Pelang or pilang is a traditional boat from Indonesia and Malaysia. It may refer to several different types of boats in the Nusantara, but commonly they refer to an outrigger canoe. The function differs from where they were used, from transporting people, fishing, to trading. Pilang has been known from at least the 14th century. [1]
The name "pelang" can be traced from Old Javanese word pelang which means freight boat or a type of ancient merchant boat. [2] : 1350 The Great Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI) explains it as a "trading boat". [3] : 1039 According to M. Rafiek, a pelang is a rather large boat used to sail through the Java sea. [4] : 192
In northern Sulawesi, it was originally a term for a mahera boat (mahera means dugout—the base keel made from a whole piece of hollowed wood), but with the entry of Filipino technology (see vinta), then a boat made of plywood can also be referred to as a pelang. [5] : 3
In the western part of Nusantara, it refers to a large, flat-bottomed canoe-like boat with one mast, stepping a lug sail made of cloth. Usually built of giam wood. H. Warington Smyth noted the dimensions of a pilang: About 42 ft (12.80 m) long, 5 ft (1.52 m) wide, 2 ft 3 in 2 ft 3 in (68.58 cm) draught, with 1 ft (30.48 cm) of freeboard. The capacity was 1 koyan (2.419 metric tons). The mast itself is about 40 ft (12.19 m) tall. [6] : 580
In Sejarah Melayu , two pilang is mentioned with size, one is 8 depa (12.8–16 m) long, the other is 12 depa (19.2–24 m) long. [7] [8] : 36 [9] : 100
In the eastern part of Nusantara, the name refers to a small, canoe-like outrigger boat. On the northern coast of Sulawesi, pelang refers to an outrigger fishing boat. North Sulawesi an pelang is about 6–8 m in length, 1 m in width, and crewed by 4–6 men. This pelang has an operational range of 5–7 mi (8.05–11.27 km). [10] : 104 The Mahera (dugout base) is a flat keel with a slight curvature. As it does not have enough height, additional side planks were added to improve the seaworthiness. They are made of marine plywood reinforced with frame construction and side beams. Modern pelang of northern Sulawesi were equipped with outboard motors. The motor gradually replaced the sail in the 1970s. [5] : 2, 5
There are also pelang that are equipped with lamps and electric generators for light fishing. Lights were used to attract fish for improving the quantity of the catch. The raw material is marine plywood with a length of about 7 m. [5] : 5
Literally, the word pinisi refers to a type of rigging of Indonesian sailing vessels. A pinisi carries seven to eight sails on two masts, arranged like a gaff-ketch with what is called 'standing gaffs' — i.e., unlike most Western ships using such a rig, the two main sails are not opened by raising the spars they are attached to, but the sails are 'pulled out' like curtains along the gaffs which are fixed at around the centre of the masts.
Tongkang or "Tong'kang" refers to several type of boats used to carry goods along rivers and shoreline in Maritime Southeast Asia. One of the earliest record of tongkang has a background of 14th century, being mentioned in Malay Annals which was composed no earlier than 17th century. One passage mentioned it as being used by Majapahit empire during the 1350 attack on Singapura.
The term lambo or lamba refer to two types of traditional boats from Indonesia.
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.
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.
Tanja sail or tanja rig is a type of sail commonly used by the Austronesian people, particularly in Maritime Southeast Asia. It is also known as the tilted square sail, canted rectangular sail, rectangular balance lug, or balance lug sail in English. In historical sources, tanja sail is sometimes incorrectly referred to as lateen sail or simply square sail.
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.
Pencalang is a traditional merchant ship from Nusantara. Historically it was also written as pantchiallang or pantjalang. It was originally built by Malay people from the area of Riau and the Malay Peninsula, but has been copied by Javanese shipwrights. By the end of the 17th century this ship has been built by Javanese and Chinese shipbuilders in and around Rembang. However it was a popular choice for Balinese skippers followed by Sulawesian skippers.
