THE PRAHUS OF THE SULU ZONE

By jim Warren

INTRODUCTION

The Sulu Sultanate lay at a most strategic point for the maritime trade of the
nineteenth century. China, the Philippines and Mindanao were situated to the
north. Borneo to the southwest, and to the southeast, Sulawesi and the Moluccas.
The geopolitical and commercial advantages inherent in the Sultanate's location
in this 'Zone' were both enviable and unique. This maritime trading zone was to
provide a sociocultural context for inter-societal relations and commerce within
the Sultanate and beyond after 1780. By fitting into the patterns of European
trade with China in the late eighteenth century, the Sulu Sultanate established
itself as a powerful commercial centre. The Sultanate's geographical position in
relation to Asian routes of trade and exchange and its abundant natural resources
for export to China attracted the attention of the West. The maritime and jungle
products to be found within the Sulu Zone and in the area of its trading partners
- tripang (sea slug), bird's nest, wax, camphor, and mother of pearl- were new
products for redressing the British East India Company's adverse trade balance
on the Canton tea market with China. The trade which Sulu established with
Bengal, Manila, Macao, and Canton, and later Labuan and Singapore, initiated
large-scale importation of weapons, luxury goods, and foodstuffs. Taosug (Sulu)
merchants on the coast and their descendants developed an extensive
redistributive trade with the Bugis of Samarinda and Berau to the south, which
enabled the Sulu Sultanate to consolidate its dominance over the outlying areas
of the Zone.

Slave-raiding became fundamental to the Sulu Sultanate as its economy ex-

panded and in the period 1768-1848 contributed significantly towards making
Sulu one of the most powerful states in Southeast Asia. As the Sultanate organis-
ed its economy around the collection and distribution of marine and jungle pro-
duce, there was a greater need for large scale recruitment of manpower in Sulu's
economy to do the labour-intensive work of procurement. Slaving activity car-
ried out by the Iranun and Balangingi Samal developed to meet the accentuated
demands of external trade. Jolo, the seat of the Sulu Sultanate, became the nerve
centre for the co-ordination of long-distance slave raiding. From the end of the
eighteenth century to the middle of the nineteenth, Southeast Asia felt the full
force of the slave raiders of the Sulu Zone. They earned a reputation as daring,
fierce marauders who jeopardised the maritime trade routes, subsistence
agriculture, and settlement patterns of Southeast Asia, and dominated the cap-
ture and transport of slaves to the Sulu Sultanate. The Sulu aristocracy depended
for its prosperity on the labour of slaves and sea raiders, who fished for tripang,
secured pearls, and manned the fleets. Trade created the material and social con-

42
ditions for the large-scale recruitment of slaves and the exploitation of dependent
communities. At the same time, the labour of captive and tributary peoples pro-
vided the raw materials for expanding trade. More than anything else it was this
source and application of labour that was to give Sulu its distinctive predatory
character in the eyes of Europeans - past and present - as a 'pirate and slave
state'.

THE PRAHUS

The trading and raiding activities which forged the Sulu Zone in the late eigh-
teenth and nineteenth centuries were predicated upon specialized craft. Three
basic prahu types were associated with Iranun/Samal maritime activities : lanong
(joanga}, the large, heavily-armed Iranun vessel; garay (panco or penjajap} a
raiding ship of lighter construction used by the Balangingi as their principal craft;
and salisipan {vinta, baroto, or kakap}, a canoe-like vessel with or without outrig-
gers employed as an auxiliary craft for inshore raiding.

Boat-building was an art in the Sulu Zone. The shell a'"£ Iranun and Samal
vessels was built up from the keel (a hollowed-out log) without nails. 1 Fibre
lashings were used to bind clinkered planks and ribs together to form the hull.
Certain communities specialized in building prahus and shipwrights transmitted
their techniques from one generation to the next. Thomas Forrest observed the
construction of many lanong at Cotabato along the banks of the Pulangi river in
Mindanao:

In that part of the town ...... live a few Chinese; but many Magindanao mechanics,
vessel builders and merchants: They build their vessels of various dimensions, and
employ them in trading from one part of the coast to the other; often in cruising
amongst the (Bisayan} Philippine Islands, for slaves and plunder. They cruise also
as far as the coast ofjava, and the islands of Celebes and Borneo ..... These vessels
are always very long for the breath, and very broad for their draft of water. 2

