Prao

The prao or prahu is a traditional, long, narrow Malayan boat.

Description and history

Its name derives from parau, perahu, perau or padahu, which designate a sailing vessel in the Kannada language (possibly under the influence of the Spanish or Portuguese term proa).

Although the term is also generally applied to large vessels (between 18 and 30 meters in length) in Malaysia and Micronesia, several authors claim that it corresponds to the smaller boats, generally provided with batangas. >

Their prows and sterns were practically symmetrical, very sharp and long bowsprit. Their gear varied and they practically lacked rigging. The candles were of cotton or of fine mat. To help propel the ship it carried two oars. The hull was of teak, without frame and supported by baos. Apart from wood, we used reeds, mats and palm leaves. Although it is considered a boat of Chinese origin, it denotes the influence of the diverse maritime cultures that acted in the archipelago: Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish, Arab and Egyptian.

This type of vessel was widely used in the area for piracy and was thus known and feared in the West. These were very fast and adapted to operate in shallow waters. In its usual version of two masts was about 17 meters in length and about 5 of mango and carried two rotating guns or carronadas in bow and stern.

However, prao was basically used for trade, here in all its variety of sizes and rigging. Its low draft allowed access to the rivers and estuaries of the region that are often shallow due to sedimentation. Likewise, the lack of port facilities meant that ships should be loaded and unloaded directly on the beach where coastal villages accumulated their products.

Until the 1970s, the sector of maritime transport based on praes a vela was doing this task. Since then motor ships have been replacing them. The largest of the ships now employed, pinisi praho, rarely carries the traditional two-masted platform. Bibliography

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