Lepa (ship)

Like in other indigenous Philippine ships, the hull of the lepa is traditionally fitted together by dowels (tambuko) and fiber lashings instead of nails.

A detachable house-like structure (the kubu or balutu) is often built in the center of the hull, with a removable decking known as lantai as the floor.

The portable cooking hearth (lappohan) is located in the stern deck, along with stored food (lutu) and water jars (kibut).

The bow (mundaˊ) and the stern (buliˊ) are low on the water to make the casting and gathering nets easier, as well as facilitate poling and rowing.

[1][7][10][9][6] In the Philippines and Malaysia, there are usually no rituals involved in the making or the launching of the lepa, probably a result of the higher level of Islamization of indigenous Sama beliefs.

In eastern Indonesia however, prayers and rituals are associated with the joining of the keel with the bow and stern blocks, and the drilling of the mast post (the "navel" of the ship).

[6] In the nomadic past of the Sama Dilaut, before a young man was to be married, his family would build or buy him a lepa, so he and his wife could live as an independent fishing unit.

Sama-Bajau also sometimes make a pledge (magjanji') to God (Tuhan) or to ancestor spirits (umboh) in a crisis at sea, or when a boat fails to return home.

[6] Regatta Lepa is an annual boat festival in Semporna, Malaysia, celebrating the boatbuilding tradition of the Sama-Bajau communities in Sabah.