NEW ZEALAND--_Continued_.
CANOES.
THE CANOE, AND ITS USES IN PEACE AND WAR -- THE COMMON TRADING CANOE
-- SKILL OF THE BOATMEN -- THE LARGE WAR CANOES, AND MODE OF BUILDING
THEM -- DECORATIONS OF THE CANOES -- SKILFUL CARVINGS -- THE THEORY
OF THE VARIOUS PATTERNS -- NAMES OF CANOES -- MANAGEMENT OF THE SAIL
-- CANOE SONGS -- A COMPLETE BOAT-LOAD -- MODE OF LANDING -- SHAPE
OF THE PADDLES, AND MODE OF USING THEM -- CARVING TOOLS -- SUPPOSED
COMPASSES.
War is carried on quite as much by water as by land, and a chief who
knows the principles of good generalship always uses the sea as well
as the land to serve as a basis for his attack. For this reason the
Maories take care to build their pahs in spots where they are well
defended from attack both on the seaward and the landward side. Some of
them are on the very verge of high-water mark, while others are perched
on the tops of cliffs, the base of which is washed by the waves.
One of the most picturesque of these is a pah situate near Mount
Egmont, and known by the name of the Waimate Pah. There is a cliff that
rises perpendicularly some four or five hundred feet above the level of
the water which laves its foot, and on the very summit of this cliff is
situated the pah in question. It is of considerable size, containing
many houses and is fortified with the usual wooden fence. In order to
render it as nearly as possible impregnable, the only approach is by
a very narrow and very steep path, that cannot be ascended except by
people who have strong heads, the path being so narrow, so steep, and
so dangerous that two men could defend it against fifty.
In his warlike expeditions E’Hongi made great use of his canoes, taking
them inland as far as they would go, and then having them dragged over
land to the next river.
These canoes play so important a part in the life of a New Zealander,
whether in war or peace, that they require a detailed description. The
canoes are of several kinds, according to the work which they have to
perform. The simplest form of the New Zealander’s canoe is little more
than a trunk of a tree hollowed into a sort of trough. Being incapable
of withstanding rough weather, this canoe is only used upon rivers.
Some of these canoes, which are called by the name of _kaupapas_,
are from forty to fifty feet in length, and in the widest part not
exceeding a yard in “beam.” A plentiful supply of fern leaves is laid
at the bottom of the canoe, and upon these the passengers recline.
Canoes of a similar character, called _tiwai_, are used in the inland
lakes, and sit so low in the water that they appear to have no gunwale.
Owing to their want of beam, these canoes are as easily upset as the
slight skiffs in which races are rowed on English rivers. The agile
Maori, accustomed from childhood to balance himself in these crank
vessels, traverses them with ease and security, but an European
generally upsets four or five canoes before he learns how to enter or
leave them properly. The natives manage these canoes with wonderful
skill, and, apparently regardless of the risk of capsizing the canoe,
dash their paddles into the water with furious energy, driving up spray
on all sides, and making the canoe and its rowers look at a distance
like some gigantic centipede dashing through the water.
The vessels, however, of which the Maories are most fond, and on which
they expend the most labor, are the large canoes in which the warriors
embark when on a campaign. Those canoes are made from the cowrie pine
(the same tree which furnishes the aromatic gum already mentioned); and
the tree being a very large one, the natives are able to make their
canoes of considerable size. Some of these canoes are upward of eighty
feet in length and in consequence are able to carry a great number of
warriors.
They are built in rather an elaborate manner. First the trough-like
vessel is formed from the tree trunk; and if it were left in that
state, it would be simply a very large kaupapa. As, however, it is
intended for sea voyages, and may have to endure rough weather; it is
much wider in proportion than the boat which is only used on rivers,
and is, moreover, rendered more seaworthy by gunwales. These are made
separately, and are lashed firmly to the sides of the boat by the
ordinary flax ropes.
Both the head and stern of the canoe are decorated with carving,
exactly similar in character to the specimens of native art which
have already been described. They are pierced with the most elaborate
patterns, which have as their basis the contour of the human
countenance and the semi-spiral curve. Perhaps a single canoe head will
have fifty or sixty human faces on it, each with the tongue protruded,
with the cheeks and forehead covered with tattooed lines, and with a
pair of goggle eyes made of the haliotis shell. The mode which a native
adopts when carving these elaborate patterns is as follows:
After shaping out the general form of the article to be carved, he
fixes on some part which he thinks will be suitable for the purpose,
and carves a human head upon it. When this is completed, he pitches
upon a second spot at some distance from the first, and carves another
head, proceeding in this way until he has carved as many heads as he
thinks the pattern will require.
