Tahiti of ocean, was made possible by using outrigger canoes that were up to twenty or thirty meters long and could transport families as well as domestic animals. In 1769, for instance, James Cook mentions a great traditional ship ("va'a") in Tahiti that was long, and could be propelled by sail or paddles. In 2010, an expedition on a simple outrigger canoe with a sail retraced the route back from Tahiti to Asia. Before the arrival of the Europeans the island was divided into different chiefdoms, very precise territories dominated by a single clan. These chiefdoms were linked to each other
Tahiti rail on Latham's account. In 1844 the German naturalist Hinrich Lichtenstein published J.R. Forster's account of the discoveries made during the journey, including his description of the Tahiti rail. J.R. Forster indicated that the Tahiti rail was called "Oomnaa" or "Eboonàa" on Tahiti and neighbouring islands, and "Oomèia-Keteòw" on Tonga, though he specified only Tahiti and nearby islands as being part of its range. "Tevea" also appears to have been one of the common names for the bird. In 1967 the American ornithologist James Greenway wrote that the bird was said by Polynesians to have also existed on the island of