Hakka Americans
Hakka Americans (客家美國人 or 客裔美國人), also called American Hakka, are Han people in the United States of Hakka origin, mostly from present-day Guangdong and Fujian, China, and Taiwan. Many Hakka Americans have connections to Hakka diaspora in Jamaica, the Caribbean, South East Asia, Latin America, and South America. The Han characters for Hakka (客家) literally mean "guest families". Unlike other Han ethnic groups, the Hakkas are not named after a geographical region, e.g. a province, county or city. The Hakkas usually identify with people who speak the Hakka language or share at least some Hakka ancestry. The earliest Hakka immigrants to what is now the United States mostly went to Hawaii, starting when the Kingdom of Hawaii was an independent sovereign state. After the lifting of the Chinese Exclusion Act by the passage of the Magnuson Act in 1943, the Hakka began to come to the US from Taiwan and to a lesser extent Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Te Raukura
Waka tētēkura are multipurpose canoes used for fishing and transportation. Te Hononga is less elaborately carved than Te Rerenga Kōtare. It has a distinctive prow known as a tētē. The bow piece typically takes the form of a face with a protruding tongue. The name "Te Hononga", means to bind together and form alliances. Traditionally the main purpose of the waka tētēkura was for fishing, and as a work horse waka to transport people and goods. Nowadays it is a multipurpose waka able to be paddled by both men and women. It has a distinctive prow known as a tētē. The bow piece typically takes the form of a stylised face with a protruding tongue, described as tētē, or pakoko, by which the vessel is classified. The hiwi or hull of the waka is made from an ancient kauri tree recovered from the swamps of Te Taitokerau/Northland.