Sleepy island a home to boat building tradition

Pagerungan Kecil island is so far from mainland Java that it takes several tiring days and changes of transportation to get there.

But this remote backwater is playing a crucial part of a landmark event in Indonesian maritime history.

Resident As'ad Abdullah al-Madani was commissioned to reconstruct an ancient ship based on reliefs found at Borobudur temple for the Borobudur Ship Expedition.

The tiny island, made up of four hamlets, is part of the Kangean Islands, lying east of East Java's Madura island and north of Bali, and coming under Sapeken subdistrict, in Madura's Sumenep regency. If it is known at all, it is for the natural gas project on a neighboring island.

Pagerungan Kecil village head Muhammad Ali said some 1,300 families, consisting of 4,600 residents, lived on this 3.5 kilometer by 1.6. kilometer island.

The islanders speak Bajau, a language native to SouthSulawesi, but the people trace their descent from Abdul Rauf al-Madani, who was a religious leader at Nabawi Mosque in Medina,Saudi Arabia.

He went to Sulawesi to propagate Islam with a friend, SheikhHasan Yamani. Both were married in Sulawesi before Yamani decided to return home, leaving his friend behind.

Sheik Yamani, according to As'ad, is the grandfather of formerSaudi Arabian oil minister and OPEC chairman, Zaqi Yamani.

Al-Madani moved to Bali before relocating to Pagerungan Kecilin 1910, where he died 22 years later.

Most of the established families on the island are related,but there are also new settlers, especially from Madura, andother ethnic groups of South Sulawesi who also speak the local dialect.

The passage of time and the development boom in the country inthe last 20 years exerted little effect on the sedate way of life on the island.

Although there are several modern homes owned by wealthierresidents, most of the houses continue to be built in the traditional way, on stilts.

"We are quite lucky here because the island is not inundated,even during high tide. Several neighboring islands are flooded to a depth of about 50 centimeters during high tide," said Ali.

The island is clean and well-kept, defying the common reputation of fishing villages as dirty and unkempt.

The main footpath connecting all the hamlets is made of concrete and the houses are surrounded by low, picket fences.

"We have also built several public bathhouses so islanders who do not have their own bathroom can use these public facilities," said Ali.

"Most used to wash themselves on the shore, and it was so dirty back then. But continuing campaigns on leading clean and healthy lives have changed behavior."

Unlike Madura, where the barren soil and lack of water resources is a chronic problem, Pagerungan Kecil is considered fortunate, as there are several sources of freshwater for the people's needs.

"The islanders may be isolated, but our village was named as an exemplary village (by the government) in 2000," Ali said.

"We have hosted several ministerial and other official visits since then."

But it is a long, rugged journey there and back. A ferry service every five days connects Sapeken village with Kali Anget in Sumenep, Madura island and Ketapang harbor in Banyuwangi, EastJava.

Sapeken is a one-hour boat ride from Pagerungan Kecil. The ferry to Kali Anget leaves Sapeken at 11 a.m. and makes a stop at Kangean harbor after a three-hour trip.

Then the ferry leaves Kangean at 4 p.m. before arriving atKali Anget at about 2 a.m. the next day.

It then entails a three-hour drive to Kamal harbor on theother side of Madura before taking another ferry to Surabaya's Tanjung Perak Harbor.

This time, thankfully, the journey takes only about 20minutes.

If you are in a hurry, hire a motorized wooden boat fromBanyuwangi. Usually, the trip takes about 12 hours, depending on the weather. Banyuwangi is some six hours drive from Surabaya.

If you have the money and are not looking for an adventuroustrip, you can hire an airplane from Juanda Airport, Surabaya, to an airfield in Pagerungan Besar island for US$2000. A boat shuttle service to Pagerungan Kecil is available at a cost of Rp10,000 per passenger.

All the hassle of getting there pays off once you see its beauty, which is ideal for lovers of the sea, divers or those who just want to get a glimpse of a part of Indonesia that is far from the beaten track.

The islanders are very friendly, and will invite visitors intotheir homes.

They are also becoming more conscious about preserving their little piece of paradise.

"The fishermen used to use bombs to catch fish but we have established a local rule that no bombs are allowed, to protect the coral reef," said Ali.

"There are several good sites for diving and we want to keep them, not only for the divers, but also for the sake of the fishermen themselves."

