Va'a canoe, Matavai village, Savaii, Samoa MS

Polynesian multihull terminology, such as "ama", "aka" and "vaka" (or "waka") are multihull terms that have been widely adopted beyond the South Pacific where these terms originated. This Polynesian terminology is in common use in the Americas and the Pacific but is almost unknown in Europe, where the Anglo-Saxon terms "hull" and "outrigger" form normal parlance. Outriggers, catamarans, and

outrigger boat Outrigger boats are various watercraft featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull. They can range from small dugout canoes to large plank-built vessels. Outrigger ...

s are a common heritage of all

Austronesian peoples The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austro ...

and predate the Micronesian and Polynesian expansion into the Pacific. They are also the dominant forms of traditional ships in Island Southeast Asian and Malagasy Austronesian cultures, where local terms are used.

Etymology

The term ''vaka'' or ''waka'' means "boat" or "canoe" in most Polynesian languages. It comes from

Proto-Austronesian Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify ...

*abaŋ , meaning "ship" or "canoe". Cognates in other Austronesian languages include Ivatan ''Awang'', Tagalog and

Visayan Visayans ( Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group ...

''bangka'',

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

''wangkang'', and Fijian ''waqa''.

"Ama", "aka" and "vaka"

The term ''ama'' is a word in the Polynesian and Micronesian languages to describe the

outrigger An outrigger is a projecting structure on a boat, with specific meaning depending on types of vessel. Outriggers may also refer to legs on a wheeled vehicle that are folded out when it needs stabilization, for example on a crane that lifts ...

part of a

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

to provide stability. Today, among the various Polynesian countries, the word ''ama'' is often used together with the word ''vaka'' (

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

) or ''

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

'' (

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

) or ''

va'a Vaʻa is a word in Samoan, Hawaiian and Tahitian which means 'boat', 'canoe' or 'ship'. A larger traditional seagoing vessel for long-distance voyages is referred to as ''vaʻa tele'' (big ship). The term ''alia'' is also used for larger vessel ...

'' (

Samoa Islands The Samoan Islands ( sm, Motu o Sāmoa) are an archipelago covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Independent State of Samoa ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

), cognate words in various Polynesian languages to describe a canoe. The Polynesian term ''vaka'' is the main hull, the ''ama'' is the outrigger, and the '' aka'' or ''iako'' (Hawaiian) is the support connecting the two (not three) hulls. The term ''ama'' and ''aka'' have been widely applied to modern trimarans. In modern sailing, the term is sometimes used to refer to the outrigger on double-outrigger canoes ( trimarans), or the two sections of a catamaran. However, calling the two sections of a catamaran by the word ama is not technically correct since they are of equal size. A catamaran is technically a wa'a wa'a or double canoe connected by an aka. Canoe carving on Nanumea

Function

On a proa, the ama may provide lift or

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship ...

, depending on whether it is designed to be used to leeward or

windward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

; on a trimaran it is designed primarily to provide lift. There are many shapes of ama; those used in

proa Proas are various types of multi-hull outrigger sailboats of the Austronesian peoples. The terms were used for native Austronesian ships in European records during the Colonial era indiscriminately, and thus can confusingly refer to the ...

s are generally laterally symmetric, as the proa is designed to sail with either end forwards, while trimaran ama are one-directional and may have no axis of symmetry. The most advanced ama are composed of highly curved surfaces that generate

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobil ...

when driven forward through the water, much like an

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurat ...

wing. This lift may be directed to the windward, used to counter slipping to leeward, or may be oriented vertically to counter

heeling forces Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cours ...

from the

sailing rig Sailing rigs describe the arrangement of sailing vessels' rig components, including their spars, rigging, and sails. Examples include a schooner rig, cutter rig, junk rig, etc. Rigs may be broadly categorized as Fore-and-aft rig, fore-and-aft and ...

. These highly curved structures are much more difficult to manufacture than traditional ama and are therefore more expensive. The

Bruce foil A Bruce foil is a variant of the leeboard, consisting of a hydrofoil, foil typically mounted on an outrigger and always set at an angle to provide both lateral and vertical force. It was invented by Edmond Bruce in the early 1960s, and first publis ...

is an example of a type of

leeboard A leeboard is a form of pivoting keel used by a sailboat largely and very often in lieu of a fixed keel. Typically mounted in pairs on each side of a hull, leeboards function much like a centreboard, allowing shallow-draft craft to ply waters f ...

often attached to an ama to assist in producing lift.

Use of the term in other cultures

Even though double-outrigger ships ( trimarans, sometimes informally referred to as "proas" historically) of other related Austronesian groups in Island Southeast Asia,

Island Melanesia Island Melanesia is a subregion of Melanesia in Oceania. It is located east of New Guinea island, from the Bismarck Archipelago to New Caledonia.Steadman, 2006. ''Extinction & biogeography of tropical Pacific birds'' See also Archaeology an ...

, and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

didn't reach Polynesia or Micronesia, they may also sometimes use Polynesian terminology in modern times, especially when used in sport sailing. The US Navy tri-hull ''Independence''-class littoral combat ship refers to their outboard hull sections as an "Amah". "An Amah tip is the leading edge of the all-aluminum, trimaran-type vessel’s outrigger, or amah, and is more than seven feet across and weighs 850 pounds."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polynesian multihull terminology Outrigger canoes Sailboat components Polynesian navigation Māori words and phrases Samoan words and phrases Austronesian culture Polynesian boats Shipbuilding