Juanga (ship)

Lore & Background

The word juanga and joanga are cognates with 'junk', referring to several types of ships in Asia. Retana and Pastells considered the name derived from Hokkien Chinese: 船 (chûn), meaning boat. However, Paul Pelliot and Waruno Mahdi reject the Chinese origin; instead, it may derive from 'jong' in Old Javanese, meaning ship. The first record of Old Javanese jong comes from an 11th-century CE inscription in Bali. By the 15th century, it was recorded in Malay and Chinese, with a Chinese word list identifying it as a Malay term for ship, practically excluding Chinese origin. William Henry Scott states that 'joanga' came from 'jong', a large Southeast Asian ship.

According to a manuscript probably by António Galvão (ca. 1544), the ship was built with a shape like an egg in the middle and ends curling upward, allowing it to sail forward and backward. Vessels were not nailed or caulked; boards were connected with pens inserted into holes, and the keel and ribs were adjusted and painted with fibers. Inside, a protruding ring held a strap invisible from outside. The bow had carved wood in the form of a snake with a dragon's head and deer-like horns. Ten or twelve beams called ngaju were laid across the hull, protruding 1 to 3 braças (about 1.8 to 5.4 meters) from the sides. Above these, two or three rows of bamboo (cangalha) were tied for rowers. A floor of split rattan (baileo) served as an upper deck, with booths for officers and dignitaries. The kolano (kings of northern Maluku) occupied the baileo, with tents made of white kakoya and flags of feathers and red cloth. Oars were free, well-carved, and shaped like an iron spearhead. Sails were made of burlap or mats.

In the Philippines, Spanish priest Francisco Combés described karakoa in 1667, noting their speed and craftsmanship. Karakoa had shallow drafts, long narrow hulls, and could reach 25 meters in length, seating up to a hundred rowers per side. Very large karakoa were called joangas or juangas by the Spanish. Lanong could reach 30 meters long and 6 meters wide, crewed by 150 to 200 men, and were heavily armed for naval battles. At the end of the 18th century, Iranun people cruised in squadrons of 30 to 40 lanong (joanga), with a fleet commander and a nakodah on each. Warriors took no part in sailing; they fought with grappling poles, boarding lances, muskets, and the kampilan.

Reader's Guide

The juanga holds significance as a major vessel type in the maritime history of the Philippines and Eastern Indonesia, particularly in Maluku. Its design, described in a 16th-century Portuguese manuscript, reveals sophisticated shipbuilding techniques: no nails or caulking, boards joined with pens, and outriggers for stability. The vessel's social structure is notable: rowers sat on the cangalha, while the baileo (upper deck) housed the kolano, captains, ministers, and armed soldiers. Promotion from rower to baileo was a great honor. The juanga was used for troop transport in Ternate-Portuguese conflicts between 1530 and 1570, and later for relocating people after a rebellion in Tidore in 1722. In the Philippines, the term joanga was applied to large karakoa and lanong, the latter being heavily armed warships crewed by Iranun raiders. The juanga's legacy lies in its representation of indigenous maritime technology and social hierarchy, as well as its role in regional conflicts and migrations. Its construction methods and use of outriggers influenced later vessel designs in the region.

Did You Know?

• The word juanga may derive from Old Javanese 'jong', first recorded in an 11th-century CE inscription in Bali.
• A juanga could carry up to 200 oars per hull side plus nearly 100 baileo men.
• In the Philippines, very large karakoa were inaccurately referred to by the Spanish as joangas or juangas.