A jongkong is a type of dugout canoe from

Maritime Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Sout ...

. ''Jongkong'' was the simplest boat from

Riau-Lingga Riau-Lingga Sultanate ( Malay/ Indonesian: کسلطانن رياوليڠݢ, ''Kesultanan Riau-Lingga''), also known as the Lingga-Riau Sultanate, Riau Sultanate or Lingga Sultanate was a Malay sultanate that existed from 1824 to 1911, befor ...

area, and can be found widely though in small numbers throughout the area. The first record of ''jongkong'' comes from the

Malay Annals The ''Malay Annals'' (Malay: ''Sejarah Melayu'', Jawi: سجاره ملايو), originally titled ''Sulalatus Salatin'' (''Genealogy of Kings''), is a literary work that gives a romanticised history of the origin, evolution and demise of the gr ...

(which was composed no earlier than the 17th century AD), being used by

Majapahit empire Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesia ...

during the first Majapahit attack on Singapura (1350) and during the fall of Singapura (1398).Nugroho (2011), p. 271, 399–400, quoting ''Sejarah Melayu'', 10.4: 77: "... ''maka bagindapun segera menyuruh berlengkap tiga ratus buah jung, lain dari pada itu kelulus, pelang, jongkong, tiada terbilang lagi''." (then His Majesty immediately ordered to equip three hundred jong, other than that kelulus,

pelang Pelang or pilang is a traditional boat from Indonesia and Malaysia. It may refer to several different types of boats in the Nusantara, but commonly they refer to an outrigger canoe. The function differs from where they were used, from transportin ...

, jongkong in uncountable numbers.)

Etymology

The name comes from two words, that is ''jong'' and ''kong'' or ''jegong''. ''Jong'' means a boat or

sampan A sampan is a relatively flat-bottomed Chinese and Malay wooden boat. Some sampans include a small shelter on board and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. The design closely resembles Western hard chine boats like th ...

, no matter large or small, while ''kong'' or ''jegong'' is the place where masts are set up to hold the sail. Thus the name can be translated as a sailing boat that is used by the coastline community.

Description

In this region it is essentially a small, inshore boat and it is rarely built to a length of more than about 12−14 feet (3.7−4.3 m). It is typically a one-man boat, with a length of 9−10 feet (2.7−3 m), with depth at the mid-section about 10−12 inches (25.4−30.5 cm). It consists of a dugout base, with the hull spread slightly, and the sides built up by the addition of a single plank. Larger versions have a small triangular sail, and smaller versions are usually propelled by a short, single-bladed paddle or rarely by a double-bladed paddle.Gibson-Hill (1951). p.124.

Etymology

Description

See also

References

Further reading