Types of Boats

General Information
"The Philippine Indigenous Outrigger Boat: Scaling Up, Performance and Safety" by
Glenn D. Aguilar in Marine Technology Society Journal vol. 40, no. 3 (August 2006):
69-78.

*Physical copies up until 2012 of the journal are available at Hamilton

Library [GC1.J63]. The electronic version is available in the library's Electronic
Resources for issues from 2013 on.

"Types of watercraft in the Philippines" by R.E. Galang in Philippines Journal of

Science vol. 75 no. 3 (1941).

*Physical copies of the journal is available at Hamilton Library [Q75.P51]. Holdings

before 1950, such as this cited issue, are housed in Sinclair Library.

Types of Boats

Balangay/Butuan Boat
The balangay was the first wooden boat that was excavated in Southeast Asia. These
boats were instrumental in the settlement of Austronesian peoples in the Philippines
and the Malay archipelago. It was used for cargo and trading, in which Butuan,
Agusan de Norte, Philippines was a central trading port. Today, the Balanghai
Festival in Butuan is a celebration of the first people who settled in the Philippines.

"The Butuan Two Boat Known as a Balangay in the National Museum, Manila,
Philippines" by Paul Clark, Jeremy Green, Tom Vosmer and Ray Santiago in The
International Journal of Nautical Archaeology vol. 22, no. 1 (1993): 143-159.

**Physical copies are available in the library [CC77.I58]. The electronic version is
available on the library's Electronic Resources.

Karakoa
The karakoa is a traditional Visayan warship made without nails. It is known to be
about three times as fast as a Spanish galleon.
“The World of Amaya” by Patricia Calzo Vega; GMA News, June 1, 2011. This is an
article about the karakoa built for the "Amaya" TV series, a Philippine historical
fiction and period drama series set in the Visayas.
“Chika Minute: Amaya, ‘dilang basta seryeng pantelebisyon;” GMA 7, May, 25,
2011. A two-minute clip which includes an interview of Dr. Neil Santillan of the
University of the Philippines-Diliman History Department who briefly describes the
similarities/differences between Southeast Asian and Polynesian canoes, among other
things in the “Amaya” TV series. In Tagalog.
For those interested in watching the "Amaya" TV series, it is available in DVD from
the Sinclair Library Wong AV Center. Click here for the bibliographic record.

Paraw
The paraw is a traditional Philippine outrigger canoe sail boat in the Visayas that
transports cargo and passengers. Paraw sailing is a tourist attraction, especially in
Boracay and Iloilo, where the Iloilo Paraw Regatta Festival is held annually since
1973.
Palawan Paraw: A Blog Documenting the Construction of a Traditional Filipino
Sailboat
This paraw building project aims to revive the tradition of paraw sailing, navigation
and boat-building in Palawan. The project is also intended to teach locals to preserve
the marine environment, especially in decreasing the dependence of oil to fuel modern
boats.
Vinta
The vinta is a variant of the Visayan paraw. The difference is the type of sail rather
than the hull. These boats are used off the coasts of Zamboanga and throughout the
Sulu archipelago.
“The Double Outrigger Sailing Canoe of Zamboanga and the Sulu Archipelago,
Southern Philippines” by Alexander Spoehr in Occassional Papers of Bernice P.
Bishop Museum vol. 24 no. 7 (March 26, 1971): 115-126.
“Wa, Vinta, and Trimaran” by Edwin Doran, Jr. in The Journal of the Polynesian
Society vol. 81 no. 2 (1972): 144-159.

Archaelogical Literature

“Boat-Building and Seamanship in Classic Philippine Society” by William Henry

Scott in Philippine Studies, vol. 30, no. 3 (1982): 335-376.
“The Ingenious Filipino Boat” by FR. Gabriel S. Casal, Eusebio Z. Dizon, Wilfredo P.
Ronquillio and Cecilio G. Salcedo in Kasaysayan Vol. 2: The Earliest Filipinos.
(Article available via Google Search).

