Wakataua
Be confident and dream, life will reward you! With the Wakataua sandals on your feet, you will feel like a “Viking of the South” – strong, secure, and bold. Row your canoe and go where you dare to go….
Sailing has always helped me to escape from the routine of daily life - the wind on my face and an indescribable blue under my feet. This time was no different. I felt so happy and relaxed that I didn't want my day trip in the waka-taua to end. This Maori canoe, almost 30 meters long and a meter and a half wide, was the war canoe of this noble people. It is powered by more than a hundred rowers and a high triangular sail that crowns the vessel. Our guide told us that some waka-tauas held almost 200 men, 100 of them rowing at a time, the remainder alternating with paddlers as they became tired.
These canoes are made from the totara tree, which reaches more than 30 meters in height. The tree is carved using stone adzes and fire to create the hull of the canoe.
"What are adzes?" I asked.
"They are an axe-like tools with an arching blade at a right angle to the handle", the guide replied. These instruments wielded by the strength of their hands, together with the fire, transform a huge tree trunk into this enormous and majestic canoe. The Maoris are a people who work hard, but who also dream. They believe that both effort and magic are part of life.
In addition to being an instrument of war, these canoes are also part of Maori rituals or that is what I imagined and heard myself say... I was thinking out loud.
The guide smiled and nodded with an enigmatic expression. He continued with the explanation. I fell silent and gave him my full attention.
"After they carve the hull, they place the seats where the rowers sit and topstrakes are tied with linen rope to augment the freeboard. The ‘freeboard' is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level. When this complex process is finished, they add the prow, which is an elaborately carved decorative piece. Finally, they place the sternpost, the canoe's most characteristic detail, and a pennant flying in the wind. These decorative pieces, carved with stones, bones, and wood, depict hostile images," the guide explained.
I stopped listening to feel the ocean spray on my face. When it came my time to row, I sat between a smiling young man and a woman whose hands were hurting from her effort. Even in pain she did not ask to be relieved although the guide had told us we could ask to be relived at any time and for any reason.
"We are not in a war and you don't need to suffer," he had explained smiling when he handed out the oars.
When I looked into the eyes of the woman, I saw that she was having a battle within herself.
By the time my turn rowing was up, we had reached Hawera, the second most important city in Taranaki, New Zealand. My destiny brought me to this magical place. As I was disembarking, I felt a tug. It was the guide; his name was Ben Te Hau or at least that is what was written on his nametag.
"Wait," he told me. I lingered, genuinely intrigued.
He was saying goodbye to the other passengers. While I waited, I began to envision a new sandal made with cork and inspired by the waka-tauas.
The sandals would be a worthy representation of the Maori people, of their aesthetic qualities, their extensive symbolism, their great sense of freedom, and their respect for the sacred as well as their nobility, determination, and honorability.
Cork seemed to be the perfect material for these sandals. With its purity and durability, cork is very similar to Maori craftsmanship and their complex and artistic products... the woodcarving, the poetry, the music, the dance, the oratory, the tattoos, and other forms of arts.
The texture, lightness, liveliness, and flexibility of cork make it a perfect choice. And of course, it also complies with El Naturalista's philosophy and does not contaminate the environment.
"Take this," Ben Te Hau said. It was a reproduction of a Maori carving, and while he was giving it to me, I realized that it was a perfect sole for those new sandals that I had envisioned.