1. For a detailed discussion of the multi-ethnic zone of which Sulu was the centre see James Fran-
cis Warren, The Sulu Zone 1768-1898 The Dynamics of External Trade, Slavery, and Ethnicity in the
Transformation of a Southeast Asian Maritime State (Singapore : Singapore University Press,
1981); on Iranun and Samal prahu construction see Arturo Sociats y Garin, "Memoria sobre el
Archipielago de JoLo', Bole tin della Sociedad geogra(ica de Madrid, 10 (1881), p.196; for articles
on the type, size and construction of prahus in the Philippines and eastern Indonesia see G.
Adrian Horridge, The Design of the Planked Boats of the Moluccas; the Lambu or Prahu Bot; the
Konjo Boatbuilders and the Bugis Prahus of South Sulawesi. Maritime Monograph and Reports
Nos. 39 and 40, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, 1978-1979; The lashed-lug Boat of the
Eastern Archipelagoes, the Alcina Ms and the Lomb/en Whaling Boats, Maritime Monograph and
Reports No.54, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, 1982; William Henry Scott, 'Boat
Building and Seamanship in Classic Philippine Society', Philippine Studies, 30, No.3 (1982),
pp.335-376; C.C. Macknight and Mukhlis, "A Bugis Manuscript about Praus", Archipel. 18
(1979), pp.271-282.
2. Thomas Forrest, A Voyage to New Guinea and the Moluccas from Balambangan :Including an Ac-
count of Magindano, Sooloo and Other Islands (London: G. Scott, 1779), p.184.

43
 The Magindanao also constructed vessels on the coast of Sibuguey bay in
1775 : "Here (Sibuguey bay) ...... are built many stout ve~"-els, good timber being
in great plenty". 3
By 1790 the centre of boat-building activity in the Zone had shifted away from
Cotabato to the Sulu archipelago. Basilan and nearby islands were especially rich
in shipbuilding materials, and the Samal of Maluso became celebrated boat-
builders.4 Jolo island itself was well supplied with timber, and Parang was the
most noted place on the island for making garay. 5 The Samal diaspora of 1848-52
forced many boat-builders to move south and relocate on Tawi-Tawi. The
transport of excellent hardwood timber from the forests to the bays for prahu
manufacture was easy on this narrow island. Balimbing, Banaran and Bilitan on
Tawi-Tawi, and Sibutu island were highly reputed places for making large prahus
in the second half of the nineteenth century.6
The extraordinary water-colour sketches of Monle1 " done in 1890 of the
vessels of the Sulu Zone are based on models built by ir.uigenous craftsmen that
were brought back to Spain by members of scientific and naval expeditions
throughout the nineteenth century. The sketches present a wealth of nautical
and ethnographic detail concerning the proportions, materials, construction, and
type of ships, and crews employed by various ethnic groups that is lacking in the
historical literature.
The Lanong
The lanong (joanga) was made for long cruises and it Has this ship which com-
posed the flotillas that raided the Straits Settlements under the leadership of the
Iranun of Tempasuk and Reteh. The length averaged 130-90 feet, and the hull
breadth 20 feet amidship. A dug-out keel formed the lower hull, with sides con-
structed of planks. The stern and bow were built up and overhung the keel. The
lanong had one large mainsail forward and two tripod sheers that could be 'raised
or lowered on a moment's notice. Much of the interior was occupied by a
fighting platform and cabin. The latter served as the nakodah 's quarters and a
3. Ibid., p.196.
4. Statement of Mariano Sevilla in Expediente 12, 4 October, 1836, Philippine National Archive,
Mindanao/Sulu 1803-1890; Apuntes sobre la Isla de Basilan 1892, Society of Jesus Archives of
the Philippine Province, XIV-9, p.32; Beyer-Holleman collection of original sources in Philip-
pine Customary Law, Vol.l, paper 160, No.1, Livingston, "Constabulary Monograph of the
Province of Sulu", p.5.
5. Statement of Marcelo Teafilo in Expediente 12, 4 October, 183b, Philippine National Archive,
Mindanao/Sulu 1803/1890; W.R. Van Hoevall, "De Zeerooverijen der Soeloerezen" Tijruchrift
voor Nederlandsch Indie, 2 (1850), p.102; Beyer-Holleman collection of original sources in
Philippine Customary Law, Vol.6, paper 162, No.23, Christie, "The Moros of Sulu and Min-
danao", p.38.
6. Diary of Leonard Wood, 6 January, 1906, Leonard Wood Papers, The Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C., container 3; Beyer-Holleman collection of original sources in Philippine
Customary Law, Vol.l, paper 160, No.1 Livingston; Constabulary Monograph of the Province
of Sulu", p.5; Vol.2, paper 161, No.ll Walker; Report of the 53rd Census District" (Tawi-
Tawi), p.38; A.J.F. Jansen, "Aanteekeningen omtrent Sollok en de Solloksche Zeeroovers", Ti-
jdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land-en Volkenvunde, uitgegeven conoor het (Koinklejk) Bataviaasch
Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschapen, 7 (1858), p.220; Garin, 'Memoria sobre el Ar-
chipelago de Jolo", p.196.