He next furnishes the heads with bodies and limbs, which are always
represented in a very squat and ungainly manner, and fills in the
vacant spaces with the beautiful curved lines which he loves so well to
draw and carve. The minute elaboration of some of these war canoes is
so intricate that it baffles all power of description, and nothing but
a well executed photograph could give a correct idea of the beauty of
the workmanship. It is a marvellous example of the development of art
under difficulties. It is quite unique in its character, so that no one
who is acquainted with the subject can for a moment mistake a piece of
New Zealand carving for that of any other country.
Besides carving the canoes, the Maori paints them with vermilion in
token of their warlike object, and decorates them profusely with
bunches of feathers and dog’s hair, just like the tufts which are
attached to the patu. When the canoes are not wanted, they are drawn up
on shore, and are thatched in order to save them from the weather.
Like more civilized nations, the New Zealanders give names to their
canoes, and seem to delight in selecting the most sonorous titles that
they can invent. For example, one canoe is called Maratuhai, _i. e._
Devouring Fire; and others have names that coincide almost exactly with
our Invincibles, Terribles, Thunderers, and the like.
These boats are furnished with a very remarkable sail made of the
raupo rush. It is small in proportion to the size of the vessel, is
triangular in shape, and is so arranged that it can be raised or
lowered almost in a moment. They are better sailors than would be
imagined from their appearance, and run wonderfully close to the wind.
Sometimes from fifty to sixty men paddle in one of these war canoes,
singing songs in time to the stroke, and guided both in song and stroke
by a conductor who stands in the middle of the canoe, prompting the
words of the song, and beating time for the paddlers with a staff which
he holds in his hand. Owing to the power of the water in reflecting
sound, the measured chant of the paddle-song can be heard on a river
long before the canoe comes in sight.
Mr. Angas gives an interesting account of a journey in a Maori canoe.
After mentioning that the vessel was so deeply laden that its sides
were not more than two inches above the water, he proceeds as follows:
“The paddles were plied with great spirit; the exertions of the natives
being stimulated by the animated shouting song kept up incessantly
by the one or other of the party. At length the splashing was so
violent that we became nearly drenched, and on requesting the Maori
before us to throw less water in our faces, he replied with a proverb
common among them, that ‘No one is dry who travels with the Waikatos,’
meaning that the people of this tribe excel all others in the speed and
dexterity with which they manage their canoes.
“Our natives were in excellent spirits. They had been on a long journey
to Auckland, where they had seen the _pakeha_ (white man, or stranger)
in his settlement, and had witnessed many sights of civilization to
which they were previously strangers. They had also purchased articles
of European manufacture, and longing to return home to the peaceful
banks of the Waipa, to present them to their friends as tokens of their
regard. Their wild, deafening songs, with their heads all undulating
at every stroke, the contortions of their eyes, and their bare, tawny
shoulders, finely developing their muscles as they all dashed their
paddles simultaneously into the water, rendered the scene at once novel
and animating.
“The canoe songs are generally improvised, and frequently have
reference to passing objects. Such ejaculations as the following
were uttered by our companions at the highest pitch of their voices,
‘Pull away! Pull away! Pull away!’ ‘Dig into the water!’ ‘Break your
backs,’ &c. From the prow of one of the canoes a native flute sounded
plaintively. This is a very rude and imperfect instrument, and they
do not play it with any degree of skill, it having only two or three
notes.” The flute in question is that which is made of human bone, and
has been described on a previous page. It is played by placing the
orifice against one nostril, and stopping the other with the finger.
When the natives proceed on a journey in their canoes, they are so sure
of their own skill and management that they overload them to a degree
which would cause an immediate capsize in most countries. One chief,
named Wirihona, who was travelling with his family, afforded a curious
example of overloading a boat with impunity. The canoe was delicate and
frail, and in the bow sat a little boy with a small fire kept between
two pieces of bark. In the fore part of the canoe, where it was narrow,
sat the younger children, the adult members of the family being placed
in the middle, where the boat was widest. Toward the stern came another
batch of young children, and on the stern, which projects over the
water, sat Wirihona himself, steering the vessel with his paddle.
The canoe in which were Mr. Angas and his companions was, as the reader
may recollect, so laden that her gunwale barely rose two inches above
the surface. As long as they were paddling along the narrower and more
sheltered parts of the river, all went smoothly enough, though the
deeply-laden state of the crank boat gave cause for uneasiness. At
last, however, they came to some wide and open reaches exposed to the
wind, and had, moreover, to cross the current diagonally.
