The Balangay or Balanghai[1] is the first wooden watercraft ever excavated in Southeast Asia. Also known as the Butuan boat, this artifact is evidence of early Filipino craftsmanship and their seamanship skills during pre-colonial times. The Balanghai Festival is also a celebration in Butuan, Agusan del Norte to commemorate the coming of the early migrants that settled the Philippines, on board the Balangay boats.[2] When the first Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, they found the Filipinos having a civilization of their own and living in well-organized independent villages called barangays. The name barangay originated from balangay, the Austronesian word for "sailboat".[3][4]
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With the balangay’s size, it was used for cargo and raiding purposes, giving proof that Butuan played a central role in trade throughout the region of the Philippine islands and with neighboring areas.[5][6]
It is also held that the balangay also helped spread the settlement of the Austronesian people around the Philippines and neighboring regions in the Malay Archipelago.[7] The Tao people of Taiwan have traditionally been adept at crafting balangays, which are held as a symbol of their people.
Since the 10th century, Butuan appeared to have been in good relations with the Srivijayan Empire. Being located on the coast of Mindanao, balanghai's were often docking at Butuan bay keeping good business between the local people of Butuan and traders from the neighboring empire and neighboring islands.[2][8] Various goods, extending to the statue of Avalokiteśvara and the Golden Tara of Butuan, were traded across the Malay Archipelago.
The balangay boats were discovered in the late 1970s in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte by archaeologists from the National Museum of the Philippines. There were actually nine balangays recovered in the province. The first balangay, now preserved and displayed in a site museum in Libertad, Butuan City, was radiocarbon tested and was dated to year 320. The second boat was dated to 1250, and is now located at the Maritime Hall of the National Museum in Manila. The third balangay was transferred to the Butuan Regional Museum and is still undergoing preservation. The six other boats, which are yet to be excavated, remain in their original waterlogged condition which is proven to be the best way to preserve the said artifacts.[8]
The first wooden watercraft excavated in Southeast Asia, the Balangay is only found in the Philippines where a flotilla of such prehistoric wooden boats exists. Nine specimens were discovered in 1976 in Butuan City, Agusan Del Norte, Mindanao and 3 of which have been excavated. Examination and extensive investigation reveals that the extant boats found in the excavation site date back to 320, 990 and 1250 AD.[5][8]
Building a Balangay requires teamwork and unity among workers which is why it is now used by the Philippine Government as a term to refer to the smallest political unit, now popularly pronounced as barangay.[2][8]
A balangay is a plank boat adjoined by carved-out planks edged through pins or dowels. The term was adapted by archaeologists from an account of Antonio Pigafetta in the early 16th century mentioning the word in Italian spelling, “balanghai.” Because of the ingenuity of Filipino boat makers, they were employed by the Spanish colonial regime to build the caracoa fleets that battled the Moros and mercantile galleons that crossed the Pacific, known as the Manila Galleon. The significance of the seafaring culture of the Philippines was demonstrated by the abundance of naval-related vocabularies in the 17th century Spanish dictionaries of Philippine languages.[9]
The finely built boat, made without the use of blueprints, was taught to be made from one generation to another and uses a technique still used by boat makers of Sibutu Island. Made 15 meters long and 3 to 4 meters wide, the Balangay is propelled by sail of buri, nipa fiber, or padding and large enough to hold 60 to 90 people.[9]
The balangay was more than a mere boat. It was more like a vessel bearing a social unit. In fact, upon the arrival of the Spaniards in Luzon in the 16th century, they found out that the term balangay was also used to refer to the smallest political unit among the Tagalogs. The said unit, ranging from 30 to 100 households, was ruled by a chief or datu who was respected and venerated by his subjects.[10][2]
Since balangays were relatively small political units, these were easily subjugated by the Spaniards. And to strengthen their colonial rule, the Spaniards converted the traditional datus into Cabeza de Barangay – a position which, from being hereditary, became elective.[10][2]
And as the nature of building the balangay requires unity, the term was used by the Philippine government to refer to its basic political unit, now called barangay, headed by a barangay chairman.[10][2] This may be compared to the traditional Indonesian banjar system in a village (desa or kampung), whereby a village is looked after by the village chief and supporting role from elders.
In 2009, the Kaya ng Pinoy, Inc. that conquered Mt. Everest in 2006 announced plans to re-construct the Balangay boat, with the help of Badjao and other tribal members. The Balangay will be sailed, tracing the routes of the Filipino Ancestors during the waves of Austronesian settlement throughout the Malay region and the Pacific.[11] The special wood for construction came from the established traditional source in southern Philippines, specifically Tawi-Tawi. The team have pinpointed Badjao master boat builders, whose predecessors actually built such boats, and used traditional tools during the construction. The balangay was constructed at Manila Bay, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex.[12][13]
The Balangay, navigated without the use of instruments, and only through the skills and traditional methods of the Filipino Sea Badjao people, will tour the Philippines travelling from Luzon through the Visayas to Mindanao, and Sulu, stopping off at numerous Philippine cities along the way to promote the project. The journey around the Philippine islands will cover a distance of 2,108 nautical miles or 3,908 kilometers.[12][14]
The second leg will see the Balangay navigate throughout South East Asia through to 2010, then Micronesia and Madascar the following year. The Balangay will then venture across the Pacific onward to the Atlantic and all the way around the world and back to the Philippines from 2012 to 2013.[12][14] At February 4, 2011, the team arrived at Butuan City.
The balangay will navigate by the old method used by the ancient mariners – steering by the sun, the stars, the wind, cloud formations, wave patterns and bird migrations. Valdez and his team will rely on the natural navigational instincts of the Badjao. Apart from the Badjao, Ivatan are also experts in using the boat.[9][12][14]
The voyage hopes aims to reconnect to the greatness of the Filipino ancestors, and to rekindle the maritime consciousness among the Filipino people, a nation of over 90 million people living in the second largest island nation in the world. The voyage also aims to install Enrique De Malacca, the Indo-Malay, his rightful place in history as the first circum-navigator of the world.[15]
Their vessel, named "Ngandahig",[16] can also be compared to the Hokulea voyages, and the voyages of the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
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