Benawa or banawa is a type of ship from Gowa, an old principality in the southwest corner of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The earliest record of this vessel is from Hikayat Banjar, which was written in or not long after 1663. In the present, this vessel is already extinct; being replaced by vessels with a similar hull, namely palari and padewakang.
Pajala is a type of traditional perahu from western South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is used mainly for fishing, but in the present it's a Bugis/Makassar name for small to medium-sized boat hull.
Malangbang or melambang is a type of medieval sailing ship from Indonesia. It is mentioned mainly in the History of Banjar. The name "malangbang" is considered to originate from the Old Javanese language, malabong (malaboṅ) which refers to a particular type of boat. Malangbang is one of Majapahit's main naval vessel types after jong and kelulus. Not much is known about this type of ship, apart from the fact that it also used oar beside the sails to propel it, broad and flat-bottomed, and was a "medium-sized" ship, between the size of jong and kelulus, larger and faster than pilang (pelang).
A bago is a traditional boat built by the Mandar people of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The hull is of the pajala-type, lightly built and allowing for shallow displacement. The boat is long, with the mast only making up a quarter of its length. A bago can be readily identified as Mandarese boat by its rudderpost style. Smaller-sized bagos are often used as fishing boats from which fishermen cast their nets. The Mandar people prefer using a bago over an outrigger canoe.
A jongkong is a type of dugout canoe from Maritime Southeast Asia. Jongkong was the simplest boat from Riau-Lingga area, and can be found widely though in small numbers throughout the area. The first record of jongkong comes from the Malay Annals, being used by Majapahit empire during the first Majapahit attack on Singapura (1350) and during the fall of Singapura (1398).
Jukung tambangan is a traditional boat made by the Banjar people of South Kalimantan. They are mainly used for riverine transportation. It is already present at least since mid-18th century. They were not seen anymore in Banjarmasin ca. 1950s and around the 1970s on the Nagara River, Hulu Sungai Selatan Regency.
Ghurab or gurab is a type of merchant and warship from the Nusantara archipelago. The ship was a result of Mediterranean influences in the region, particularly introduced by the Arabs, Persians, and Ottomans. For their war fleet, the Malays prefer to use shallow draught, oared longships similar to the galley, such as lancaran, penjajap, and kelulus. This is very different from the Javanese who prefer long-range, deep-draught round ships such as jong and malangbang. The reason for this difference is that the Malays operated their ships in riverine water, sheltered straits zone, and archipelagic environment, while the Javanese are often active in the open and high sea. After contact with Iberian people, both the Javanese and Malay fleets began to use the ghurab and ghali more frequently.
Ghali, gali, or gale are a type of galley-like ships from the Nusantara archipelago. This type of ship only appeared after the 1530s. Before the appearance of this type of ship, several native galley-like ships already existed in the archipelago, some with outriggers. The design of ghali is the result of the impact made by Mediterranean shipbuilding techniques on native shipbuilding, introduced particularly by Arabs, Persians, Ottoman Turks, and Portuguese. The terms may also refer to Mediterranean vessels built by local people, or native vessels with Mediterranean influence.
A lancang is a type of sailing ship from Maritime Southeast Asia. It is used as warship, lighter, and as royal ship, particularly used by the people of Sumatran east coast, but can also be found in the coast of Kalimantan.
Londe or londi is a traditional boat from North Sulawesi, Indonesia. They are thought to have existed since 1500s, developed from ancient Sangir islands boat called bininta which is now enshrined in the symbol of the region of Sangir Islands District.
Banting is a traditional boat from Aceh, Indonesia. It is also used in other areas near Malacca strait, such as Johor, where they are called "fast boat". Eredia's account of Malacca (1613) described banting of Ujontana as a kind of skiff, smaller than jalea, carrying oars and 2 masts, with 2 rudders, and used for naval warfare.
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