sentences:  The word is cognate with other Polynesian words such as "vaka" or the Māori word "waka".It is also used to designate the sport of outrigger canoe racing.The Samoans have four kinds of canoes, smaller fishing vessels or the larger oceangoing "va'a-tele" or "ʻalia", which are mostly out of use today;
  
  A main hull of a "vaʻa" can be made in one piece, from a hollowed out trunk of a large tree with the "ama" float attached later.