"The Recovery of the 12th Century Wooden Boats in the Philippines" by Orlando V.
Abinion in Bulletin of the Australian Institute for Maritime Archaeology vol. 13, no. 2
(1989): 1-2.
*There are no physical or electronic holdings of this journal. Please contact
the Interlibrary Loan Office.

“Traditional Island Southeast Asian Watercraft in Philippine Archaeological Sites” by

Ligaya S.P. Lacsina from The MUA Collection. (Article available via Google Search)
Soul Boats

Soul boats are part of a pre-colonial burial ritual in which the soul of the departed is
sent across the ocean on a boat to the afterlife.
“The Soul Boat and the Boat-Soul: An Inquiry into the Indigenous ‘Soul’” by Maria
Bernadette L. Abrera.
“The Boat-Coffin Burial Complex in the Philippines and Its Relation to Similar
Practices in Southeast Asia” by Rosa C.P. Tenazas in Philippine Quarterly of Culture
and Society vol. 1, no. 1(March 1973): 19-25.
*There are no physical or electronic holdings of this journal. Please contact
the Interlibrary Loan Office.
Sulu

The Songs of Salanda: And Other Stories of Sulu by Harry Nimmo (1994). [Asia
PS3564.I47 S6 1994]
The Sulu Zone, 1768-1898.The Dynamics of External Trade, Slavery, and Ethnicity in
the Transformation of a Southeast Asian Maritime State by James Francis Warren
(2007). [Asia HF3818.S95 W37 2007]
Iranun and Balangingi: Globalization, Maritime Raiding, and the Birth of
Ethnicity by James Francis Warren (2002). [Asia DS688.S9 W377 2002]
“Traditional Marine Practices in Indonesia and Their Bearing on Conservation” by
Nicholas V.C. Polunin in Culture and Conservation: The Human Dimension in
Environmental Planning edited by Jeffrey A. MacNeely (1985): 155-178.
*The library does not have a copy available. Please contact the Interlibrary Loan
Office.
Sama/Bajao

The Sama, or Bajao are an indigenous ethnic group who live as maritime nomads in
small, wooden sailing vessels. They are from the Sulu archipelago, coastal areas of
Mindanao and northern Borneo.

"Bajau Laut Boat-Building in Semporna" by Clifford Sather in Techniques and

Culture, vol. 35-36 (2001): 177-198.
"Bajau Lepa and Sope: A 'Seven-Part Canoe' Building Tradition in Indonesia by Nick
Burningham in The Beagle: Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the
Northern Territory vol. 10 (June 1993): 193-220.
*The library does not have a copy of this item. Please contact the Interlibrary Loan
Office.

“Boat Building: Keeping a Sama Tradition Alive” by Ma. Bernadette L. Abrera

in Philippine Daily Inquirer (June 6, 2009). * The library has copies of this journal
[Microfilm 91041].
"Boatbuilding of the Sama" by M. Kurais in Mindanao Journal vol. 1 no. 4 (1974).
*The library has copies of this journal [DS688.S9 M55]. Holdings before 1980, such
as this cited issue, are housed in Sinclair Library.

“The Boats of the Tawi-Tawi Bajau, Sulu Archipelago, Philippines” by Arlo H.

Nimmo in Asian Perspectives, vol. 29, no. 1 (1990): 51-88.
"Religious Beliefs of the Tawi-Tawi Bajau" by H. Arlo Nimmo in Philippine
Studies vol. 38 (1990): 3-27.
“Sea Gypsies Losing Out – Philippines” uploaded on YouTube by Journeyman
Pictures on May 4, 2011.
"Human Planet: Oceans," published on August 21, 2012 by the BBC, is an
hour-long episode about various cultures and their connection to the
sea. This link leads to the "Human Planet" webpage on the "Oceans"
episode. Both the Bajaus and the Pa-aling fishermen are featured. This
episode can be viewed on YouTube.

 Full episode (BBC).

 Segment featuring the Bajaus (BBC)
 Segment featuring the Pa-aling Fishermen (BBC)
Related Literature

Bugis Navigation by Gene Ammarell (1999). [Asia DS632.B85A45 1999]

Canoes of Oceania by Alfred C. Haddon and James Hornell, 2 vols (1936 and
1975). [VM353.H33 1975]
Comparative Study on Indigenous Fishing Boats and Gears Around the Northwestern
Coasts of Pacific: Coastal Fishing Boats of Southeast Asia and Japan: Report on
Joint Research among the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and
Japan by E.E.C. Flores (1989).

