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Image Not Available for Makassan Prahu
Makassan Prahu
Image Not Available for Makassan Prahu

Makassan Prahu

Artist (1922)
Date1987
Object number00001926
NameBark painting
MediumPaint on bark
DimensionsOverall: 560 x 910 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionA bark painting by Nadjalgala Wurramara from Groote Eylandt, depicts a prahu, a type of vessel typically used by Makassan traders during the 19th century. For centuries Makassans were active sailing on the Timor and Arafura Seas to northern Australia conducting trade with the Indigenous population. They collected trepang (sea slug, sea cucumbers or bêche-de-mer), turtle shells and other marine products for sale. The Makassans were involved in the first export industry in Australia. This trade disappeared at the end of the 19th century after the Australian Government introduced customs taxes and license fees for Makassan traders.HistoryThe Warnindilyakwa people are the traditional owners of the Groote Eylandt archipelago region and are referred to by their language name, Anindilyakwa. There are three main communities - Angurugu, Milyakburra and Umbakumba. Nadjalgala Wurramara was from Angurugu. The first encounter between the Warnindilyakwa and Macassan sailors occurred in approximately 1700. The Macassans arrived in fleets of small ships (prahus) from the port of Macassar in what is now eastern Indonesia and made organised annual voyages to northern Australia to collect and process trepang (sea cucumbers or bêche-de-mer) for export to China. This trade reached its zenith in the early-to-mid-19th century with over 100 prahus involved in the voyages. Makassan prahus could hold up to 30 people and carried rice as a staple food source, canoes for close-in work, clay pots for cooking and bamboo for constructing makeshift shelters. At the time, Makassan traders were travelling in the most technologically advanced vessels seen in Australian waters. In their prahus (also spelled perahu) they sailed down during the monsoonal wet season and returned at the start of the dry season to sell their goods to Chinese merchants. They also collected and traded other marine products including pearls, pearl shell, trochus shell, fish, turtle shells and meat. This trade started to decline at the turn of the 20th century when the Australian Government introduced customs taxes and license fees as a deterrent. The contact between the local Aboriginal people, the Yolngu, and the Makassans had a significant impact on Aboriginal art, trade, technology, language, economy and even marriage. The Makassan visitors are remembered in Aboriginal oral history, ceremonies and paintings depicting Makassan prahus. SignificanceThis painting is significant in depicting a prahu - the vessels used by Makassans in the 19th century for conducting trade with the Australian Indigenous population. It is also significant as using traditional techniques and materials of the Indigenous people of Groote Eylandt, northern Australia.