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The Evolution of Mandar Seafarers’ Pretty Dancer

Name: The Evolution of Mandar Seafarers’ Pretty Dancer
Uploaded: 2022-08-16T04:27:46Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: Over a decade ago, when Iwan was a teenager, he would not push the boat onto land alone. Dozens of people on shore joined hands to shove the boat as it returned from its journey for days at sea.

Over a decade ago, when Iwan was a teenager, he would not push the boat onto land alone. Dozens of people on shore joined hands to shove the boat as it returned from its journey for days at sea.

STEFANUS ATO

· 8 minutes read

Sandeq boats were born out of the freedom of expression of Mandar seafarers. The ethnic community living in the western part of Sulawesi is able to make adaptations and create strong, light and agile boats. Sandeq boats are very graceful when sailing, like a pretty girl dancing on the waves.

Iwan Ahmad, 33, jumped out of a white boat, which was chic and slim. The boat that had just returned after putting out to sea almost the whole night was then pushed ashore with all his might.

The sailboat with outriggers is called a sandeq. The paint covering the hull was getting dull. The color seemed to represent the existence of sandeq boats, wobbling to resist the ravages of time.

Over a decade ago, when Iwan was a teenager, he would not push the boat onto land alone. Dozens of people on shore joined hands to shove the boat as it returned from its journey for days at sea.

“Formerly with my parents we sailed aboard a large sandeq. [Voyages] could last for 10 days,” said the father of three on 22 July on the shore of Pambusuang village, Balanipa district, Polewali Mandar regency, West Sulawesi.

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They used sandeq to catch various sorts of fish like tuna and grouper. While at sea, fish of smaller sizes were cut open and dried aboard the boat.

“We once reached Balikpapan [in East Kalimantan]. The fish we caught was not taken home but was sold in the place where we stopped over,” said the elementary school graduate.

This type of sandeq is normally used as a means of short-distance transportation or for fishing along the shore.

Memories of heading out to sea with his parents are one of the reasons for Iwan to continue the use of sandeq. The sailboat he currently navigates is of a smaller size usually called sandeq pangoli. This type of sandeq is normally used as a means of short-distance transportation or for fishing along the shore.

The already 10-year-old boat has also been modified and equipped with an engine. This engine was purposely installed to enable him to go on fishing when no wind was blowing at sea.

“When the wind blows, I turn off the engine and use the sail. It’s enough to save fuel,” said Iwan.

‘Sandeq’ evolution

Today, sandeq boats are almost no longer found sailing on the shoreline near Pambusuang village. The vessels sailing back and forth by the village have changed into ships or boats built from fibers and fully driven by engines.

A number of sandeq boats are actually still kept in the coastal region and on terraces of the houses of some residents. However, the boats are not properly maintained and rarely used for fishing. Although they no longer function for fishing, this does not imply that sandeq are nearing their demise. Sandeq just keep evolving as they are battered by the advancements of the present era.

Since 1995, Mandar fishermen have used their boats to participate in an annual event known as the sandeq race. This is one of the arenas initiated by a maritime researcher from Germany, Horst H Liebner, along with local fishermen for the preservation of sandeq.

The race, held almost every year on the occasion of Indonesian Independence Day, had to be halted for two years, in 2020 and 2021, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, this event will again take place with a different concept, which is Sandeq Festival 2022.

Thirty-five sandeq boats are scheduled to follow the festival by sailing across the Makassar Strait from West Sulawesi and finishing in East Kalimantan. The festival slated to be carried out in September 2022 is enthusiastically welcomed by fishermen, boat builders and boat owners in Polewali Mandar, Majene and Mamuju regencies. Residents have started innovating to create strong, light and fast-moving boats.

The wood would be installed as a mast. He was building two boats ordered by several prospective participants in the 2022 Sandeq Festival.

On Thursday morning (21/7/2022), Muslim, a boat builder in East Rangas village, Banggai district, Majene regency, West Sulawesi, was busily smoothing a wooden pole with a machine. The wood would be installed as a mast. He was building two boats ordered by several prospective participants in the 2022 Sandeq Festival.

