RETRACING HISTORY: THE BALANGAY VOYAGE
THE BALANGAY WAS MADE WITHOUT BLUEPRINTS.
Badjao master builders of the boat, with skills passed from generation to generation, used hand measurements to estimate how each part would fit the other.
These boats were created using a very meticulous technique: the planks were joined together using wooden pegs with the hulls kept together using fiber strings. They are said to be centuries older than the European sailing vessels used in the 16th century.
The oldest pre-Hispanic watercraft found in the Philippines, the Balangay, also called the Balanghai or Butuan Boat was a sailboat used by the Filipinos’ forefathers to travel across the Southeast Asian islands.
Specimens discovered in Butuan City, Agusan Del Norte, Mindanao, revealed to date back to 320, 990 and 1250 AD.
The excavation resumed, the details noted for museums and history books.
And it was history.
In 2009, a group of mountaineers turned to the sea for their next adventure and retraced centuries-old voyages with a balangay crafted faithfully to the tradition.
They opted the modern tools out and made use of ancient seafaring technology. What was it like inside the prehistoric boat? We were lucky enough to be able to find out.
JULY 19, 2017: ABOARD THE BALANGAY
JULY 20, 2017: A DAY FOR CHATS
