168 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
was narrower^ and perpendicular; a rude imitation of 
the human head, or some other grotesque figure, was 
carved on the stern of each canoe. The stern, often ele¬ 
vated and curved like the neck of a swan, terminated in 
the carved figure of a bird’s head, and the whole was 
more solid and compact than the other vessels. There 
was a kind of platform in the front, or generally near the 
centre, on which the fighting men were stationed : these 
canoes were sometimes sixty feet long, between three 
and four feet deep, and with their platforms in front, or in 
the centre, were capable of holding fifty fighting men.* 
JVar Canoe. 
The vaatii, or sacred canoe, was always strong and large, 
more highly ornamented with carving and feathers than 
any of the others. Small houses were erected in each, 
and the image of the god, sometimes in the shape 
of a large bird, at other times resembling a hollow 
cylinder ornamented with various coloured feathers, 
* In Cook’s voyages, a description is given of some, one hundred and 
eight feet long; but I never saw any so large. 
