Pencalang is a traditional

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...

from

Nusantara Nusantara most commonly refers to: *Nusantara (archipelago), an Old Javanese term which initially referred to the conquered territories of the Majapahit empire, corresponding to present-day Indonesia *Nusantara (planned city), the future capital ci ...

. Historically it was called as pantchiallang or pantjalang. It was originally built by

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

people from the area of

Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accord ...

and the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

, but has been copied by Javanese

shipwrights Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

.Liebner, Horst H. (2016). ''Beberapa Catatan Akan Sejarah Pembuatan Perahu Dan Pelayaran Nusantara''. Jakarta: Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture. By the end of the 17th century this ship has been built by Javanese and Chinese shipbuilders in and around

Rembang Rembang Regency ( id, Kabupaten Rembang) is a regency ( id, kabupaten) on the extreme northeast coast of Central Java Province, on the island of Java (bordering on the Java Sea) in Indonesia. The regency covers an area of 1,035.70 km2 on Java ...

. However it was a popular choice for Balinese skippers followed by Sulawesian skippers.

Etymology

The word ''pencalang'' comes from

word, which has now been absorbed into

Indonesian language Indonesian ( ) is the official language, official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standard language, standardized variety (linguistics), variety of Malay language, Malay, an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that has be ...

, namely ''calang'' and ''mencalang'', which means "to scout", "to recon", and "to peek". Therefore, pencalang can be interpreted as "a boat used for spying" or "recon boat". According to VOC glossarium, the Malay word ''pentjalang'' means "ship that was sent on the lookout", from the word ''tjalang'' which means "outlook" with added prefix pe(n)- as an equivalent to English suffix -or/-er.

Description

Gezicht op het fort van Rembang, gezien vanaf de weg cropped boat

Pencalang has one or two masts, with a deck covered the entire hull and a room in the middle for the cargo hold, closed with a fixed deck. The pencalang has a strongly curved front and rear stern and a round bottom with keel. The low freeboard is raised midship through the starboard. The ship has heavy transverse beams and a partial or continuous deck. A deckhouse has been built over most of the ship's hull. The helmsman is protected by a roof. The ship is steered with a side rudder that can be used by means of a hook on both sides of the ship. The sturdy mast, placed against a watertight bulkhead, can be lowered onto a mast support. The ship has a very wide and low

tanja Tanja ( sr, Тања) is a feminine given name. It may refer to: Mononyms *''Tanja'' (born 1983), Russian-Estonian singer, also known as Tanja Mihhailova Given name *Tanja Andrejeva (born 1978), Macedonian handball player * Tanja Bogosavljević ...

sail with boom. The rigging is connected to a long bowsprit. The crew is about 8–20 people. The length of the original local ships was 10.7 to 16.5 m with 3.7 to 5.5 m width. The draft is 1.8 to 3.7 m, slightly larger than those built for individual merchants. For the VOC they had a length of and a load capacity of 20–35 last (36.2–63.35 metric tons) at the beginning of the 18th century; later they became even larger with a length of and a capacity of 60–80 last (108.6–144.8 metric tons). Smaller than that they are usually used by pirates.

Role

One of the earliest account of pencalang has a background from the 15th or 16th century, being mentioned in

Hikayat Hang Tuah ''Hikayat Hang Tuah'' ( Jawi: حکاية هڠ تواه) is a Malay work of literature that tells the tale of the legendary Malay fiction warrior, Hang Tuah and his four warrior friends - Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu - w ...

, which was composed no earlier than the 17th century. Two pencalang and two

ghurab Ghurab or gurab is a type of merchant and warship from the Nusantara archipelago. The ship was a result of Mediterranean influences in the region, particularly introduced by the Arabs, Persians, and Ottomans. For their war fleet, the Malays prefe ...

were used by

Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...

to send a letter and gifts to improve relationship with

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

. Pencalang is mentioned in the ''Hikayat Indraputra'' as a weapon carrier. Pencalang is mainly a merchant vessel, but occasionally can be used in warfare and

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

VOC VOC, VoC or voc may refer to: Science and technology * Open-circuit voltage (VOC), the voltage between two terminals when there is no external load connected * Variant of concern, a category used during the assessment of a new variant of a virus ...

also had this type of ship built in Indonesia to have a small transport ship for use in Indian waters. While at the beginning of the 18th century the VOC had both

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

s and pencalangs, at the end of that century only pencalangs were built. In

warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

, pencalang is often used to spy on the enemy by using its merchant disguise. Because of the excellent sailing ability, VOC used this ship to fight against pirates.

References

{{Indonesian traditional vessels Indonesian inventions Boats of Indonesia Indigenous boats Sailboat types Merchant sailing ship types

Etymology

Description

Role

See also

References