View source for Pirogue

{{Short description|Small boat, particularly dugout and canoe}}
{{About|the type of boat|the food|Pirog|the Senegalese film|The Pirogue}}
[[File:Madagascar - Traditional fishing pirogue.jpg|thumb|right|Traditional fishing pirogue (a ''[[lakana (boat)|lakana]]'' [[outrigger canoe]]) with sail from [[Madagascar]]]]
[[File:Group_of_pirogues.jpg|thumb|right|Group of pirogues at sunset on the river bank of Don Tati, [[Si Phan Don]], Laos.]]
[[File:Pirogues Madagascar.jpg|thumb|right|Pirogues of [[Madagascar]]]]
[[File:Pirogues Niger.webm|thumb |Pirogues, Niger]]
[[File:Pirogue 010.jpg|thumb|right|A pirogue on the [[Niger River]] in [[Mali]]]]
[[File:Statuette Karajà MHNT.ETH.2011.17.53.jpg |thumb| Statuette Karajà - Brazil - [[MHNT]]]]
A '''pirogue''' ({{IPAc-en|p|ᵻ|ˈ|r|oʊ|ɡ}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|iː|r|oʊ|ɡ}}),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/pirogue?s=t |work=dictionary.com |title=pirogue |access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref> also called a '''piragua''' or '''piraga''', is any of various small [[boat]]s, particularly [[Dugout canoe|dugouts]] and [[canoe]]s. The word is [[French language|French]] and is derived from [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''piragua'' {{IPA|es|piˈɾaɣwa|}}, which comes from the [[Island Carib language|Carib]] ''{{lang|crb|piraua}}''.

==Description==
The term 'pirogue' does not refer to a specific kind of boat, but is a generic term for small boats in regions once colonized by [[French colonial empire|France]] and [[Spanish Empire|Spain]], particularly dugouts made from a log.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pirogue |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pirogue |website=Merriam-Webster |access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref> In [[French West Africa]], the term refers to handcrafted banana-shaped boats used by traditional fishermen.<ref>{{cite web |title=Among the pirogues of Africa|url=http://voyagetosargasso.blogspot.com/2014/01/among-pirogues-of-africa.html|website=Voyage to the Sargasso Sea|date=21 January 2014 |access-date=2 May 2018}}</ref> In Madagascar, it also includes the more elaborate Austronesian ''lakana'' [[outrigger canoe]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sakalava pirogue|url=http://www.pirogue-madagascar.com/en/pirogues/|website=Alefa|access-date=2 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11520922&fsrc=nwl |title=Setting sail |magazine=www.economist.com |access-date=9 June 2008}}</ref>

Pirogues are usually propelled by [[paddles]] that have one blade (as opposed to a kayak paddle, which has two). It can also be [[punt (boat)#Punting technique|punted]] with a push pole in shallow water. Small [[Sail|sails]] are built by local fishermen and they can also be employed. There are two types of sails with differences in their shapes, the square one is used mainly for fishing near the coast and is only useful for [[tailwind]]s, while the triangular-shaped ones are used to transfer goods from one place to another by maintaining a bowline direction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pirogues - Madagascar discovery |url=https://www.pirogue-madagascar.com/en/pirogues/ |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=Alefa |language=en-GB}}</ref> Outboard motors are increasingly being used in many regions.

==Uses in military and piracy contexts==
[[File:Pintle mounted gun on the "White" pirogue.JPG|thumb|[[Lewis and Clark Expedition|Lewis and Clark's]] pirogues mounted [[blunderbuss]] to the bow with a [[Weapon mount|pintle]].]]

There are accounts of 17th and 18th century [[Piracy in the Caribbean|Caribbean pirates]] using pirogues to attack and take by force much larger vessels including [[sloop]]s and even [[barca-longa]]s.<ref name=marley>{{cite book|last=Marley|first=David F.|title=Pirates of the Americas |volume=1|year=2010|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=9781598842012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bU6ML_VnXTwC}}</ref> Pirogues were used extensively by pirates and [[buccaneer]]s throughout the Caribbean, the now-Mexican and Gulf Coasts and the East Coast of what is now the United States. For the most part, though, such vessels were used for scouting or as [[Ship's tender|tenders]].<ref name=marley/>

Pirogues were used by Lewis and Clark on the [[Missouri River]] and westward from 1804–1806, in addition to [[bateau]]x, larger flat-bottomed boats that could only be used in large rivers.<ref>Ambrose, Stephen (1997). ''Undaunted Courage''. {{ISBN|0-684-82697-6}}</ref> Their pirogues were medium-sized boats of the company carrying eight rowers and a pilot, capable of carrying eight tons of cargo.<ref>[http://lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=3072 "Pirogues"], ''Discovering Lewis & Clark'', The Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation, 2009{{deadlink |date=August 2023}}</ref> [[Henry D. Thoreau]] writes of using heavy pirogues in his book ''The Maine Woods''.

==Louisiana==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2020}}
Pirogues in the [[United States]] are associated particularly with the [[Cajun]]s of the [[Louisiana]] marsh. The early Creole pirogues were cypress dugouts but today they are usually [[flat-bottomed boat]]s. Pirogues are not usually intended for overnight travel but are light and small enough to be easily taken onto land. The design also allows the pirogue to move through the very shallow water of marshes and be easily turned over to drain any water that may get into the boat. A pirogue has "hard chines" which means that instead of a smooth curve from the [[gunwale]]s to the [[keel]], there is often a flat bottom which meets the plane of the side.

In his 1952 classic song "[[Jambalaya (On the Bayou)|Jambalaya]]", [[Hank Williams]] refers to the pirogue in the line "me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou". [[Johnny Horton]], an avid Louisiana fisherman who celebrated [[Cajun]] customs and culture, also mentions pirogues in his 1956 song "I Got a Hole in My Pirogue". [[Hank Williams, Jr.]] (son of the aforementioned Hank Williams) had a hit song in 1969 "Cajun Baby", which refers to the pirogue in the line "ride around in my old pirogue".

[[Doug Kershaw]]'s 1961 hit "Louisiana Man" includes the line "he jumps in his pirogue headed down the bayou". Many online lyrics sites misunderstand this line, saying 'hero' or sometimes 'biro' instead.

==See also==
* [[Periagua]], a cognate which became applied to a different kind of sailing vessel in the 18th century
* [[Perahu]]
* [[Mackinaw boat]]
* [[Chaika (boat)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.pirogue.com/article2.htm Pirogues: time-tested craft for hunters and fishermen]

{{fishing vessel topics}}
{{fisheries and fishing}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}

[[Category:Types of fishing vessels]]
[[Category:Cajun]]
[[Category:West Africa]]
[[Category:Symbols of Illinois]]