Development of Mandar's Maritime Trade in the Early Twentieth Century

Home , Lambo (boat), Majene, Palari (boat)

Development of Mandar’s maritime trade in the early twentieth century

A.R. Hamid Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we explore the rise and fall of the Mandarese maritime network in the Makassar Strait in the early twentieth century. The objective of this study is to address the following three questions using a historical method: (1) how did the Mandarese establish their shipping network? (2) what commodities did the Mandarese trade and how were they distributed? and (3) why the maritime trade declined in the early 1940s? The results show that the establishment of the Mandarese maritime network was supported by cultural, geographi- cal, and economic factors. The Pambauwang sailors mainly carried out shipping activities around the Pambauwang and Majene ports. The four main commodities traded were copra, rice, woven fabric, and dried fish, which were exchanged for other commodities from other ports in the archipelago. The ability to manage the cultural and natural resources was crucial in the growth of their maritime trade. In the early 1940s, Mandar’s maritime network declined due to safety issues for ships sailing at sea, which affected their ability to buy and sell commodities. In this context, maritime safety is vital for the survival of Mandar’s maritime network.

1 INTRODUCTION

Shipping and trade are inevitable for Indonesia, as more than half of its area is covered by sea with thousands of islands scattered along the archipelago, where many seafarers use boats and ships to transport goods. Some of the famous seafarers from Indonesia are those from the Mandarese community. However, they are often referred to as seafarers from Bugis, Makas- sar. In fact, their spirit is shown in their collective memory in the following expression: “Later the black eye will be separated from the white, then the sea, the boats, and the Mandarese will split (Rahman, 1988, p. 78).” The Mandarese who lived on the coasts were efficient traders (Nooteboom, 1912, p. 528) as well as Sulawesi’s best sailors from the past (ENI, 1918, p. 664). Unfortunately, Mandarese maritime history has been rarely studied. Some of the early studies on the subject include the studies conducted by Lopa (1982), Liebner (1996), and Alimud- din (2005; 2009). Lopa examined the legal aspect of sailing, whereas others discussed the boat technology in sandeq sailboat, which was smaller (weighing up to 3 tonnes) than the Mandarese trading boats in the first half of the twentieth century, which weighed approximately 30 tonnes. This study provides information about the maritime historiography of Eastern Indonesia. The Mandarese were the people dwelled on the eastern part of the Makassar Strait, Sulawesi, that is, from the west coast of the Gulf of Mandar in the north and to the Gulf of Mamuju in the south. The main source of their income was shipping and trading. They built a maritime network, which covered areas of Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Java, Nusa Tenggara, the Moluccas, Irian, Sumatera, and the Malacca Strait, and the main hub of their network was in the Makassar Strait. The question of how they built the maritime network between 1900 and 1941 remains unexplored. Therefore, in this study, we attempt to address this question as well as the following three questions: 1. How did the Mandarese establish their shipping network? 2. What commodities did the Mandarese trade and how were they distributed? 3. Why the maritime trade declined in the early 1940s? 681 1.1 Establishment of the maritime network The establishment of the Mandar maritime network was supported by cultural and geo- graphical factors. The coastal areas of Mandar, particularly Pambauwang, produced no less than hundred boats of various sizes annually, ranging from small boats with an outrigger and loading capacity of 2–4 tonnes (pakur and sandeq) to large boats without an outrigger and loading capacity of 10–30 tonnes (padewakang, palari, lete, and lambo). Most of the ships were made by artisans from Mandar and other boat makers were from Ara and Bulukumba. The boats were used for not only trading but also transporting cargo (Mededeelingen, 1909, pp. 673–674; Nooteboom, 1940, p. 33). The location of the Mandar settlement on the west coast of Sulawesi was very beneficial for utilizing the onshore and wind for sailing. The navigation system of boats was determined by their position, distance, and time. The boats usually sailed close to the mainland (island) using