tomol

Tomol is the Chumash term for a large plank-built canoe used by the Chumash people of the central and southern California coast, especially in the Santa Barbara Channel and the Channel Islands. Tomols were among the most seaworthy traditional watercraft in pre-contact North America, capable of long coastal and inter-island voyages.

Construction involves sewing long planks edge to edge and fastening them with lashings of plant fiber or sinew; the seams are caulked with natural pitch, tar, or other caulking materials to keep water out. The hulls are long and slender, designed for stability and speed, and lengths vary from smaller craft to vessels that can be several tens of feet long. They are typically paddled by crews, sometimes with multiple rowers, and are built to handle open-water trips.

Tomols supported a maritime economy by enabling travel, fishing, and trade between mainland Chumash communities and the Channel Islands. They carried people, shell bead goods, fish, and other commodities across the Santa Barbara Channel and along the coast, helping form a network of inter-regional exchange.

Today the tomol remains a symbol of Chumash maritime heritage. Archaeological evidence documents tomol construction in the Channel Islands, and in recent decades Indigenous communities, museums, and scholars have undertaken reconstruction and ceremonial sailing programs to preserve and study the craft and its techniques.