Va'a is a word in Samoan

Samoan language

Samoan Samoan Samoan (Gagana Sāmoa, is the language of the Samoan Islands, comprising the independent country of Samoa and the United States territory of American Samoa. It is an official language—alongside English—in both jurisdictions. Samoan, a Polynesian language, is the first language for most...

, Hawaiian

Hawaiian language

The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...

 and Tahitian

Tahitian language

Tahitian is an indigenous language spoken mainly in the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is an Eastern Polynesian language closely related to the other indigenous languages spoken in French Polynesia: Marquesan, Tuamotuan, Mangarevan, and Austral Islands languages...

 which means 'boat', 'canoe' or 'ship'. A larger traditional seagoing vessel for long distance voyages is referred to as vaa tele (big ship). The term alia is also used for larger vessels in Samoa. The smaller vaa used for fishing typically have a float, or outrigger, attached to the main hull for stability. This outrigger part of the canoe is called ama

Ama (sailing)

The term ama is a word in the Polynesian and Micronesian languages to describe the outrigger part of a canoe to provide stability. Today, among the various Polynesian countries, the word ama is often used together with the word vaka or waka or va'a , cognate words in various Polynesian languages...

in various Polynesian languages

Polynesian languages

The Polynesian languages are a language family spoken in the region known as Polynesia. They are classified as part of the Austronesian family, belonging to the Oceanic branch of that family. They fall into two branches: Tongic and Nuclear Polynesian. Polynesians share many cultural traits...

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The word is cognate

Cognate

In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...

 with other Polynesian words such as vaka

Vaka (sailing)

The vaka is the main hull of a multihull vessel.-Origin and use of the term:The term vaka is used in the Polynesian, Malay and Micronesian languages for a 'canoe', 'ship' or 'boat.' Other parts of a traditional vaka can include the aka and ama .A proa consists of a vaka, the main canoe-like...

or the Māori

Maori language

Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...

 word waka

Waka (canoe)

Waka are Māori watercraft, usually canoes ranging in size from small, unornamented canoes used for fishing and river travel, to large decorated war canoes up to long...

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Types of vaa

Samoa

The Samoans have four kinds of canoes, smaller fishing vessels or the larger ocean going va'a tele or alia which are mostly out of use today;

• paopao A small fishing-canoe made from a single log
• va'a-alo A small fishing-canoe.
• Large single canoes, termed respectively la'au lima (five-barred), or six or seven-barred, as the case might be, were canoes varying in length from thirty, fifty, sixty, and even seventy feet, as required. They were balanced by an outrigger firmly lashed to the canoe on the left side at a distance of three feet if meant for pulling, but of five or six feet if required for sailing. The single canoes have a light appearance, the prow and stern being slightly curved upwards, so that merely the bosom or centrepart of an unloaded canoe rests upon the water.alia. Samoan double canoe, va'a-tele (the big canoe), was much larger, and consisted of two canoes, one longer than the other, lashed together with cross-bars amidships, and having the thatched shed or cabin built upon a stage that projected over the stern, instead of in midships, as in the Tonga canoes. It was much larger than this canoe, but more difficult to manage, yet able to carry one or two va'a-alo, or small fishing-canoes, on deck as required.

Construction

A main hull of a vaa can be made in one piece, from a hollowed out trunk of a large tree with the ama float attached later. Other types of Polynesian construction include 'sewing' planks of wood together with special cords and ropes, a type of hand made sennit

Sennit

Sennit is a type of cordage made by plaiting strands of dried fibre or grass. It can be used ornamentally in crafts, like a kind of macrame, or to make straw hats...

, important in the material cultures of the people of Oceania

Oceania

Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

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Other meanings

Va'a is also a surname in the Samoa Islands, and may refer to:

• Earl Va'a
  Earl Va'a
  Earl Va'a is a Samoan rugby union footballer. He plays as a fly-half.-Rugby league:Va'a started his career playing rugby league for the Wainuiomata Lions in New Zealand and in 1994 and 1995 he represented the Wellington City Dukes in the Lion Red Cup...
  
   (b. 1976), Samoan rugby player
• Justin Va'a
  Justin Va'a
  Justin Va'a is a prop for the Samoan national rugby team and the Scottish club Glasgow Warriors in the Celtic League....
  
  (b. 1978), Samoan rugby player

External links

• Takia Outrigger Canoe Club Fiji