“I’ve been a builder since the 1990s. This means I’ve learned to build boats. I have an uncle who is a builder, so I’m not clumsy as I apprenticed with my uncle in the past,” said the father of two.

The process of sandeq boat making for a race is different from that for fishing. The model of sandeq used by fishermen is shorter, 8 meters long. Meanwhile, a racing sandeq can reach 13 m in length.

The bow of the boat for a race is also designed to be more pointed or sharper. The wood chosen is also that of the light type such as bulu wood. The wood formerly used was that of the strong and termite-resistant types like tipulu and palappi wood.

“We learn the movement of sandeq from the waves. If the boat is heavy, when the waves rise it is sucked by water. If it’s pointed, it splits the waves. That makes sandeq move faster,” said the man, who first steered sandeq in 1982.

The cost of building one sandeq for the festival is quite high, ranging from Rp 50 million to Rp 60 million. The cost covers the purchase of boat building materials and equipment, the builder’s fee and the participant’s contest charges.

Hendrik, 57, one of the entrepreneurs selling ship engines in Majene, for instance, has since 2005 been involved in the Sandeq Race. To date, he has built four boats for participation in the race.

“I think that unless the younger generation [preserves the boats], they may vanish. If we rely on the government for this purpose, it’s hard,” said the resident of Polewali Mandar on 20 July.

In the middle of the boats are triangular sails capable of pushing them to the speed of 40 km per hour.

The boats for the Sandeq Race are 13 meters long, 60 centimeters wide and 1 meter high on average and have outriggers on the left and right. In the middle of the boats are triangular sails capable of pushing them to the speed of 40 km per hour.

“Modern yachts are rarely capable of equaling the speed of sandeq. While quite strong, sandeq boats are comparatively attractive. Their beautiful shape makes the boats with outriggers look graceful when sailing at sea, like a pretty girl dancing on the waves,” said Liebner, the German who has researched traditional boats in Sulawesi since 1987 (Kompas, 7/8/2001).

According to Liebner, the beautiful shape of the boats is supported by the aspirations of Mandar seafarers who wish their boats to appear more beautiful than all the others. They generally build the boats with well-chosen wood, construct them neatly and meticulously and paint them white and clean.

Since the 1930s

Mandar culture observer M Ridwan Alimuddin said sandeq had been used by Mandar fishermen since the 1930s. Mandar fishermen live in the western part of Sulawesi, covering the regencies of Polewali Mandar, Majene, Mamuju and North Mamuju.

They have mostly used sandeq for fishing, transportation and trading purposes. “Though small, sandeq remain

superior for the deep sea. Mandar people create boats capable of sailing in the high seas in spite of being small,” he said.

The boats’ closed condition is one of the factors that prevents sandeq from capsizing or sinking when hit by storms.

In Indonesia, nearly all boats with outriggers have open bodies. The outrigger boats in the archipelago are not yet oriented to ocean-going journeys except sandeq. Sandeq can sail in the high seas because their bodies are closed so that sea water has no way of filling them. The boats’ closed condition is one of the factors that prevents sandeq from capsizing or sinking when hit by storms.

The capability of building strong, exceptional and fast boats capable of sailing in the high seas constitutes local wisdom emanating from Mandar seafarers as a form of adaptation to natural circumstances. In the remote past, Mandar seafarers used pakur boats before building sandeq.

Pakur looked very much like sandeq. The difference between pakur and sandeq lies in their sails. Pakur’s sails were rectangular and the boats moved slowly when sailing at sea.

“What’s more, there was tuna, which demanded immediate onshore arrival. Therefore, they built sandeq. Though fast, sandeq could still transport goods. The evolution went on as the race was organized. The boats are now indeed purely meant for speed,” added Ridwan.

Sandeq serve as a form of Mandar seafarers’ freedom of expression. They are capable of adapting to deep sea conditions, and now they keep innovating for the sake of maintaining local wisdom amid the changing era.

(This article was translated by Aris Prawira).

Editor:

NASRULLAH NARA

mamuju west sulawesi sandeq mandar