Display this Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe in your living room or office. Outrigger Canoe Displays are approximately 7"x10"x8". Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe History: Outrigger canoes glide through the Hawaiian waters. Paddlers work in perfect unison, their strokes disciplined, strong, and smooth. Canoeing, called "paddling" by the locals, has become a team sport in Hawaii. More than a millennium before Captain Cook arrived, a group of intrepid people braved the Pacific Ocean, looking for land. Without instruments, they traveled at night, when stars guided their way. Their canoes, plank-lashed vessels, yielded to the ocean. They had brought with them livestock, edible plants, and the desire to build a new life. How fortunate they must have felt when they found Hawaii, and, growing on it, the giant koa tree. Now they could craft a canoe hull out of one single piece! Over the years, these first Polynesians established themselves as the Hawaiian people. They developed new skills and the building of the canoe became a religious task. A new canoe started long before the actual hewing of a tree. A specially trained kahuna (Hawaiian priest), alert to any auspicious or disastrous signs, searched for the perfect site and tree. His guide was the elepaio, a Hawaiian bird that was attracted to rotting koa wood, which the kahuna knew not to use in building canoes. A healthy tree, which had to be at least a hundred years old to be large enough, could demand a fifteen mile trek inland. Once it was chosen, a group of men hiked over with enough provisions for the work and days ahead. The kahuna stayed throughout because prayers, blessings and invocations had to shower over every detail of the task. Hauling the rough hull to the shore was dangerous. The log, at times weighing as much as 20,000 pounds and measuring up to 70 feet. Safely on shore, the hull was finished in a special halau (canoe shed). A black paint, made out of plants and charcoal, added a waterproof finished layer to the wood. And for the ali'i, the addition of hens' eggs to the paint resulted in a glossy exterior. The final consecration, before the canoes maiden voyage, included the sacrifice of a pig and a dog. Samuel Kamakau, historian and newspaper columnist in the years 1869 and 1870, and often the only remaining source of information on old Hawaiian techniques, wrote: "The pig symbolized the 'rooting' of the canoe into the open sea, and the dog 'the tearing apart' the billows of the ocean". As important as the canoe itself were its many accessories, including the well-known, balancing outrigger booms for the single canoe. Specialized artisans worked on these parts with carefully selected woods. Finely plated lauhala matting created powerful sails, although the Hawaiians relied mostly on their paddling. Those paddles were customized to each owner. The most distinctive feature of the Hawaiian canoe is the absence of any ornamentation or decoration. There are no fancy carvings or extra wood. The furious Hawaiian waters and the pounding surf demanded a clean, streamlined shape. Canoe surfing was a learned skill and grew into a sophisticated sport. Any good king or chief knew how to surf a canoe. It's no surprise that surfing has become Hawaii's greatest pastime. Surfing, in fact, is Hawaii's gift to the world. When Captain Cook arrived in Kealakekua Bay in the year 1779, he reported seeing at least 1500 canoes! At the time, Hawaii must have numbered between 6,000 and 12,000 canoes for a population of 175,000 to 225,000. Gradually, both the Hawaiian canoe and the water sports surrounding it disappeared. An underground movement, loyal to its past, lived on. In 1908, the Outrigger Canoe Club was founded. A few water-enthusiasts had remembered the importance of keeping the old knowledge alive. Those early years of the Canoe Club included sailing competitions as well as board surfing and swimming, but it seemed that more and more attention drew toward the slender paddling canoe. Since then, paddling, canoe racing, and recently also sail racing, have grown once again into one of the most popular activities in the Hawaiian islands. Children go out on their boogie boards as soon as parents allow and Hawaii has more than 60 canoe clubs and more than 5000 people are actively involved in the sport. Long-distance races are growing in popularity. W hat started out as a single event, the Molokai-Oahu race, a grueling channel-crossing race, is now one of the most noted annual events. On the Big Island the Queen Lili'uokalani Race between Kailua and Honaunau in Kona has become an 'ocean mark', attracting canoes and their owners from all over the islands. The Hokule'a, named after the zenith star of the Hawaiian sky at night, was built in 1974, according to remaining descriptions of old, double-hulled canoes. Over 60 feet long, the Hokule'a and the Polynesian voyages it has made are more than nostalgic adventures. The canoe has become a spiritual symbol of inspiration and remembrance. It connects Hawaii with a past that was almost forgotten, but must survive. Since the Hokule'a, several other canoe models have been built. Modern canoes are made of fiberglass, but not much else has changed. |