No. 2 (1920) OUTRIGGER CANOES OF INDONESIA 7 1 



Considerable variation prevails in the rig of these Bum 

 outriggers. The most common is the oblong sail, most primitive 

 of those in use in these seas ; sprit-sails running on the mast on 

 rings are also fairly numerous ; the cutter rig, with jib, is also 

 coming into limited use, evidently copied from the modern pearling 

 boats, one of which I saw here in harbour. 



AMBOINA. 



This once important centre of the far Eastern trade has 

 been so long under intimate European influence that the use 

 of outrigger canoes has been discarded for the coasting trade ; 

 they survive only for inshore fishing and ferry purposes. The 

 great majority are particularly long and narrow slabsided dug- 

 outs, with weak outrigger frames. No wash-strake is normally 

 provided. The outrigger booms are squared poles of small 

 sectional dimensions. Each is secured to the canoe by a pair of 

 rattan couplings passed around a thwart inserted low down in the 

 well of the dugout and secured there by being jammed under two 

 wooden chocks or cleats left standing when the interior was roughed 

 out (Fig. 36 on page 66). The floats are usually made of the large 

 leaf-stalks of the sago palm, the narrow end directed forwards. 

 The floats are connected with the booms by means of egg-shaped 

 loops made of rattan in the case of the smaller dugouts, and of 

 stout withies in that of the larger ; the base of each loop is lashed 

 to the upper surface of the boom while the ends are crossed over 

 one another above and lashed together; the two limbs are tied 

 against one side of a boom near its extremity. 



The two booms are fitted about equidistant respectively from 

 stem and stern ; the length of each float is roughly equal to double 

 the distance of the float from the midline of the dugout. 



CERAM. 

 The adjoining island of Ceram is much larger than Amboina 

 and has been much less under longstanding European influence. 

 Hence I was not surprised to find the outrigger type more in 

 evidence and more varied in design than in the latter island. 



Three varieties of outriggers are present ; they show consider- 

 able diversity in pattern, with affinity on the one side with 

 Amboina and with Buru on the other. 