“The wind blew violently, and meeting the current, caused an unpleasant
sea in the middle channel of the river. Our heavily-laden canoe was not
fitted to encounter anything beyond still water; and, as our natives
related to each other where this and that canoe were upset, they dashed
their paddles into the water with all their energy, and our bark was
soon in the midst of the terrible current. We were every moment in
imminent danger of being swamped; the water rushed in on both sides;
and nothing but the extreme swiftness with which we glided through the
current prevented us from filling.
“As the canoe dashed against the opposite shore, our natives gave a
loud shout and commenced bailing out the water, which we had shipped
in great quantities, with a _tatau_ or scoop. We now looked anxiously
toward the second canoe, and watched them literally pulling for their
lives, splashing and dashing with the utmost vehemence. The frail
bark appeared almost swallowed up by the angry stream, but she glided
securely through it, and the drenched chief and his family repeated
the sound of welcome to the opposite shore, as their canoe also dashed
in safety against its banks.”
The paddles with which the Maories propel their canoes are
curious-looking implements, and are so formed that they will answer
almost equally well as paddles or weapons. Indeed, it is not unlikely
that their peculiar shape was given to them for this very reason. In
the illustration No. 1, on page 881, are seen two examples of the New
Zealand paddle, both being drawn from specimens in my collection, and
being useful as showing the typical form of the implement.
They are rather more than five feet in length, and have very long
blades which are leaf-shaped and sharply pointed at the tips, so that a
thrust from one of these paddles would be quite as dangerous as if it
were made with the butt of the patu. The blade, too, is sharp at the
edges, and, being made of rather heavy wood, is capable of splitting a
man’s skull as effectually as if it had been the short merai.
In one of these paddles the handle is curved in a peculiar manner,
while in the other it is straight, and forms a continuation of the
blade. The former of these implements is quite plain, and even at the
end of the handle there is no carving, while the latter is liberally
adorned with patterns both on the blade and handle, and at their
junction there is the inevitable human figure with the protruding
tongue, the goggle eyes, and the generally aggressive expression that
characterizes all such figures. None of the New Zealand paddles are
adorned with the minute and elaborate carving which is found upon
the paddles of several of the Polynesian islands. The carving of the
New Zealanders is of a far different and much bolder character; and,
instead of covering his paddle with small patterns repeated some
hundreds of times, the Maori carves nothing but bold, sweeping curves
and imitations of the human face.
As far as is known, the Maori carver makes no use of measuring tools,
doing all his work by the eye alone. He does not even use compasses in
describing his circles; and in consequence, whenever he carves, as is
often the case, a number of concentric circles on a rafter or beam, the
circles are quite undeserving of the name, and always tend rather to an
irregular oval form.
There is in my collection a remarkable instrument, presented to me
by C. Heaton, Esq. It bears a label with the following inscription,
“A New Zealand Compass, by which the natives turn the volute in
their carving.” In shape it resembles one half of a parenthesis
[Illustration], and is armed at each point with a shark’s tooth,
which is inserted into a groove, and then lashed firmly with a cord
passing through holes bored in the tooth and through the semicircular
handle. It is made of the same wood as the paddle. Having, as I have
already stated, abundant reason to distrust the accuracy of labels, and
thinking that the curves of New Zealand carving did not possess the
regularity which would accompany them had they been sketched out by
an instrument, I showed the tool to several observant travellers who
have spent much time in New Zealand, and asked them if they recognized
it. None of them had seen the implement. Mr. Christie, who gave much
attention to the manufactures of New Zealand, knew nothing about it,
and Mr. Angas, who visited the island for the express purpose of
collecting information respecting the Maories, and to whose pen I am
indebted for nearly all the illustrations of the life and manners of
the New Zealanders, had never seen or heard of such a tool. I possess
many specimens of New Zealand carving, and have seen many others,
together with a great number of photographs, and in no case have I
noticed a single circle or portion of a circle that was regular enough
to have been drawn by the aid of compasses.
I even doubt whether this article was made in New Zealand at all, and
am inclined to think that it belongs to the Tonga or the Kingsmill
Islands. As to its use, I have no opinion.
In propelling these canoes, the New Zealander holds his paddle in
both hands, and always keeps it on the same side of the vessel, being
balanced by a companion on the other side. He employs no rowlock, but
uses one hand as a fulcrum near the blade, while the other holds the
handle nearer the tip. The boat is steered by means of a large paddle
in the stern.