onshore wind, which blew from evening to morning. It is also known as pelayaran pesisir (coastal shipping). The boats sailing toward interisland passages depend on the wind from the sea that blows during the day; it is also known as pelayaran antar pulau (interisland shipping). In contrast to the onshore wind, which blows throughout the year, there is a steady sea wind known as monsoon, which blows from one direction from July to September (east/southeast wind) and from January to February (westerly wind). The knowledge of this system is well known to the Mandarese sailors, as is recorded in the lontar pattappingang from Pambauwang. Two important ports of Mandar, with regard to the location and wind systems, were Pam- bauwang during the east monsoon and Majene during the west monsoon (Vuuren, 1920, p. 208). The boats sailed via Pambauwang port to explore the west coast of Sulawesi to the north toward the ports of Mamuju (Lariang, Karossa, Lariang, Budong-budong, and Pasangkayu) and continued to the west to sail through the Makassar Strait to the east coast of Borneo. In addition, some boats from Pambauwang sailed directly to south Kalimantan. Ships entered several ports there, including Pegatan, Banjarmasin, Sea Island, and the surrounding islands, to either sell or buy commodities or to take water and shipping supplies. Boats that entered the east coast sailed to the south coast and further into the eastern part of the Java Sea to the port of Surabaya (Kalimas), Gresik, Probolinggo, Banyuwangi, and others (PewartaSoerabaia, 1935). From there, most of the boats continued sailing along the northern coast of Java to Semarang and Batavia and to the west coast of Sumatra (Padang) and the Malacca Strait (Singapore). Sailors who used this route were known by the names of their destination, namely Paboroneo (Kalimantan), Pajawa (Java), Papadang (Sumatra), and Pattumasik or Passala (Singapore) (Lopa, 1982, p. 50). Boats from the port of Majene sailed toward south to the ports of Pare-Pare and Makassar. In this voyage, the boats dropped anchor in the coastal areas of western Sulawesi (Pinrang, Barru, and Pangkep) and the small islands around them. After arriving in Makassar, they continued their voyage to the east. On entering the waters of the Selayar islands, the shipping lanes were divided into two paths. One path continued to the east into Banda Sea islands passing Iron Works (now Wakatobi) to the Moluccas Islands and to the west coast of New Guinea (West Papua). Ambon and Ternate were the main bases for boats from Mandar. Therefore, the sailors of this route, including Irian, were called Paabung and Pattaranate. The second route continued to the south into the Flores Sea up to Nusa Tenggara islands and the main port in Salaparang. The traders in the area were known as Pasalaparang (Rahman, 1988, p. 77). In anticipation of the east or west monsoon, the Mandarese sailors had to quickly com- plete the preparation to return to Mandar. The boats were docked in different places when they leave and return, as the geography, monsoons winds, and the waves affected the safety of the ships. Boats departing from Pambauwang will return to Mandar and stopped in Majene, and vice versa. This in turn has made the two ports centers for shipping and commerce in Mandar (Sailing Direction, 1937, p. 466). Mandarese sailors from Pambauwang, especially Bababulo and Luaor, were most active in shipping and commerce (Pemberita Makassar, 1924). Rijsdijk (1935, p. 9) noted that there were indigenous people who were good at running lucrative businesses of commercial shipping. Statistical data of the number of boats in Mandar in 1938show that there were 946 boats consisting of 437 units (46%) in Pambauwang and 323 units (34%) in Majene. The rest

682 were in Mamuju and Polewali. Then, in 1939, there were 477 units (38%) in Pambauwang and 397 units (32%) in Majene, from 1,250 boats in Mandar (Statistiek, 1939, p. 60; 1940, pp. 61–62). Each boat in Pambauwang, especially in Bababulo and Luaor, brought in a commercial capital of 30,000 to 40,000 guilders in one seasonal cruise (Rijsdijk, 1935, p. 9). In addition to the captain and boat crew, there were others, called punggawa, who also sailed with them in the voyage, who were under the control of the captain. Each merchant was required to report the amount of capital to the captain (Vuuren, 1917b, p. 333). The captain in Bababulo, Lolo Baharuddin, said that the amount of capital usually differed, but the cargo space and fares (5% of profits) were the same for all traders. Fares did not apply to traders who did not earn.1

