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>> War canoe or pahi of Tahiti
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In
1774, Captain James Cook described 160 war canoes like the one above with
chiefs standing on the platform. He saw 170 smaller double sailing canoes
carrying 7, 760 warriors into naval battle. Land warfare was rare. From
the high platform, challenges, stones and spears were hurled.During times
of peace, the platform was a place for chiefs to view pagentry. From
a 1972 calendar in the Archives. |
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