waka

Waka is a term with multiple meanings in different languages. In Japanese literature, waka (和歌) refers to a classical form of poetry. In Māori culture, waka means canoe, especially the large voyaging canoes that carried ancestors to New Zealand. The word also appears in modern personal names and place names.

In Japanese poetry, waka is the principal form of courtly verse before the emergence of haiku and related forms. It is traditionally composed of 31 morae distributed across five lines in the pattern 5-7-5-7-7. Waka topics typically include nature, the seasons, love, and personal reflection. Notable anthologies such as the Manyōshū (8th century) and the Kokin Wakashū (c. 905) helped standardize language, aesthetics, and the social role of poetry in Heian-era court culture. Over time, waka gave rise to later forms, including tanka, which remains a common modern term for a short poem in the waka tradition.

In Māori culture, waka are central to the understanding of origin and identity. Waka traditionally referred to canoes carved from tree trunks (dugout canoes) or constructed from sewn planks. Larger, seaworthy double-hulled canoes, known as waka hourua, facilitated long ocean voyages and the settlement of New Zealand. Waka are celebrated for their carved prows and sterns and their role in navigation, warfare, trading, and ritual. In contemporary New Zealand, reconstructed and new waka are used in cultural performances, education, and ceremonial voyages, underscoring their enduring significance in Māori heritage.