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
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
posted by novski @ 7/06/2003 08:43:00 PM
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