44
 powder magazine. The vessel depicted carried 34 oars a side, double-banked,
and steered with two rudders. Armament consisted of a strong bulwark at the
bow, mounting a long gun (6-24 pounder) as well as several swivel guns. Sheilds
were fixed along the side of the platform, and many lanong carried a boarding
bridge. The crew consisted of 150-200 men, with the warrior-sailors occupying
the upper platform. A triangular flag of the commander was affixed to the stern.
By 1830 the lanong had been replaced by the swifter, lightly armed Balangingi
garay.

The Garay

The Balangingi garay was a beautifully built vessel of wood, bamboo, nipa and
rattan. The size of the largest garay was 80 feet in length, and the breadth of the
beam was 20 feet with a projecting stage of one foot along the sides. The garay,
very sharp fore and aft with a great beam, drew only from three to five feet of
water. The large beam enabled the vessel to carry an enormous rectangular sail
on a tall, collapsible tripod of bamboo and move over reef-studded seas at better
than ten knots. The garay was also oar propelled, and thirty to sixty oars were us-
ed on the big vessels. The upper tier of rowers sat on the projecting stage. The
garay was either open or decked with split cane from stem to stern. The deck of
nibong palm was cut into fixed sections so that any part of it could be taken up.
For armament a fixed gun was carried in a bulwark at the bow. The crew of the
largest garay numbered upward of 100 men and the smallest 25-30 men. Because
the garay sailed well, and was light enough to be rowed swiftly, it possessed the
manoeuvrability and striking power necessary for inshore raiding in the nine-
teenth century.

The Salisipan

The salisipan was a long, low, narrow, oar-propelled vessel that was easily
hauled ashore. It was open, provided with an oar at the stern for steering, and the
crew used either oars or sculls. The salisipan carried one mast with a single
square sail. The largest were 30-35 feet long, and were manned from the crew of
the garay to which the salisipan belonged. One could be sure that when a salisipan
was encountered, a garay was not far off. In calm weather the Balangingi Samal
ran along the shore in salisipan or ascended small rivers, relying on their rapidity
of movement. This craft proved a dangerous enemy for all coastal peoples of
Southeast Asia.

45

i..
PLATE I - A Joanga (Lanong), an Iranun warship of the late eighteenth century with three banks of oars under full saiL
Upward of 100 feet long, these vessels were provided with large bamboo outriggers, both sides were rowed and paddled
by more than 190 men. The biggest Iranun slave raids in Southeast Asia were directed against the Philippine archipelago.

~-·1
J:'Jate 11 - A tlalangmg1 uarayor Panco Wlth two banks ot oars under tull sail. At the beginning of the nineteenth century
Brunei was within easy range of the Balangingi Samal, and a squadron of Garay hovered about southern Palawan from
the middle of March to the end of November to seize Brunei inhabitants and cut off trade to north Borneo. The attacks
were an importantfactor contributing to Brunei's regional decline. The Balangingi were alleged to have a saying that "It is
difficult to catch fish but easy to catch Borneans.''
Plate V- Garay.
 The Sulu Zone
SULU SEA

• Cagayan de Sulu

Jolo ,.
~ ~Balangingi
~-·
. •' . '"' Sarangani

~Sangir

a
CELEBES SEA
.•
Bangka

Trading Centre
• Taosug
..o.. Buginese

* Raiding Centre
[ ] ] land over 500 metres
fi1il land over 1 500
0 75 150 km 300
 Slave Raiding in South East Asia

BANDA
SEA

_ _ Raiding Tratk

200 km !000
 Slave Raiding in the Philippines

* Raid Prone
--Raiding Track

PACIFIC
OCEAN
SOUTH
CHINA
SEA

.,;-;

~·
.. 0 75 150 km 300