In the Māori language a waka is a Māori watercraft, usually a canoe, ranging in size from small, unornamented ones (waka tīwai) used for fishing and river travel, to large decorated war canoes (waka taua) up to 40 metres long and able to carry 100 people.
These war-canoes of the Maoris are not unlike the ancient Viking ships of the Norsemen.
Waka taua were also the most ornately adorned and carved and have a perforated, spiral carving that supports the carved figurehead in the tauihu (prow).
When we went to the Waitangi Day enactment, several of these war canoes, laden with warriors and tribal leaders, came in from the sea to the harbour. Quite a formidable sight!
Most Maori affiliate themselves with a tribe. Tainui is the name of the waka, or boat, on which the ancestors of that tribe who travelled to here; hundreds of years ago.
In New Zealand, when they arrived, they found huge trees, the totara and kauri, and a single tree could make an enormous waka.
In current Māori usage, waka is used to refer to cars...which is ironic!
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