Jukung Outrigger Canoes Across the Ocean to MadagascarÂ
I've been on outrigger canoes in Madagascar, but I was really looking forward to going out on the water in a traditional Jukung in Indonesia. It is believed that the first settlers in Madagascar came from Indonesia and sailed across the Indian Ocean on boats like this between 1,500-2,000 years ago!Â
It's all coming together! One of my favorite parts of traveling in Indonesia is finding subtle similarities between the Malagasy and Indonesian/Malaysian cultures. It's extra cool because Madagascar is reallllyyyyyyyy far from here and the Indian Ocean is rough. (If you haven't seen my blog before, I lived in Madagascar for two years and I can speak Malagasy to some degree).Â
The numbers are scarily similar! And some words such as rock: batu (Indonesian), and vato ("vat-oo" Malagasy) or hand: tangan (Indonesian), tanana (Malagasy) or road: jalan (Indonesian) and lalana (Malagasy).Â
The word for sun isn't the same but it is the same concept! (A concept I like so much I actually have a tattoo of it on my back). Sun in Indonesian: Matahari. Mata= eye, hari= day. Sun in Malagasy: Masoandro. Maso= eye, andro =day. Poetically meaning "eye of the day" in both languages.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't spend a few hours on Google Translate typing in words I figured existed 2,000 years ago to see if I could find more similarities.Â
In both cultures when someone walks in front of you, they bow and put a hand down low to the ground. I wonder if this is a mannerism that really has lasted 2,000 years?!Â
Indonesia most likely brought rice to Madagascar but over the years the growing techniques have developed in their own ways. Though there are rice terraces in both countries.Â
Anyways, even though the jukung we rode on only went back and forth near the shore of Senggigi on the island of Lombok, it was still a thrilling ride. The sail was made of tarp in this case, but years ago the boats were made of bamboo and tree trunks.Â
This activity brought together so many things I geek out about: Madagascar, sailing, cultures, patterns, and the way humans travel.















