The Story of ‘Passandeq’ Challenging Stormy Waves

The thrilling and ironic story was told by the ‘sandeq’ sailors in the 2022 Sandeq Festival across the Makassar Strait. The ‘passandeqs’ were always proud to set sail, become fishermen and respect the sea.

KOMPAS/STEFANUS ATO

Sandeq Pangoli's boat will rest on the coast of Pambusuang Village, Balanipa District, Polewali Mandar Regency, West Sulawesi Province, on Friday (22/7/2022).

Paris had just finished rolling up the sail of the sandeq he was riding on. The 67-year-old man said it was his first experience navigating the Makassar Strait on a sailboat. He and seven team members navigated traditional Mandar vessels that had no engine and only relied on the wind.

He departed from his village, namely Silopo beach, Polewali Mandar regency, West Sulawesi, on 31 August 2022. From there, he and his team sailed the Makassar Strait to Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. The festival was held by the provincial government of West Sulawesi with the theme "Indonesia Supports the IKN Nusantara".

After arriving at Manggar beach, Balikpapan, on Wednesday (7/9/2022), Paris shared his experiences. On the first day of sailing, he and his team faced heavy winds and heavy rain. They wore only raincoats and life jackets for the bad weather. The steering wheel needed to be managed by several people at once so that the sail could be controlled.

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On the third day of sailing, Nasrul (42), a friend at the same sandeq, witnessed one of the 35 sandeq participating in the festival sinking because the mast of the boat was broken.

To maintain security and provide food supplies, the sandeq boats were accompanied by 35 bodi or fishing boats with a capacity of 14 GT. During the incident, the team on the fishing boat rescued the steerers before the sandeq sank.

"The title of this festival is: Friends of the Waves, Surrounded by a Storm," said Nasrul, giggling atop his racing sandeq.

The passandeqs had no contact with their families while at sea. Hizbullah (19) recounted that when he saw signs of land, he immediately turned on his smartphone.

“My family called. They were worried about our safety and crying. They were afraid of us experiencing something [dangerous] in the middle of the sea,” he said.

KOMPAS/SUCIPTO

Paris (67) on a sandeq, a traditional Mandar boat, at Manggar Beach, Balikpapan City, East Kalimantan, Wednesday (7/9/2022). He and seven of his friends have sailed the Makassar Strait for 7 days in the boat, which has no engine and only relies on the wind.

Hezbollah sailed on a sandeq made in the 1960s which was shorter and slightly wider than the new sandeq. The ancient sandeq used a kind of woven-bamboo mat on either side of the boat to make it easier to catch fish. In ancient sandeq, they still use lapi-lapi, namely mats and roofs made of knitted coconut leaves. Usually, ancient sandeq are equipped with dung, a type of caping (traditional hat) made of leather and bamboo leaves.

"We catch fish using ancient sandeq; we can't catch too many fish. God gave us many fish in the sea, but we shouldn't be greedy,” said Abdul Kadir (58), the owner of an ancient sandeq.

Irony

Before docking at Manggar beach, the passandeqs waited for the acting Governor of West Sulawesi Akmal Malik and a number of regents of West Sulawesi. The officials arrived first and stayed at a number of Balikpapan hotels. When the sandeq was about to pull over, they were escorted by a boat to the sea and then boarded the sandeq to pull over to the beach together.

At Manggar beach, they were greeted by the Mayor of Balikpapan, Rahmad Mas'ud. The officials from West Sulawesi were then carried on a stretcher like the Maromba Passandeq ritual. "With the presence of the acting governor of West Sulawesi and regents throughout the province, it is hoped that there will be synergy in building East Kalimantan, especially for the successful development of the Nusantara capital city," said Rahmad.

Akmal Malik hopes that the Sandeq Festival, with a budget of around Rp 4 billion (US$267,488) will help preserve the cultural wealth of sandeq. "We want to be proud of Indonesia internationally -- to still have sandeq ships that only rely on wind and human power to sail," he said.

We small fishermen actually sleep in the boat and on the roadside, brother.

After the event was over, passandeq just wanted to rest. Nasrul's waist needs a stretch due to seven days with sandeq.

"The officials enjoy facilities; they sleep at the hotel. We're sleeping on the boat tonight. The committee did not provide lodging,” said Nasrul, laughing. He took a nap at a musholla (prayer room) on Manggar beach.

Until Friday (9/9), passandeq sailed to several spots in Balikpapan to entertain residents. Friday night, Hezbollah said goodbye and returned to West Sulawesi onboard the sandeq. He also said that he would continue his work as a fisherman in his village.

"We small fishermen actually sleep in the boat and on the roadside, brother," said Hisbulah, jokingly.

This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.