ABSTRACT
Early writers tell us that the Motu lived to a great extent through trade. After the harvests were in, about November or December, specially constructed vessels, consisting of four or five canoe hulls lashed together, powered by huge unwieldy crab-claw sails, and decked over to carry crew and cargo, would make a five- or six-day trip with the trade winds to the Kerema districts of the north-west. Here the crews would spend several months living with trading partners, and eventually bartering the famous clay pots of the Motu for sago and canoe hulls. 44
