Ke Kalai Wa‘a
(The Canoe Carver)

24th from the series:‘Ike Ho‘omaopopo by artist: LeoHone

Since the life and culture of ancient Hawai‘i was utterly centered around the canoe, the kalai wa‘a (canoe carver) was held in high esteem.

Approximately 1500 years ago, when the Polynesian voyagers landed on the shores of the Island of Hawai‘i, they discovered huge, towering koa trees, perfect in every way for the carving of a canoe from a single log. Through the years, it became the custom for an appropriate koa tree to be selected by the kahuna, and, with the help of the many men, chopped down and the log moved to a pre-selected canoe hālau – to be built by the kalai wa‘a, assisted by village craftsmen and laborers.

Outrigger canoes were the main means of transport for hundreds of years, allowing ancient Hawaiians to reach areas of their respective islands that were too difficult to access on foot. With outrigger canoes, they could travel from island to island, conveying their goods and, in wartimes, weapons. While the 2-man and 4-man canoes were most commonly used for fishing, the larger canoes that were used in transport were also used for recreation and racing.

By the time Captain James Cook arrived on the shores of the same island in 1778, he claimed he was met by more than 1500 canoes. However, with the onslaught of new diseases introduced by the Europeans and the resulting decline in native population, plus the arrival of the missionaries who strongly disapproved of the racing with its associated betting and “almost naked” paddlers, canoe racing became suppressed for almost a century. Although there are written accounts of some racing activity during the reign of King Kamehameha V (1863-1872), it wasn’t until the reign of King Kaläkaua with his boundless love of the sport and all things Hawaiian, that outrigger canoe racing was fully reinstated (1875). King Kalākaua held the first canoe regatta on his birthday on November 16th of that same year.

In 1987, outrigger canoe paddling was designated by state legislature to be the official team sport of Hawai‘i. Today, throughout the islands, we have outrigger canoe racing in beautiful hand carved koa canoes, unique in their design for open ocean and rough waters. The sport itself is wildly popular and it will continue to flourish because of the master carvers– the kalai wa‘a – the canoe builders who have learned from yesterday’s kalai wa‘a and today faithfully continue to pass on the tradition of the building of the koa canoe to the kalai wa‘a of tomorrow.

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