1.2 Commodities and distribution The Mandar commodities were of three types, namely (1) agricultural products, such as copra, rice, coconut oil, resin, rattan, and cotton; (2) marine products, especially dried fish and sea cucumbers; and (3) handicrafts, mainly woven fabric, boat ropes, screen weaving, rattan mats, and wicker baskets. With regard to copra trade, two resident assistants of Mandar, Rijsdijk (1935) and Leyds (2006), noted that the whole coastal plain in Mandar consisted of coconut plantation. An estimate suggests that there were approximately 500,000 coconut trees; hence, Mandar was called “the coconut island of Sulawesi”. Coconut was processed into copra and coconut oil. Copra was exported to Pare-Pare, Makassar, Java, Singapore, and Borneo, whereas coconut oil was used for local consumption. From 1932 to 1933, the price of copra in Mandar was between f 5 to f 5.5. In 1933, copra exports from Pambauwang reached 90,000 kg. During the rice harvest season, boats Bababulo and Luaor to Pare-Pare and Pangkajene bought or brought paddy to the region, which was processed into rice by the local women. Furthermore, the rice was sold in markets in Pambauwang, Majene, Tinambung, and Bal- anipa (Leyds, 2006, p. 73). According to Los (2004), the Onderafdeeling head of Pangkajene, most of the rice was transported to Mandar and Borneo and some was taken to Makassar by the Mandarese boats (Pemberita Makassar, 1923). From Borneo, the boats returned to carry wood to be sold to the residents in Pangkajene, Pare-Pare, and Mandar. In Mandar, the wood was used to make boats and build houses. In addition to rice, women produced woven fabric. The high-quality weaving adorned with European crystal patterns on the bottom part of the cloth came from Majene, and the low- quality woven was produced in Sendana (Mededeelingen, 1909, pp. 665–682). The fabric was brought in large quantities to the Moluccas Islands (Ternate, Sula, Bacan, Ambon, Aru, Kei, and Tanimbar) and was exchanged for cash crops such as copra, cloves, nutmeg, resin, and sea products, including sea cucumbers, scallops, and tortoiseshell. Commodities were sold to the Chinese and European traders in Makassar (De Sumatra Post, 1918; 1936). In addition to fabric, firearms and ammunition were purchased in Singapore and exported from the Dutch East Indies to the west coast of Irian (Bataviasch Niewsblad, 1939). Some Pambauwang traders bought fabric from the market in Balanipa, Pambusuang, Campalagian, and Mapili to sell in Padang and Singapore. The next commodity was dried fish, caught by the Mandarese fishermen in the Makassar Strait and the eastern part of the Java Sea. Typically, the dried fish processed in the boat for 1 or 2 weeks was sold in nearby ports in East Java and South Kalimantan. In this endeavor, the Mandar fishermen interacted with the fishermen from Madura in sea for the exchange of information on the location of fish and shellfish that they needed. Before returning, the Mandarese fishermen bought household goods at the port and then carried mostly dried fish to sell in the market in Pambauwang and Majene. The dried fish brought from the western coast of Sulawesi was sold in Pare-Pare and Makassar. Commodities from Mandar were exchanged for industrial commodities such as manu- factured goods, grocery items, pottery, glassware, gloves, home appliances, and fishing lines

1. Interview with Baharuddin Lolo (88 years old) in Bababulo Majene, 4/2/2016.

683 brought by boats from Java, Makassar, and Singapore to Borneo, Sulawesi, the Moluccas, and Irian under the barter system. When the boats arrived at a local port, the captain allowed the traders, including the crew, to sell the commodities they carried and purchase new commodities to be sold in the next cruise destination. This commercial commodity management mechanism was run by the Mandarese seafarers.

