Steering

"The function of the rudder," says Colonel Fox, "which in the primitive vessels of the southern world is still performed by the paddlers … as sails began to be introduced, was confided to the page 245rearmost oars. In some of the Egyptian sculptures the three hinder-most rowers on each side are seen steering the vessel with their oars. Ultimately one greatly developed oar on each side of the stern performed this duty." He might have added that the two were reduced to one, as in the modern whaleboat. The Maori, when paddling alone in a small canoe, steers it with ease, often changing sides with his paddle. When a number are paddling, as on a coastal trip, one man will steer. But in times of stress in deep-sea voyaging they would employ two steerers at the stern, and two more men wielding the long hoe whakaara near the bow, to control that part of the vessel.

If a kai-hautu (syn. kai-tuki), or any person in command, noted some aspect of irregularity in the paddling he would call out "Kia tokihi te waka, kia reti" {i.e., cause the canoe to glide smoothly through the water by paddling in a uniform manner).

Another cry, "Uea te waka," is a command to swing the head of the craft round, which is done by holding the paddle in a certain position, a performance described by the terms ue and koue. "E! Kouea te waka!"—a cry to steersman to turn the bow of the canoe, as when she swerves off her course. Williams gives tirou—to move a canoe sideways by plunging the paddle into the water and drawing it towards one.

While D'Urville was sojourning at Uawa the advantages of the rudder were appreciated by the natives: "The rudder struck them particularly, and they gravely considered its utility, with frequent marks of approbation. The tiller was confided for a moment to one of them, and the promptitude with which it changed the direction of the boat in its rapid pace ravished them with admiration." Moser, of Mahoe Leaves fame, wrote in 1863: "This canoe you see is hewn out of a solid tree, it is almost thirty feet long, not more than thirty inches wide, and scarcely that in depth, but were you to stand upon the edge you could not capsize it. And the fact is, plain as they look, in expert hands they not only carry large cargoes for their size, but will stand in far rougher water than you would imagine. In one of these canoes, only much larger, I was once fishing on the coast when a squall caught us, and a very nasty sea began to get up before we reached land: we landed through the breakers without taking a drop of water aboard, while a whale-boat that was out with us, though very fairly manned and steered, had a very narrow chance of being capsized, and the crew, as it was, were very much drenched. The art, I believe, is always to catch the seas on the quarter, and on no account to lay the head on."

page 246

Thomson remarks that the Maori had forgotten the art of steering canoes by the stars, and had receded rather than advanced in civilization. But he has not needed to steer by stars for some centuries past, having given up ocean voyages and confined himself to coastal trips, in which he did not go out of sight of land.

On the return of a fishing party, the canoes, when hauled ashore, were often turned bottom upwards, so that they might quickly dry.

Tuta Nihoniho contributes the following note concerning a custom practised on the east coast: "In former times canoes of importance were brought to land stern first, being turned round just before reaching the beach, and backed in: the prow must not strike the beach. This relates to sea-going canoes only. Should the water be too rough near the beach to make the necessary turn, then it is effected out at sea, outside the breakers. It would be most unlucky to run the canoe ashore bow first. River-canoes have no such restriction on them, and if a big sea-canoe be taken into fresh water the rule does not then apply to it. The custom originated, we are informed, far back in the days of Tane and Tangaroa, of Maori myth—the former a land-deity, representing trees (hence a canoe is often styled "Tane"), the latter a sea-god. Tane and Tangaroa are ever at war, and the above custom was an old superstition connected with their striving to overcome each other. The superstition is connected with the myth of Ikatere and Tu-te-ihiihi, who represent sea-fish and lizards. When the offspring of the former are cast ashore they are devoured by the offspring of Punga, of whom Tu-te-ihiihi was one—such as worms, flies, &c.

The only exception to the above mode of bringing a canoe to land was when a stricken craft arrived with a few survivors on board, having met with some mishap. In turning a canoe to bring her stern first into the beach the paddlers would turn in their seats.

In his Missionary Enterprises Williams speaks of the natives of Atiu, Mauke, and Mitiaro (of the Cook Group) as having, "with very considerable ingenuity, so constructed their canoes as to be enabled to use boat-oars, which they prefer as being far less exhausting than their paddles." This shows that these natives must have borrowed the system of rowing soon after their first intercourse with Europeans. The natives of the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand either employed oars or used paddles as we use oars in the early days of European settlement. They probably acquired this art from the sealers of still earlier times.

It will be noted that the Maori does not allow carved ornamentation to interfere with the usefulness of a paddle. The hand-grip page 247must be left clear and smooth. The carved designs on the end of the handle are of interest, and show a variety of patterns. Edge-Partington depicts one in the Whanga-nui Museum that has a bird's head— an unusual device—carved on the end of the handle, with a scroll on the side of the head.

The following specimens of paddles of various parts of the Pacific are depicted in Edge-Partington's Ethnographical Album of the Pacific Islands, A paddle of Pleasant Island is of true Maori form, blade and handle. Three from the Marquesas Group have leaf-shaped blades with curiously projecting ends. Such ends are noted on paddles from the Gambier Isles, but these have blades like a rounded spade-blade. A Mangaia paddle has a straight-sided blade resembling a Solomon Island form. A number of the elaborately carved ceremonial paddles of Raivavai, or High Island (Austral Group), are shown. A paddle of Tahiti, and another of the Hawaiian Isles, show a rude form quite unlike Maori paddles, the blade being short and spade-like. Six Solomon Isles paddles have blades resembling the lanceolate Maori form, while four others from the same group have short elliptic blades. Yet another form from this group is shown as having a spade-like blade with straight edges, the end carried to a point. The Mangaia paddle shown is of the latter form. Paddles of New Britain carry an elliptic blade; those of the Admiralty Isles are lanceolate. Some from New Guinea have elliptical blades. Paddles having lanceolate, elliptic-lanceolate, and ellipsoidal blades are met with in the Pacific area, as also others with straight-sided blades.

The terms hoe tairanga and hoe whakaumu as applied to paddles I cannot explain. Akau and tapaki also appear to denote forms of paddles, as given at page 155 of volume 21 of the Journal of the Polynesian Society.