A kora-kora or kora kora or coracora is a traditional canoe from the Maluku (Moluccas) Islands, Indonesia. They are naval boat for carrying men on raids for plunder or for slaves. In Maritime Southeast Asia, raiding for slaves was an honourable way of making a living, and the kora kora was needed for defence against raids as well as for forays. [1] Large kora-kora is called juanga or joanga. [2]
The origin of the name is unknown, but it has been proposed that it may have been derived from the Arabic "قُرقور" qorqora, the plural of qarâqir, [3] meaning "large merchant ship". It is also likely that the origin of the names are native, with the meaning lost through time, as other Austronesian vessels with no contact with Arab traders also bear similar names like the Ivatan karakuhan and the Marshallese korkor . [4] [5] The term may also comes from Spanish or Portuguese carraca , but in the oldest Portuguese and Spanish accounts of the Moluccas reports caracora, coracora, carcoa, but never carraca. De Morga not only says expressly that it is a word used by the Tagalog people of Mindoro, Marinduque, and Luzon, but that it is also a true Malayo-Polynesian word: In the Malay Peninsula: kolek (a small fishing boat); Amboina: kolekole, Mota (Banks Islands): kora, San Cristoval (South Solomons): ora. [6]
It is approximately ten metres long and very narrow, [7] quite open, very low, and weighs about four tons. [8] It had outriggers of bamboo about five feet off each side, which supported a bamboo platform extending the whole length of the vessel. [8] On the extreme outside of this sit the twenty rowers (overall it needs 40 paddlers), [8] [9] while within was a convenient passage fore and aft. The middle portion of the boat is covered with a thatch-house, in which baggage and passengers are stowed. The gunwale is not more than a foot above water, and suffer the great top and side weight. [8]
This boat is used for both trade and warfare. Bigger kora-koras were used as war vessels during the war with the Dutch in the Banda Islands during the 17th century. Since ancient times the steerer and paddlers of these traditional Moluccan rowing boats yelled "MenaMuria", to synchronise their strokes during off shore expeditions. This literally means 'Front - Back', but is also translated to "I go - We follow" or "One for all - All for One".
Some of the bigger rowing boats could have over 100 rowers and when used on the maritime war path, during for instance a so-called hongitocht (war expeditions for the Dutch East India Company during the 17th century), the approach of the kora kora struck fear in the hearts of the villagers from the attacked coastal village. [10]
According to Robert Dick-Read, every leader in the Maluku region has its own ship, the leader's status depends on the number of slaves, who come from a distant island, which he captures and collects. Each ship is rowed by 300 rowers, supported by men armed with spears, blowgun, arrows, and swords in a higher fighting platform called balai. The vessel has two steering wheels on the side, a tall pole in the stern and bow that decorated with ribbons. In the past, these poles were adorned with conquered enemy heads. [11]
Kora-Kora, a swinging ship ride in Dunia Fantasi theme park at Ancol Dreamland, Jakarta is named after the canoe, and become the metonym of any such ride in Indonesia. [12]
Outrigger boats are various watercraft featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull. They can range from small dugout canoes to large plank-built vessels. Outrigger boats can also vary in their configuration, from the ancestral double-hull configuration (catamarans), to single-outrigger vessels prevalent in the Pacific Islands and Madagascar, to the double-outrigger vessels (trimarans) prevalent in Island Southeast Asia. They are traditionally fitted with Austronesian sails, like the crab claw sails and tanja sails, but in modern times are often fitted with petrol engines.
South Maluku, also South Moluccas, officially the Republic of South Maluku, is an unrecognised secessionist republic that originally claimed the islands of Ambon, Buru, and Seram, which currently make up the Indonesian province of Maluku.
A galley was a type of ship which relied mostly on oars for propulsion that was used for warfare, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during antiquity and continued to exist in various forms until the early 19th century. It typically had a long, slender hull, shallow draft, and often a low freeboard. Most types of galleys also had sails that could be used in favourable winds, but they relied primarily on oars to move independently of winds and currents. The term "galley" originated from a Greek term for a small type of galley and came in use in English from about 1300. It has occasionally been used for unrelated vessels with similar military functions as galley but which were not Mediterranean in origin, such as medieval Scandinavian longships, 16th-century Acehnese ghalis and 18th-century North American gunboats.
Traditionally, many different kinds of boats have been used as fishing boats to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Even today, many traditional fishing boats are still in use. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), at the end of 2004, the world fishing fleet consisted of about 4 million vessels, of which 2.7 million were undecked (open) boats. While nearly all decked vessels were mechanised, only one-third of the undecked fishing boats were powered, usually with outboard engines. The remaining 1.8 million boats were traditional craft of various types, operated by sail and oars.