*No holdings in the library. Contact the Interlibrary Loan Office.

"The Coastal Boats of North Borneo and Labuan Bay" by C.A. Gibson-Hill Journal of
the Sabah Society vol. 3 no. 4 (1968).
*There are no holdings for this journal. Please contact the Interlibrary Loan Office.

“Indigenous Astronomical Knowledge of the Indo-Malay Archipelago” by Gene

Ammarell in Encyclopaedia of the History of Non-Western Science: Natural Sciences,
Technology and Medicine (2008): 324-333.
*There are no holdings for this journal. Please contact the Interlibrary Loan Office.
"Interim Report onthe Joint Australian-Philippines Butuan Boat Project, October
1992" by Jeremy Green et al in International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, vol.
24 no. 3 (1995): 177-188.

*Physical copies are available in the library [CC77.I58]. The electronic version is
available on the library's Electronic Resources.

The Lashed-lug Boat of the Eastern Archipelagoes, the Alcina MS and the Lomblen
Whaling Boats by Adrian Horridge (1982).
*There are no holdings for this journal. Please contact the Interlibrary Loan Office.
The Prahu: Traditional Sailing Boat of Indonesia by Adrian Horridge, (1985). [Asia
VM371.H67]
"Remarks on the terminology of boatbuilding and seamanship in some languages of
Southern Sulawesi" by Horst Leibner in Indonesia Circle. School of Oriental &
African Studies. Newsletter, vol.21 no. 59 (1992): 18-44.
*There are no holdings for this journal. Please contact the Interlibrary Loan Office.
Sailing Craft of Indonesia by Adrian Horridge (1986). [Asia VM351.H674 1986]
Seafaring in the Contemporary Pacific Islands: Studies in Continuity and
Change edited by Richard Feinberg (1995).[GN662.S43 1995]
"Shipshape Societies: Boat Symbolism and Political Systems in Insular Southeast
Asia" by Pierre-Yves Manguin in Southeast Asia in the 9th and 14th Centuries edited
by David G. Marr and A.C. Milner. (1986). Singapore : Institute ofSoutheast Asian
Studies ; Canberra, Australia : Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian
National University. [Asia DS 526.3 .S68 1986]

Small Boat Design: Proceedings of the ICLARM Conference on Small Boat Design,
Noumea, New Caledonia, October 27-28, 1975 ed. by Johanna M. Reinhart. Manila,
Philippines: International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management.
"Trading Ships of the South China Sea: Shipbuilding Techniques and their Role in the
History of the Development of Asian Trade Networks" by Pierre-Yves Manguin
in Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient vol. 36, no. 3 (1993):
253-280.

Wangka: Austronesian Canoe Origins by Edwin B. Doran (1981). [GN635.I75 D67]

Related Links

Andy Smith Boatworks is a franchised yard company in Bohol, Philippines that

customizes Wharram Catamarans. It has a close relationship with
James Wharram Designs, which specializes in self-build boat designs,
including "traditional ethnic" models.
Bangka Journey. A project by a group of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans as
well as mixed heritage Native American/Filipino in the San Francisco Bay
Area to reawaken traditional Philippine boat building and sailing as a means to
connect people (across the Filipino Diaspora and with indigenous groups) as
well as demonstrate sustainable living on the waterways.
Indigenous Boats: Small Craft Outside the Western Tradition. This is the blog
by Bob Holtzman of Rockport, Maine who holds a master's of Marine Affairs
degree and has been involved with boats, including writing and editing
materials about the subject. The blog is about the various water vessels from
different traditions, including Hawaiian, Native American, Chinese and
Indonesian. This is the blog page for posts about Philippine boats.
Voyage of the Balangay. This Kaya ng Pinoy Inc. project was to build a
replica balangay (Batuan boat) and navigate through the Southeast Asian
islands, rekindling the traditional Philippine maritime practice.