No. 2(1920) OUTRIGGER CANOES OF INDONESIA 100 



connexion in the case of the aft-boom indicates its close relation- 

 ship to this type which elsewhere in the Celebes and the Moluccas 

 is the dominant design. The resemblances of the Minahasa design 

 with those of Sulu and Mindanao are much greater than those 

 indicating kinship with the other origin, and there can be no 

 doubt that this design originally came from the Philippines via 

 the Sangir islands and that it has since been modified by contact 

 with the East Indonesian design. But whence came the Sulu and 

 the Philippine designs ? We know of no other related instances 

 of direct attachment, apart from Minahasa, except upon the west 

 coast of Sumatra. Considering the distance between Sumatra and 

 the Philippines, any close connexion would seem most unlikely. 

 But the coast people of Sumatra have been great voyagers and 

 curiously enough Sulu-Moro tradition claims for their aristocracy 

 a direct lineage from the nobles of the Achin tribes inhabiting the 

 northern part of Sumatra. I must mention that Colonel Waloe, 

 who communicated this tradition to me, was then ignorant that 

 direct attachment of boom to float is a characteristic feature 

 shared alike by the outrigger canoes of Sumatra and the Sulu 

 islands. 



The form and ornamentation of the stern in Sulu outriggers has 

 a significantly close resemblance to designs seen in N.-W. New 

 Guinea ; Papuasian influence is therefore indicated. Similarly 

 there is a distinct resemblance between the curious bow of the 

 Sulu canoes and that of East Javanese 'sampans' and outrigger 

 coasters ; all alike are characterised by the bifid form of stem 

 and stern. There is also a close approach to the direct type of 

 boom and float connexion seen in East Javanese outrigger-coasters 

 that is suggestive. Probably these also derived from a common 

 source with those of the west coast of Sumatra. 



Instances of purely local variations are those in use in the 

 Minahasa and in Buton and Raha (S. Celebes); the latter are 

 obviously based on the normal form of the East Indonesian type. 



To the class derived ultimately from Papuasian and Polynesian 

 sources, belong, I believe, both the Java type, and those of 

 Amboina and Bum. The former is particularly interesting for 

 it is, with the exception of the Mentawei outriggers, the only 

 type of Indonesian outrigger that is invariably single — those of 

 Macassar constitute obviously a mere variation from a local double 

 form. But howsoever interesting this may be, it sinks into 



