Bangka (boat)

It originally referred to small double-outrigger dugout canoes used in rivers and shallow coastal waters, but since the 18th century, it has expanded to include larger lashed-lug ships, with or without outriggers.

[4][5][6] Indigenous Philippine boats originated from the ancestral single-outrigger dugout canoes of the Austronesian peoples, which themselves evolved from catamarans.

Edge-joined planks continue to survive in some areas in the Philippines, though these are usually secured with metal rebars and rods, instead of the traditional lugs and lashings.

[12] Unfortunately most excavations and recoveries of pre-colonial shipwrecks (including those by the National Museum) in Southeast Asia focus more on the cargo rather than studying the ship structures themselves.

This was followed by later trade in ceramics from mainland Southeast Asia and southern China in exchange for resins, aromatic woods, gold, pearls, sea cucumber (trepanging), tortoiseshell, civets, fabrics, beeswax, and bird's nest.

[12] Bangka were also used in wars and the naval warfare and coastal raids (mangayaw) of thalassocracies, a notable example of such a warship is the karakoa of the Visayas.

Newly built bangka were imbued with a guardian spirit (anito) through various rituals, usually involving blood sacrifices.

The bottom part consists of single piece of hollowed-out log (essentially a dugout canoe, the original meaning of the word bangka).

In Island Southeast Asia, these developed into double outriggers on each side that provided greater stability when tacking against the wind.

[16][25] Among the Sama-Bajau people of the southern Philippines, various types of bangka like the djenging and the lepa served as houseboats of nuclear families and often sail together in clan flotillas.

[27] Small bangka were also sometimes used to transport rice and farm goods on land, as they were more convenient on narrow pathways than sleds or wagons.

[25] In the Western Visayas, a divination ritual known as the kibang involves occupants sitting perfectly still in a bangka and asking questions while a diwata (nature spirit) answers by rocking the boat.