Carpenter Shed

The carpenters' shed (fale ta), though used in connection with the construction of the highest type of houses, is in itself merely a rough leanto roof, supported by three forked stakes at the back and the front. (See fig. 1.) The roof of horizontal poles and cross pieces covered by coconut leaf sheets overlapped from behind forwards, is sufficient to afford shelter from the sun and from a moderate amount of rain. Within the shed, the older carpenters sat cross-legged trimming timber with their short handled adzes and shaping the joints of the thatch rafters and the principal purlins. The fale ta (fig. 1) was seen in use on the island of Ofu.

Similar sheds seen at other places were merely covered with coconut leaves arid even the rounded end section of an old house was seen in use. The name fale ta (fale, house; ta, to strike, as in using an adz) refers to the function of the carpenter's shed and may be applied to any shape of building used for this purpose. Because of the ease of construction the leanto shed was the usual form for these buildings.

Canoe Shed

The canoe shed (afolau) provided shelter from the sun for the large canoes. With the disappearance of the large canoes, such sheds are used to page 12house the large fautasi boats made on European lines. The structure was built sufficiently wide to accommodate the vessel with a little clearance on either side. The problem was to support a roof without impeding the entrance and exit of the canoe and leaving the ends of the shed open. It was solved by doing without supporting posts. Two afolau that retained the old characteristics were examined and explained at Asau and Tufutafoe, Savaii.

In the shed at Tufutafoe (fig. 2) the ridgepole was supported by pairs of curved poles or rafters that were lashed to a wall plate and continued downwards into the ground so as to prevent the outward displacement of the lower ends of the rafters by the downward pressure of the ridgepole and the weight of the roof. Some rafters though lashed to the wall plate did not reach the ground. Ordinary poles were used throughout. The wall posts were thicker than the main rafters and the thatch rafters much thinner. The purlins were stout poles—small intermediate poles were absent and the lowest purlin so placed as to throw the thatch clear of the wall plate. The thatch sheets of plaited coconut leaves were overlapped from below upwards and tied to the thatch rafters in the usual manner. The coconut leaf ridge sheets were pinned through below the upper ridge pole. (See p. 64.) Hau (fau) bark was used for the lashing.

The method of supporting the ridgepole with curved rafters alone without any intermediate supporting post or king post is termed fa'fasoata. A building so constructed is termed to fa'asoata (to, to build, and fa'asoata, with curved rafters, no supporting post). The word afolau (canoe shed) is widely spread in Polynesia. In Tahiti, farau, is a shed for a canoe, and in the Tuamotus, horau is a shed. In Hawaii, halau is a long house with the end in front, used mostly for canoes. In Maori, wharau has come to mean a particular kind of long house, but also means a rough shed which included that built over a canoe. In the Moriori dialect of the Chatham Islands, wharau is a ship.