Garay (ship)

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Banguingui garay ships by Rafael Monleón
(1890)
1863 illustration of the Tartar, a garay from Sulu commissioned by Thomas Forrest in his 1774 expedition to New Guinea

Garay were traditional native

piracy by the Banguingui and Iranun people against unarmed trading ships and raids on coastal settlements in the regions surrounding the Sulu Sea
.

History

Garay illustrations by Rafael Monleón (1890)

Most garay were built in the shipyards of

Sultanate of Brunei. These attacks severely affected the economy of Brunei, leading to its decline. The Banguingui purportedly had a saying: "It is difficult to catch fish, but easy to catch Borneans."[1]

Description

Garay were smaller, faster, and more maneuverable than the Iranun

mizzenmast, which were rigged with smaller triangular crab claw sails. When the wind was heavy, the mainsail was lowered and only the foresail and the mizzen sails were set.[2][3]

Garay anchored in Sulu, from the Voyage au Pôle Sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes L'Astrolabe et La Zélée by Jules Dumont d'Urville (1846)

They were also propelled by

nipa leaves. A raised platform over a clay stove was used for cooking. At the sides of the hull were overhanging catwalks, about 1 to 2 ft (0.30 to 0.61 m) in width. The ship did not have a central rudder, but had two steering oars located near the stern.[2][3]

The largest garay were around 70 to 80 ft (21 to 24 m) long and could carry up to 80 men, but most garay averaged at 60 to 70 ft (18 to 21 m) with around 60 men. Even smaller garay also existed with an average crew (sakay) of 25 to 30 men.

banca, shielded against arrows and spears), which could carry an additional 15 people.[2]

Garay were led by a nakura or nakuda (commander) who in turn is led by a squadron leader, the panglima. The julmuri (

first mate) is in charge of the crew and also controls the rudder (bausan). Another officer, the julbato stays at the prow of the ship and watches out for reefs and enemy ships. The julbato is also in charge of the anchor (sao).[4]

Garay did not possess

Nusantara. They differed from garay in the width of their beams (penjajap were extremely narrow), and the fact that large penjajap usually had outriggers and two layar tanja sails. Garay were also sometimes referred to generically as panco (bangka).[2][5]

Role

Garay were lightly armed, in comparison to the lanong. They usually only had a single large cannon (lela). While the lanong specialized in ship-to-ship combat, the garay was more suited to raiding coastal villages and attacking unarmed or lightly armed trade ships.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ James Francis Warren (1985). "The Prahus of the Sulu Zone" (PDF). Brunei Museum Journal. 6: 42–45.
  2. ^
    ISBN 9789971692421
    .
  3. ^ a b Yule, Henry & Burnell, Arthur Coke (1886). Hobson-Jobson: Being a Glossary of Anglo-Indian Colloquial Words and Phrases and of Kindred Terms Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive. John Murray. p. 509.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Ricardo E. Galang (1941). "Types of Watercraft in the Philippines". The Philippine Journal of Science. 75 (3): 291–306.
  5. ISBN 9789814311960
    .
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