pirogue

thumb|right|Traditional fishing pirogue (a lakana (boat)|lakana [[outrigger canoe) with sail from Madagascar]] thumb|right|Group of pirogues at sunset on the river bank of Don Tati, Si Phan Don, Laos thumb|right|Pirogues of Madagascar thumb |Pirogues, Niger thumb|right|A pirogue on the Niger River in [[Mali]] thumb| Statuette Karajà - Brazil - MHNT A pirogue ( or ), also called a piragua or piraga, is any of various small boats, particularly dugouts and canoes. The word is French and is derived from the Spanish piragua , which comes from the Carib ''''.

==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 France and Spain, particularly dugouts made from a log. In French West Africa, the term refers to handcrafted banana-shaped boats used by traditional fishermen. In Madagascar, it also includes the more elaborate Austronesian lakana outrigger canoe.