster , who sailed with Cook in 1773 , described waka fitted with outriggers ( ama , amatiatia or korewa ) " . Already rare in Cook ' s time , waka ama had largely faded from memory by the early 19th century ( Howe 2006 : 87 ) . However , the term ' waka ama ' occurs in old stories , such as the story of Māui published by in Grey in 1854 and in a few old waiata ; Tregear also mentions the waka ama as ' a possession of the Maori ' , adding that ' It was beneath the outrigger of such a canoe that the famous Maui crushed his wife ' s brother Irawaru before turning him into a dog . Both the double canoe and that with the outrigger have entirely disappeared from among the Maoris , and it is doubtful if any native now alive has seen either of them in New Zealand ' ( Tregear 1904 : 115 ) . The Māori words for the parts of the outrigger , such as ' ama ' and ' kiato ' , recorded in the early years of European settlement , suggest that Māori outrigger canoes were similar in form to those known from central Polynesia . In recent years , waka ama racing , introduced from Pasifika nations into New Zealand during the 1980s and 1990s , using high - tech canoes of Hawaiian or Tahitian design , and supported with the ingenious support of work schemes , has become an increasingly popular sport in New Zealand , often performed as part of larger festivals . Other materials used . Some waka , particularly in the Chatham Islands , were not conventional canoes , but were constructed from raupo ( bulrush es ) or flax stalks . In April 2011 Te Puni Kokiri , The Maori Development Agency , announced a joint venture with an Auckland tribe , to build a plastic PVC waka as a promotion for local Maori . Most of the $ 2 million funding comes from the taxpayer but the tribe is contributing $ 100 , 000 and will retain ownership after the event . The " tupper waka " as it has been called in the media , is actually a small conference facility for well off visitors during the world rugby competition being held in New Zealand in September 2011 . The graphic on TV shows that it is largely a promotional device with seating , tables and a bar . It will not be open to the general public according to the media briefing . The waka taua " Te Tuhono " in the National Museum of Scotland was restored and partially reconstructed by the Maori craftsman George Nuku , using carved Polymethyl Methacrylate ( PMMA ) to recreate missing sections . Related meanings . The word ' waka ' is also used in broader senses that can be translated as ' vessel ' , ' container ' , or ' vehicle ' . A waka huia is a hollowed and carved vessel used for storing of taonga ( treasures ) such as the prized tail feathers of the now - extinct huia bird ( " Heteralocha acutirostris " ) that are worn as ornaments in the hair . Maori revered Huia feathers as symbols of high status . On her coronation Elizabeth II was presented with two huia feathers . In current Māori usage , waka is used to refer to cars but is more closely translated to vessel , along with the transliterated term ' motokā ' ( motorcar ) . The neologism ' waka - rere - rangi ' ( literally : waka ( vessle ) that sails the sky ) was coined for aircraft . A ' waka hari hinu ' , ( vessel that carries oil ) is an oil tanker ; a ' waka niho ' ( gear container ) is a car ' s gearbox . ' Waka ' can be used to refer transport in general , such as in ' Te Manatū Waka ' ( Ministry of Transport ) and ' Waka Kotahi ' ( New Zealand Transport Agency ) .