Waka Taua (Māori War Canoe)
The waka taua is the Maori war canoe, a long carved vessel that carried war parties on raids and conveyed chiefs in ceremony, often paddled by forty or more warriors. It was built from a single totara trunk, with the hull hollowed and shaped by adze, and fitted with carved prow and stern posts, a raised wash-strake and lashings of fibre; the prow commonly carried the carved figure of a taniwha, the guardian water spirit of Maori tradition. The launching and naming of a waka taua were accompanied by ritual and karakia, and the canoe itself was a symbol of tribal mana, so that a great waka bore