A balangay, or barangay, is a type of lashed-lug boat built by joining planks edge-to-edge using pins, dowels, and fiber lashings. They are found throughout the Philippines and were used largely as trading ships up until the colonial era. The oldest known balangay are the Butuan boats, which have been carbon-dated to 320 AD and were recovered from several sites in Butuan, Agusan del Norte.
A Borobudur ship is the 8th to 9th-century wooden double outrigger sailing vessel of Maritime Southeast Asia depicted in some bas reliefs of the Borobudur Buddhist monument in Central Java, Indonesia. It is a ship of Javanese people, derivative vessels of similar size still survived in East Java coastal trade at least until the 1940s.
Karakoa were large outrigger warships from the Philippines. They were used by native Filipinos, notably the Kapampangans and the Visayans, during seasonal sea raids. Karakoa were distinct from other traditional Philippine sailing vessels in that they were equipped with platforms for transporting warriors and for fighting at sea. During peacetime, they were also used as trading ships. Large karakoa, which could carry hundreds of rowers and warriors, were known as joangas by the Spanish.
A Sandeq is a type of outrigger sailboat or trimaran used by the Mandarese people for fishing and as a means of transportation between islands. The size of Sandeq varies, with hulls ranging from 5 to 15 metres long and 0.5 to 1.5 metres wide. Its carrying capacity ranges from a few hundred kilograms to over 2 tons. The sleek shape of the Sandeq makes it more agile and faster than other sailboats. The name of the vessel comes from a word in the Mandar language that means pointy, referring to the bow's shape.
Lanong were large outrigger warships used by the Iranun and the Banguingui people of the Philippines. They could reach up to 30 m (98 ft) in length and had two biped shear masts which doubled as boarding ladders. They also had one to three banks of oars rowed by galley slaves. They were specialized for naval battles. They were prominently used for piracy and slave raids from the mid-18th century to the early 19th century in most of Southeast Asia. The name lanong is derived from Lanun, an exonym of the Iranun people.
Garay were traditional native warships of the Banguingui people in the Philippines. In the 18th and 19th centuries, they were commonly used for piracy by the Banguingui and Iranun people against unarmed trading ships and raids on coastal settlements in the regions surrounding the Sulu Sea.
Penjajap, also pangajava and pangayaw, were native galley-like warships used by several Austronesian ethnic groups in maritime Southeast Asia. They were typically very long and narrow, and were very fast. They are mentioned as being used by native fleets in Indonesia, the southern Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei.
Bangka are various native watercraft of the Philippines. It originally referred to small double-outrigger dugout canoes used in rivers and shallow coastal waters, but since the 18th century, it has expanded to include larger lashed-lug ships, with or without outriggers. Though the term used is the same throughout the Philippines, "bangka" can refer to a very diverse range of boats specific to different regions. Bangka was also spelled as banca, panca, or panga in Spanish. It is also known archaically as sakayan.
Padewakangs were traditional boats used by the Bugis, Mandar, and Makassar people of South Sulawesi. Padewakangs were used for long-distance voyages serving the south Sulawesi kingdoms.
Kelulus or kalulus is a type of rowing boat used in the Nusantara archipelago. It is typically small in size and propelled using oar or paddle. However, for long-distance voyages, this boat can be equipped with sails. It is not the same as prahu kalulis of the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago.
Perahu Mayang or simply mayang is a type of fishing boat from Java, Indonesia. This type of boat is used mainly for fishing and trading. Historically, this indigenous vessel is also favored by European skippers and private merchants for trading in East Indies: 50% of them were using mayang and pencalang. It is mostly used in northern coast of Java. The major production site is in Rembang, Central Java.
A kakap is a narrow river or coastal boat used for fishing in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. They are also sometimes used as auxiliary vessels to larger warships for piracy and coastal raids.
Orembai or Arombai is a type of plank boat from the Maluku Islands of Eastern Indonesia. It is mainly used for fishing and transport. This vessel is used as far as Batavia, where in the 17th century it became popular to go out "orembaaien" on an evening rowing on the river or city canals.
Bangkong is the war boat of dayak people, notably used by sea dayaks of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. They are used for riverine warfare in Borneo, but they are also capable of sailing across the sea.
A juanga or joanga refers to large-sized kora-kora, karakoa and lanong. They are used all throughout the Philippines and Eastern Indonesia, in Maluku smaller versions were popular and are still used to this day (Kora-kora). They are propelled by oars but are not used for carrying cargo.