1.3 The decline of the maritime trade The decline of the Mandarese maritime trade was due to the disruption in shipping lanes and the difficulty of acquiring and distributing trade commodities as a result of World War II (1942–1945). The Makassar Strait was a battleground between the Allied forces and the Japanese forces, so it was not safe to sail. Warships were passing along the west coast of Sulawesi. Similarly, aircrafts were flying low over settlement areas or only slightly above the palm trees. Therefore, every house had a bunker hole as a hiding place when an aircraft or ship was passing by their settlement. The boat makers from Mandar were deployed to make boats for the Japanese Army in Tonyaman Polewali. During this period, they no longer made boats for themselves or were properly paid to make boats for the boat owners. Everything was done by force and no fee was paid. The boats sailed across the Makassar Strait in the interisland shipping, except along the beach (coastal shipping) of western Sulawesi, from Polewali to Mamuju and vice versa, to avoid warships at sea. “The last time my parents went to Singapore was in 1941. After that, they never went there again. That was the time of distress”: that was the testimony of Baharuddin Lolo on commercial shipping in Bababulo. Before World War II, in 1942, his father, Lolo, a boat owner and captain sailed to Singapore and Ambon to trade each year on a palari boat, named Parendeng, with a loading capacity of 20 tonnes. Commodities brought from Singapore could not be sold because the boat could not sail to the Moluccas. Some traders sold them around Sulawesi; however, there were not many buyers, because crops such as copra and rice and crafts such as woven cloth, a medium of exchange in trade at the time, were difficult to find. The Mandarese maritime heyday, known as the “Age of Singapore and Ambon”, ended in 1941. Before 1942, the people of Bababulo produced rice and woven fabric. According to M. Jafar,2 who sailed with his father when the boat went to Ambon, many people (women) brought fabric to be sold by the boat crew. All of the fabric was recorded by the captain on Bugis Lontar as “Kain Bugis” and sold by the boat crew when the boat arrived at the destination. When the boat returned, the captain gave the proceeds of the sales to the owners in the form of daily staple items purchased in Makassar when the boat dropped anchor there. Meanwhile, the local women, when their husbands went sailing, planted paddy and converted it to rice. This activity lasted from morning to afternoon and even continued until late in the evening. These activities stopped when the Japanese troops arrived in 1942. As a result, no commodity was available for trade boats. Other commercial commodities that were difficult to obtain were copra and dried fish. The coconut and fruit trees were not abandoned by the farmers; however, during this period, the Japanese banned the residents from igniting fire, which was needed to produce copra through smoking process. Then, when farmers processed oil into kerosene, the activity was limited, and the Japanese seized most of the product. Similarly, although fishermen were not prohib- ited from fishing, their catch was seized by the Japanese. The scarcity of the trading commodities had implications on the shipping business. The captain, his crew, and the punggawa faced capital constraints because it was difficult to make profit from the trade. The end of the “Singapore and Ambon” era became a turning point of the maritime trade. The critical role of the boat captain was declining: from the leader of shipping and commerce to the leader of shipping only. Shipping lanes were adjusted to the interests of merchants, as users of transport services, which were previously determined solely by the captain.

2. Interview with Muhammad Jafar (83 years old) in Bababulo Majene, 22/2/2016.

684 2 CONCLUSION

The ability of the Mandar people to manage the cultural and natural resources was crucial in establishing a maritime network in the Makassar Strait. This activity was mainly carried out by the Pambauwang, especially Bababulo and Luaor, based in the ports of Pambauwang and Majene. They brought local commodities to exchange for other commodities from other areas on each shipping season. In that process, different trends emerged. The first trend was obtaining commodities from the eastern region commonly done by barter system, and the type of commodities was limited to natural products and very few domestic industrial products such as woven cloth. The second trend was obtaining commodities from the western region, such as industrial products, through cash payment. The trend was managed well and brought prosperity to the Mandarese sailors. The maritime activities of Mandar began to decline in the early 1940s when World War II broke out (1942–1945). The sea around the archipelago became unsafe for shipping boats. Simi- larly, the distribution of commodities, as part of the maritime trade, suffered a serious decline. Thus, the maritime safety was an important aspect for the sustainability of shipping and trades for the Mandarese in the Makassar Strait in the first half of the twentieth century (before 1942).

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