Molukken-Kora kora vloot uit Ternate en Tidore voor Ambon

A kora-kora or kora kora or coracora is a traditional canoe from the Maluku (Moluccas) Islands,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. They are naval boat for carrying men on raids for plunder or for slaves. In

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 ...

, raiding for slaves was an honourable way of making a living, and the kora kora was needed for defence against raids as well as for forays. Large kora-kora is called juanga or joanga.

Etymology

The origin of the name is unknown, but it has been proposed that it may have been derived from the

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

ic "قُرقور" ''qorqora'', the plural of ''qarâqir,'' meaning "large merchant ship". It is also likely that the origin of the names are native, with the meaning lost through time, as other Austronesian vessels with no contact with Arab traders also bear similar names like the Ivatan ''

karakuhan Tataya are traditional small fishing boats, with or without outriggers of the Ivatan people in the Philippines. They are generally round-hulled and powered by rowers or sails made from woven pandanus leaves. They have several variants based on siz ...

'' and the Marshallese '' korkor''. The term may also comes from

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

'' carraca'', but in the oldest Portuguese and Spanish accounts of the Moluccas reports ''caracora'', ''coracora'', ''carcoa'', but never ''carraca''. De Morga not only says expressly that it is a word used by the

Tagalog people The Tagalog people ( tl, Mga Tagalog; Baybayin: ᜋᜅ ᜆᜄᜎᜓᜄ᜔) are the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, numbering at around 30 million. An Austronesian people, the Tagalog have a well developed society due to their ...

of Mindoro, Marinduque, and

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, but that it is also a true Malayo-Polynesian word: In the Malay Peninsula: ''kolek'' (a small fishing boat);

Amboina Amboyna or amboina may refer to: * ''Amboyna'' (play), a play by John Dryden *Amboyna massacre, in 1623 in Indonesia * Amboina box turtle (''Cuora amboinensis''), of Asia * Amboina king parrot (''Alisterus amboinensis''), of Indonesia * ''Amboyn ...

: ''kolekole'', Mota (

Banks Islands The Banks Islands (in Bislama ''Bankis'') are a group of islands in northern Vanuatu. Together with the Torres Islands to their northwest, they make up the northernmost province of Torba. The island group lies about north of Maewo, and inclu ...

): ''kora'', San Cristoval ( South Solomons): ''ora''.

Descriptions

It is approximately ten metres long and very narrow,National archive
/ref> quite open, very low, and weighs about four tons.
/ref> It had

outriggers An outrigger is a projecting structure on a boat, with specific meaning depending on types of vessel. Outriggers may also refer to legs on a wheeled vehicle that are folded out when it needs stabilization, for example on a crane that lifts ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

about five feet off each side, which supported a bamboo platform extending the whole length of the vessel. On the extreme outside of this sit the twenty rowers (overall it needs 40 paddlers),Spice Islands voyage
/ref> while within was a convenient passage fore and aft. The middle portion of the boat is covered with a thatch-house, in which baggage and passengers are stowed. The

gunwale The gunwale () is the top edge of the hull of a ship or boat. Originally the structure was the "gun wale" on a sailing warship, a horizontal reinforcing band added at and above the level of a gun deck to offset the stresses created by firin ...

is not more than a foot above water, and suffer the great top and side weight. This boat is used for both trade and warfare. Bigger kora-koras were used as war vessels during the war with the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

in the

Banda Islands The Banda Islands ( id, Kepulauan Banda) are a volcanic group of ten small volcanic islands in the Banda Sea, about south of Seram Island and about east of Java, and constitute an administrative district (''kecamatan'') within the Central ...

during the 17th century. Since ancient times the steerer and paddlers of these traditional Moluccan rowing boats yelled "''Mena'' ''Muria''", to synchronise their strokes during off shore expeditions. This literally means 'Front - Back', but is also translated to "I go - We follow" or "One for all - All for One". Some of the bigger rowing boats could have over 100 rowers and when used on the maritime war path, during for instance a so-called ''hongitocht'' (war expeditions for the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

during the 17th century), the approach of the kora kora struck fear in the hearts of the villagers from the attacked coastal village. According to Robert Dick-Read, every leader in the Maluku region has its own ship, the leader's status depends on the number of slaves, who come from a distant island, which he captures and collects. Each ship is rowed by 300 rowers, supported by men armed with spears, blowgun, arrows, and swords in a higher fighting platform called ''balai''. The vessel has two steering wheels on the side, a tall pole in the stern and bow that decorated with ribbons. In the past, these poles were adorned with conquered enemy heads.

In popular culture

''Kora-Kora'', a swinging ship ride in Dunia Fantasi theme park at

Ancol Dreamland Taman Impian Jaya Ancol also known as Ancol Dreamland is an integral part of Ancol Bay City, a resort destination located along Jakarta's waterfront, in Ancol (Kelurahan), Pademangan, North Jakarta, Indonesia. It is owned by PT. Pembangunan ...

, Jakarta is named after the canoe, and become the metonym of any such ride in Indonesia. "Wahana Kora-kora" (Kora-kora attraction) refers to a swinging ship ride.

Gallery

File:Kora kora of the King of Ternate.jpg, King of Ternate's kora-kora with 7

cannons A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...

. The king's luxury bed can be seen. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Halmahera Pakata Tobelo (voorgrond) en rorehe TMnr 10010571.jpg, A ''kora-kora'' from

Halmahera Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island. Ha ...

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...

(c. 1920) with a

tanja sail Tanja sail ( Malay: ''layar tanjak'') or tanja rig is a type of sail commonly used by the Austronesian people, particularly in Maritime Southeast Asia. It is also known as the tilted square sail, canted rectangular sail, rectangular balance lug, ...

File:Moluccan Corcora ship (1863).png, 1863 illustration of a ''kora-kora'' warship in Maluku File:De Cora-Cora van Titaway.png, A 1726 depiction of a large kora-kora from

Nusa Laut Nusa Laut is the smallest inhabited island in the Lease Islands group east of Ambon, in Indonesia's Maluku province. It lies just off the south-western corner of Saparua island, separated from it by a deep channel. The island's coasts are fring ...

Etymology

Descriptions

In popular culture

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading