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Boats of the Precolonial Philippines: Butuan Boats

Chapter · January 2014

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_10279-1

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Boats of the Pre-Colonial Philippines: Butuan Boats SpringerReference

Boats of the Pre-Colonial Philippines: Butuan Boats

The Butuan Boats (also known as balanghai/balangay) refer to the incomplete remains of planked boats excavated from
about 2 m of waterlogged alluvial sediments in Barangay Libertad, Butuan City, Philippines (Fig. 1). Reports say that the
remains of between 9 and 11 boats have been discovered by looters along what are believed to be the shores of a former
river, all within a 1 km radius (Cembrano, 1998; Clark et al., 1993; Ronquillo, 1997; Salcedo, 1998). However,
archaeological researchers have only confirmed six sites to date.

Fig. 1
Map of the Philippines showing the location of Butuan City (Map: d-maps.com)

The first Butuan Boat was partially unearthed in 1976 by looters searching for buried coffins containing valuable grave
goods including Chinese ceramics and gold ornaments. Using long metal rods to probe through the earth for the wooden
coffins, they accidentally came upon the timbers of Boat 1. The find was reported to local government officials, who in turn
alerted the leadership of the National Museum of the Philippines. Personnel from the Museum's Archaeology Section
investigated the boat's remains (Peralta, 1980a).
After several months, looters found the remains of Boats 2 and 3, just over 1 km south of the first boat. Excavations were
undertaken on all three sites, though work on Boat 3, described as a smaller vessel, was not completed (Peralta, 1980a).
Boats 1 and 2 were subsequently recovered and are displayed in exhibits managed and operated by the National
Museum (Fig. 2).

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Boats of the Pre-Colonial Philippines: Butuan Boats SpringerReference

Fig. 2
Butuan Boat 1 at the Balangay Shrine, Butuan City (Photo: author)

Boat 5 was excavated in 1986 as part of a course on archaeological excavation and conservation organized by the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and hosted by the Philippines' National Museum (ASEAN 1986). It was
located approximately one kilometer southwest of Boat 1 and less than 400 m northwest of Boats 2 and 3. It was also
recovered and its planks are now stored in the Butuan City branch of the National Museum.
The excavation of Boats 4 and 9 commenced in 2012 and is still ongoing. The remains of these two boats were located
slightly overlapping each other and just several meters east of the Boat 2 excavation trench.
None of the Butuan Boats were built with any metal fastenings, a characteristic of early Southeast Asian plank boat
construction that still persists in some areas today.
The most distinctive features of all but one of the excavated Butuan Boats are the rectangular lugs carved on the inner
side of their planks. The lugs are drilled with holes to which frames and thwarts could be secured with rope or cordage.
Such boats are known as lashed-lug boats, used throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and beyond from well before
the tenth century until the late nineteenth century. The oldest lashed-lug boat is the Pontian Boat found in Peninsular
Malaysia dated to between the third and fifth centuries (Manguin, 1993). Lashed-lug boats were still observed to be in use
in remote islands of Indonesia as late as the 1980s (Barnes, 1985).
The Butuan Boats are the oldest archaeological examples of watercraft in the Philippines. Early attempts to date the first
three recovered boats in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in disparate radiocarbon ages dating to the fourth century,
thirteenth century, and tenth century AD. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) C-14 analysis was conducted in 2014 on
seven timber samples collected from five boats, including the three boats previously dated. The new calibrated results
indicate the boat timbers date to between the late eighth and early tenth centuries AD (Lacsina and Van Duivenvoorde,
2014).

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Boats of the Pre-Colonial Philippines: Butuan Boats SpringerReference

Boat 1
Boat 1 is exhibited at the Balangay Shrine in Butuan City which was erected several meters from where it was
discovered.
The Boat 1 remains measure 10.2 m in length. It is composed of a keel plank, one strake on one side and two strakes on
the other and several plank fragments. As it is displayed (Fig. 3), at least one of the strake fragments may not be in its
original position, as its lugs appear to be slightly misaligned with lugs on adjacent strakes. One end of the keel plank is
broken off. On the surviving end of the keel plank is a wing end (also referred to as a "wing stem" or "winged stem") which
was used instead of a stem or stern post. It is attached to the keel by dowels. The blade of a quarter rudder, reportedly
recovered by looters, is also displayed at the shrine (Peralta, 1980b).

Fig. 3
Drawing of Butuan Boat 1 as displayed at the Balangay Shrine, Butuan City (Drawing: author and R. Mitra)

The timbers of Boat 1 were previously said to be of the species Heritiera littoralis (Peralta, 1980b). New identification was
carried out in 2013 at the Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) of the Department of Science
and Technology (DOST) in the Philippines (Lacsina, 2013). The timbers of the keel plank, three plank fragments, and the
wing end were identified as Shorea species. Another plank fragment was identified as Vatica species. The remaining
plank fragment was identified as Petersianthus quadrialatus, as was the one dowel sampled. The quarter rudder was
identified as Eusideroxylon zwageri.
An unspecified sample from Boat 1 was dated in the late 1970s at Gakushuin University in Japan to 1,630 ± 110 BP
(GaK-7744) (Manguin, 1993; Peralta, 1980a). In 2014, two samples from the boat were subjected to accelerator mass
spectrometry C-14 analysis at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). Sample OZQ841,
taken from the keel plank, dated to 1,145 ± 25 BP or 904 cal AD. Sample OZQ842 from the wing end dated to 1,130 ± 30
BP or 924 cal AD.

Boat 2
Boat 2 is displayed at the Museum of the Filipino People in Manila. It is 11.3 m long. There are five strakes on one side of
the keel plank, and two strakes on the other as displayed (Fig. 4). These were all identified by FPRDI as Hopea species.
A wing end, identified as Pterocarpus indicus was recovered on one end of the boat, attached by dowels and mortise and
tenon joins to what may be a fragment of the keel plank, identified as Hopea. A portion of a frame still secured to the keel
plank and a strake at the time of excavation was not accessed at the time of recording and has yet to be identified.
Though not formally identified, the rope used to secure the frame is believed to be from palm fibers (Arenga pinnata). As
with Boat 1, the timbers of Boat 2 had previously been identified as Heritiera littoralis (Scott 1981).

Fig. 4
Drawing of Butuan Boat 2 as displayed at the Museum of the Filipino People, Manila (Drawing: A. Peñalosa and author)

An unspecified sample from the boat was originally dated to 700 ± 90BP at Gakushuin University (Peralta 1980a).

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Additional two samples were dated at ANSTO in 2014. The keel plank (OZQ844) was dated to 1,200 ± 30 BP or 825 cal
AD. The wing end (OZQ845) dated to 1,230 ± 30 BP or 787 cal AD.

Boat 4
The remains of Boat 4 include a keel plank, six strakes on one side, and three strakes on the other (Fig. 5). Roughly one
half of this boat appears to be missing, with the surviving planks measuring 6-8 m long. As archaeologists have yet to
expose either end of Boat 4, it is not clear if a wing end or posts were used on this vessel. FPRDI identified the keel plank
and plank timbers as Vatica species. Another timber, found underneath Boat 4, atop Boat 9 and roughly perpendicular to
both boats' planks, was identified as Pometia pinnata.

Fig. 5
Preliminary excavation drawing of Butuan Boats 4 (left) and 9 (right) produced in 2013 (Courtesy of the National Museum; drawing: J.
Santiago and A. Peñalosa)

A keel plank sample taken from Boat 4 (OZQ846) was dated at ANSTO in 2014 to 1,150 ± 35 BP or 888 cal AD.

Boat 5
The degraded and fragmented timbers of Boat 5 are currently stored in Butuan City. Based on the original excavation
drawing, the boat is about 11.5 m long. It is composed of a keel plank and seven strakes on one side, eight strakes on the
other. Seven frames were also recovered, as was a wing end made up of two segments. The keel strake and ten sampled
plank fragments were all identified as Pistacia chinensis by FPRDI, confirming earlier findings (Abinion, 1989). Three of
the frames were identified as Vitex parviflora, while the remaining four frames were identified as Dimocarpus species.
One dowel was also identified as Dimocarpus. Both segments of the wing end were identified as Pterocarpus indicus.
In 1988, an unspecified sample from Boat 5 was dated at the Australian National University (ANU) Radiocarbon Dating
Laboratory to 960 ± 70 BP (ANU 6193) (Abinion, 1989; Fallon, 2013; Ronquillo, 1997). The keel plank was dated at
ANSTO in 2014 to 1,150 ± 30 BP or 890 cal AD (OZQ848).

Boat 9
While the archaeologists have not completed the excavation of Boat 9, it appears to be at least twice the size of any of
the other Butuan Boats (Fig. 5). Its timbers are also relatively more degraded than those of the other boats. It is
composed of a keel plank, a wing end, and a still undetermined number of strakes, which appear to not have any lugs at
all.
As of this writing, only two samples have been collected from Boat 9 for wood species identification at FPRDI. The keel
plank was identified as Vatica species. The wing end could not be identified due to its advanced level of deterioration.
The wing end sample collected from Boat 9 dated to 1,160 ± 30 BP or 879 cal AD by ANSTO in 2014 (OZQ851).

Construction

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Metal fastenings were not used in the construction of any of the Butuan Boats. Their builders edge joined the planks with
wooden dowels. The edges of the keel plank and all other planks were drilled with holes through which dowels were
inserted to fit tightly. In the cases of Boats 1 and 5, a number of dowels were further locked into place with wooden pins
inserted through the planks and into the dowels (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6
Example of plank fastenings based on Butuan Boat 1. Some of the dowels of Boats 1 and 5 were locked in place with wooden pins
inserted through the planks. No such locking mechanism has been observed in other Butuan Boats (Drawing: author)

With one exception, all of the examined boats are lashed-lug boats. A series of protruding rectangular lugs were carved
from the inside of each plank; with the planks assembled, all the lugs are aligned crosswise. Frames and thwarts could
then be secured by rope or cordage to the holes drilled through the lugs, adding strength through compression to the boat
structure.
Dowelling and lashed lugs are generally considered to be distinctive characteristics of a Southeast Asian boatbuilding
tradition. None of the Butuan Boats possess a true keel to cut through water; they were instead designed with a keel
plank. The fore and aft ends of any of the Butuan Boats have not been determined.

Lugs and Lashing Holes

Each of the Butuan Boat keel planks is different, particularly in regard to arrangement of the lugs (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7
Lugs and lashing holes on keel planks of Butuan Boats 1, 2, 4, and 5 (Drawing: author)

The builders of Boat 1 carved the lugs on the keel plank in sets of three, except for the first two, which are single lugs,

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and the third, which is a paired set. All but the first lug, which is not drilled, have three pairs of lashing holes. The holes
are drilled from either side of the outer lug to the top.
The lugs on the keel plank of Boat 2 were all carved in pairs and drilled with two pairs of lashing holes. As with Boat 1, the
lashing holes were drilled diagonally from the outer side of the lugs to the top.
Boat 4's keel plank was carved with single lugs, as well as a continuous raised ridge that runs the length of the keel and
through the center of each of the lugs. Two pairs of lashing holes were drilled through diagonally from either side to the
top of each lug.
The keel of Boat 5 stands out from the other keel planks quite distinctly. Instead of lugs, it has a continuous raised ridge,
wider than the ridge on Boat 4. The lashing holes are drilled through the ridge, from side to side.
All other planks of each of the Butuan Boats have single lugs which were drilled with the same number and in the same
fashion as their respective keel planks' lugs. The lugs on the planks of Boat 1 have three pairs of lashing holes, while
Boats 2 and 4 have two pairs of lashing holes all drilled diagonally from side to top. In contrast, the lugs on the planks of
Boat 5 have two lashing holes drilled straight through from either side. The design of the lashing holes would affect the
manner in which rope and cordage could be secured.

Lug Spacing

A pattern of lug arrangement is evident in the surviving lashed-lug Butuan Boats. Lugs are more or less evenly spaced
from either end except for a noticeable gap with an absence of lugs around the widest part of the boat. One end of the
boat is invariably longer and more pointed and has more lugs than the other shorter, more rounded end.

Wing End

Only one end of only Boats 1, 2, and 5 survived. Neither end of Boat 4 has yet been uncovered, while only one end of
Boat 9 has been exposed as of this writing. All the surviving ends of the boats show a wing end, rather than a stem or
stern post. It is not clear if the opposite ends of the boats were likewise designed to use a wing end.
Acknowledgments The author would like to thank AINSE Ltd for providing financial assistance (Award No. 13504) to
enable the AMS C-14 analysis of Butuan Boat samples. Thanks also to ANSTO, FPRDI, Flinders University, and the
National Museum of the Philippines for supporting the author's research.

References
Abinion, O. V. (1989). The recovery of the 12th century wooden boats in the Philippines. Bulletin of the Australian
Institute for Maritime Archaeology, 13(2), 1-2.
ASEAN. (1986). Report on the third Intra-ASEAN archaeological excavation and conservation Butuan City,
Philippines 16 November-10 December 1986. Kuala Lumpur: ASEAN.
Barnes, R. H. (1985). Whaling vessels of Indonesia. Sewn Plank Poats, Greenwich, National Maritime Museum
Archaeological Series. In: McGrail, S. & Kentley, E. (eds). Sewn plank boats: Archaeological and ethnographic
papers based on those presented to a conference at Greenwich in November, 1984 (BAR international series;
276). Oxford, England: B.A.R.
Cembrano, M. R. (1998). Patterns of the past. Butuan City: National Museum of the Philippines.
Clark, P., Green, J., Vosmer, T. & Santiago, R. (1993). The Butuan two boat known as a balangay in the National
Museum, Manila, Philippines. The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 22(2), 143-159.
Fallon, S. (2013). C-14 dating of a Philippine boat in the 1980s. In L. Lacsina.
Lacsina, L., & Van Duivenvoorde, W. (2014). Report in C-14 AMS analysis of Butuan Boats. Manila: National
Museum of the Philippines.
Lacsina, L. (2013). Activity report: 2013 research and fieldwork on Philippine pre-colonial plank boats in Manila
and Butuan, Philippines. Manila: National Museum of the Philippines.
Manguin, P.-Y. (1993). Trading ships of the South China Sea. Shipbuilding techniques and their role in the history
of the development of asian trade networks. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 36(3),
253-280.
Peralta, J. T. (1980a). Ancient mariners of the Philippines. Archaeology, 1980, 41-48.
Peralta, J. T. (1980b). Butuan "balanghai" project. Manila: National Museum.

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Boats of the Pre-Colonial Philippines: Butuan Boats SpringerReference

Ronquillo, W. P. (1997). Butuan boats. In J. P. Delgado (Ed.), Encyclopedia of underwater and maritime
archaeology (p. 79). London: British Museum Press.
Salcedo, C. G. (1998). The ingenious Filipino boat. In Kasaysayan. The story of the Filipino People (The Earliest
Filipinos, Vol. 2, pp. 207-219). Hong Kong: Asia Publishing Company Limited.
Scott, W. H. (1981). Boat building and seamanship in classic Philippine society. Anthropological Papers, 9,
335-376.

Boats of the Pre-Colonial Philippines: Butuan Boats

Ligaya
Flinders University, Flinders, Australia
Lacsina

DOI: 10.1007/SpringerReference_410167
URL: http://www.springerreference.com/index/chapterdbid/410167
Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in
Part of:
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