How are the spars (iako) attached to the canoe?
One of the many skills learnt by the early maritime pioneers of Oceania, was the skill of manufacturing cordage from plant fibers called sennet and with it the skill of lashing timbers together. This then became the method for attaching the spars (iako) to the canoe across strong thwarts. Many different types of lashing styles and techniques were used, but the fundamental aim was to ensure the safety of the canoe itself so as the lashing would break before the canoe, which was a quality inherent to the sennet used. If the lashing did break, it would not unravel itself, achieved by intricate woven lashing techniques, whereby the cordage was cinched over itself many times. This remains the method used today.
