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''Sabani'' are a traditional style of Okinawan fishing canoe, paddled with wooden oars and/or sailed with a junk-style folding sail. Though fishermen today almost exclusively use more modern boats to make a living, ''sabani'' are still built in the traditional manner and used recreationally, for fishing, paddling, sailing, and racing, especially in [[Itoman]], a city in the southern portion of [[Okinawa Island]].

''Sabani'' are a traditional style of Okinawan fishing canoe, paddled with wooden oars and/or sailed with a junk-style folding sail. Though fishermen today almost exclusively use more modern boats to make a living, ''sabani'' are still built in the traditional manner and used recreationally, for fishing, paddling, sailing, and racing, especially in [[Itoman]], a city in the southern portion of [[Okinawa Island]].

''Sabani'' take their name from ''saba[fuka]'', referring to the fish liver oil or other natural marine materials used as a sealant in constructing the boats, and ''funi'', the [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]] word for "boat."<ref>''Kaiyô Kokka Satsuma: Ushinawareta Ryûkyû-sen fukugen'' 海洋国家薩摩－失われた琉球船復元, Kagoshima: Shôkoshûseikan (2005), 27.</ref>

''Sabani'' take their name from ''saba[fuka]'', referring to the oils taken from the gall bladders or other innards of sharks and used as a sealant in constructing the boats, and ''funi'', the [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]] word for "boat." This shark-derived sealant protects against the rotting of the wood, and turns black when it oxidizes, producing the typical black color of ''sabani'' hulls.<ref>''Kaiyô Kokka Satsuma: Ushinawareta Ryûkyû-sen fukugen'' 海洋国家薩摩－失われた琉球船復元, Kagoshima: Shôkoshûseikan (2005), 27, 40.</ref>

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