The Guam History Pages
Canoe Technology
Thinking Questions
What is an outrigger canoe?
What is the Chamorro word for long distance sailing canoe?
What did the ancient people use these canoes for?
What is the purpose of an outrigger on a canoe?
What kind of materials are needed to make an outrigger canoe?
What kind of skills and tools are needed to create these canoes?
What are some differences in the way various islands made their canoes?
Describe the parts of a canoe and the purpose or use for each part.
What is tacking and why is it used?
Vocabulary
Adze – the carving tool of the Pacific.
Barter – exchange of goods or service without the use of money.
Boom socket – One on each end of the canoe, it is built to help secure and stabilize the tip of the sail. Regardless of the direction the sail is made to go, there will always be a socket at one end to secure the sail.
Artifact – any thing made and used by humans.
Canoe - small and light boat with a triangular sail; pointed at both ends; propelled with a paddle or when using a sail, propelled by the wind.
Canoe house – A canoe house is either a school, a men's social club or a workshop. An open sided building in which the men of the island gather to build canoes, learn trades like navigation, and where the bachelors of the island may sleep.
Dead reckoning – a navigator determines the direction in which to travel
Galaide - A canoe that is used just for travel and fishing inside the reef
Hull – The main body of the canoe.
Mast – A pole usually perpendicular to the hull of the canoe and used to stabilize the sail. A mast tilts in the direction of travel.
Outrigger - a stabilizer, or balance for a canoe; spars attach to a shaped log or float parallel to the hull. The outrigger always faces the windward side.
Outrigger canoe - a seagoing canoe with an outrigger to prevent it from upsetting.
Outrigger platform-- built opposite the outrigger, on the leeward side of a canoe, allows for additional space to sit or to store good and equipment.
Proa – a word the Spanish used to describe all native canoes
Sakman -- the Chamorro word for large, long distance sailing canoe
Sennit – The fiber from the coconut husk used to make rope.
Spill line-- a line connected to the sail that when pulled, bends the sail in such a way that the wind is released. This is particularly useful on windy days.
Subsistence – doing everything for yourself, like growing your own food, making your own house, etc.
Tacking – moving the canoe in a zig zag direction. Turning the sail in an outrigger canoe, to make sure the outrigger is facing the wind
The outrigger canoe was used throughout the islands of the Pacific. Each island people had their own designs, but all the islands shared similar construction and navigation techniques.
In Polynesia, the long distance canoes had a double hull. This allowed the natives to travel longer without stopping on an island along the way. The size ensured they had enough supplies for the journey and room for the plants and animals that they brought.
Some double hulled canoes had only one sail. Other double hulled canoes had two sails.
Canoes had different purposes. Some wee buit mainly for fishing within the reef, others were for long distance sailing for trade, and still others were built for war.
Intricate knots are used to secure the various parts of the canoe. Sennit is used to make rope lashings for canoes.
On Guam, Rope was also made from twisted dried pandanus leaves or from the bark of the wild hibiscus.
The Wild Hibiscus or Sea Hibiscus – Pagu (Chamorro word)
The bark is stripped lengthwise from the wood and soaked in water to separate the outer bark from the smooth cream-colored inner bark. This is dried and woven into rope. The cord has the unique property of being stronger when wet. The rope is used to make a wide variety of items including fishing nets, hammocks, mats, slings, bow strings, net bags, string for sewing or making leis (flower garlands). In Tahiti and other Polynesian Islands, it is used to make "grass" skirts.
On Guam, the hull of the canoe was asymmetrical, this made the canoe move faster because the hull could cut through the waves better. The wood used to make the canoe was the dokdok or seeded breadfruit.