Boo’gok-boo’gok : the winged boat of the Sea Bajau in Sabah, Malaysia
Ismail Ali and Jane Wong Kon Ling (2008) document the boo’gok-boo’gok, a small winged fishing boat of the Sea Bajau (Pala’u) community on Sabah’s east coast, arguing that it represents a direct material descendant of the Sulu Sultanate-era barangayan and kora-kora and has been systematically overlooked in scholarship that privileges the more famous lepa-lepa dwelling boat.
Summary
The article addresses a gap in the existing literature on the Sea Bajau, a sea-nomad group that migrated from the southern Philippines to Sabah’s east coast during the eighteenth century under the Sulu Sultanate. While prior studies by Warren, Sopher, Sather, Yap Beng Liang, and Sendera have examined the community’s social structure, economy, and the lepa-lepa houseboat, none had documented the boo’gok-boo’gok as a distinct vessel type. Ali and Wong Kon Ling trace the boat’s lineage from the large datus-sponsored war and trade vessels of the Sulu Sultanate through a smaller, community-built variant called dapang under British North Borneo Chartered Company rule, to its present form as a rowing-powered fishing craft.
The authors draw on colonial-era administrative sources—the 1914 Boats and Fishery Ordinance, the 1959 Undang-Undang Perahu dan Perikanan Penggal 16, and J. A. Tubb’s 1952 Fisheries Department Report—to establish the regulatory and historical context in which the boat was produced and used. They supplement this with direct field observation at sites including Mabul, Omadal, Gusungan, Bum-Bum, and Banggi islands, where they recorded construction techniques, dimensions, and fishing practices. The article also notes the boat’s vulnerability: its plywood construction requires repainting every three to five months, and the Sabah Maritime Department has prohibited its use in areas where illegal cyanide fishing and dynamite fishing have degraded coral ecosystems.
Key Findings
- The boo’gok-boo’gok measures 15–20 feet in length and 2–3 feet in width, with walls of 0.5-inch plywood and hardwood outrigger wings stabilised by dry bamboo or plastic rods (p. 21).
- The vessel’s design is traced to the Sulu Sultanate’s barangayan and kora-kora, which were used to extract sea cucumber, pearl, salted fish, and turtle shell for Chinese and European merchants (p. 19).
- The Boats and Fishery Ordinance No. 10 of 1914 and the Undang-Undang Perahu dan Perikanan Penggal 16 (1959) governed vessel registration and fishing-tool licensing in Sabah (p. 21).
- Sea cucumber caught from these waters is dried and smoked for sale in Semporna at RM50.00–RM80.00 per kilogram depending on type and quality (p. 25).
- Fishermen typically depart at 5 a.m. and return by noon or evening, using hook-and-line methods around coral areas, limiting their catch to coral-based species (p. 24).
- The Sabah Maritime Department has prohibited the boat’s use in zones affected by illegal cyanide and dynamite fishing, threatening both the marine ecosystem and the community’s traditional livelihood (p. 25).
Conclusion
Ali and Wong Kon Ling conclude that the boo’gok-boo’gok is a historically continuous cultural artefact stretching from the eighteenth-century Sulu Sultanate to the present, and that its erasure from both scholarly attention and, increasingly, from practical use due to environmental degradation and regulatory prohibition constitutes a loss of intangible heritage. They call on Sabah’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Heritage to recognise the boat alongside the lepa-lepa as a symbol of Sea Bajau identity and to exhibit it for ecotourism and intergenerational knowledge transfer.
Context
- The study draws on colonial administrative records (BNBCC-era ordinances and fisheries reports) combined with contemporary field observation across multiple island sites in Sabah’s east coast.
- Historiographically, the article extends the material-culture record of the Sea Bajau beyond the well-studied lepa-lepa dwelling boat, filling a specific lacuna in the work of Warren, Sopher, Sather, and Sendera.