Published on The Jakarta Post on Sunday, July 06, 2003

Cultures come together recreate ancient ship

It is a tale of two worlds brought together in a shared goal.

The protagonist is As'ad Abdullah al-Madani, a shipbuilder by trade with a skill rarely found today. A major supporting player is Australian Nick Burningham, a maritime archeologist who also specializes in reconstructing ancient ships.

The central storyline is the building of a 25-meter-long ship, reconstructed and based on a handful of reliefs of ships found on Borobudur temple in Central Java, and using techniques that date back to the 8th century.

The Borobudur Ship Expedition, with a mixed Indonesian-international crew, will set sail in August for the Maldives, Madagascar, Cape Town and Ghana. The expedition and shipbuilding are expected to cost œ200,000 (US$320,000).

As'ad said he did not produce his own designs because he could visualize a ship being built.
"All you have to do is show me a drawing or a model of the ship you want to be built. Then I will get a vision of how to construct it," he said.

"I seldom refer back to the drawings or model, as I've got all the pictures inside my head."

As'ad, himself an able seaman and fisherman, then instructs his carpenters on what to do.

"I gained my gift after a dream in 1969. I met Bung Karno in my dream, who told me to cast my net to sea," he said, referring to the country's first president, Sukarno.

"When I pulled at the net, I found coconut tree logs forming ship masts, resembling the masts of the Borobudur ship."

Ultimately, the tale of the ship's building is a blend of Western initiative and Eastern craftsmanship.

"Nick gave me the original sketch and model, but I have the authority to make all other decisions and modifications," As'ad said.

"We always have discussions on how to make the ship. It is a blend of his education and my experience."

Burningham, who, with his salt-and-pepper hair and beard looks the part of the seafarer, said he chose As'ad because he still knew how to make ships with layar soppe (rectangular sails).

"This is one of the last places where really clever traditional shipbuilders like Pak Asad are working," he said.

"Without using any plans like Western shipbuilders, Pak As'ad works with his eyes. He works like a sculptor."

Burningham was working in Italy when the expedition leader, Philip Beale, came to him and asked him to reconstruct the Borobudur ship.

"I have always been interested in how traditional ships were sailed with no motor, a small number of men, sailing with the help of oars to move large amounts of heavy cargo," Burningham said.

"The only way now to experiment with that is to build replicas and sail them. I first designed a replica in 1986 in South Sulawesi."

Burningham also described Indonesian traditional sailing ships as wonderfully balanced and designed.

The Australian has been involved in six replica projects, including a reconstruction of the Dutch ship, Duyfken.

"Reconstructing the Borobudur ship is a big challenge, technically speaking, because we have only five reliefs from Borobudur temple," he said.

"There are very few archeological findings on the ship -- no other information. It looks like a large ship but it has outriggers. The problem is that in more recent times no large ships have had outriggers -- they are only for small ships."

He said more information was available when he worked on the Duyfken project.

"However, it seems the Dutch and Indonesian shipbuilders did not use paper-based plans," he said.

Both Burningham and As'ad have tried to replicate the techniques and materials used in the first millennium.

"Tens of thousands of wooden pegs have been used in place of metal nails in the ship," said As'ad.

"We have also used coconut fiber ropes and damar wood, a natural resin and adhesive, to keep the ship together."

Burningham is apprehensive about the leg from Cape Town to Ghana in West Africa, crossing through the notoriously treacherous waters of the Cape of Good Hope.

"My big concern is the outriggers. It's very unusual to have outriggers on such a large vessel. I don't know what they will do in a storm. They may break," Burningham said.

"But the ship is designed to sail without the outriggers. I did that because we needed larger-sized bamboo for a larger vessel. The ship is too big for the bamboo available here.

Burningham believes that outriggers may have had another purpose than merely serving as a balance mechanism.

"I believe the outriggers were platforms for oarsmen. There are in existence 19th-century pictures of pirate ships using outriggers for that reason," he said.

Burningham's next project is to reconstruct another Indonesian ancient ship, the Sriwijaya ship from the Sriwijaya kingdom in South Sumatra.

As'ad plans to take the haj pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, tracing his Arab roots while he is there.

The father of six and grandfather of 15 is hopeful that his shipbuilding skills will not die with him. His third son, Abdullah, shows a similar love and skill for shipbuilding.

"But he needs more experience," he said.

Links: www.borobudurshipexpedition.com

Published on The Jakarta Post on Sunday, July 06, 2003