Phinisi Boat BuildingLocated at the most southern tip of South Sulawesi’s peninsula, 153 kilometers south of Makassar, lies the district of Bulukumba , holding hidden marvels in its pristine beaches, underwater gardens, and   unique maritime culture. The district is also known as Butta Panrita Lopi or ‘the land of the phinisi schooners” for its long [...]

The Bugis Phinisi Schooner When sailing in the Indonesian seas one invariably meets one of these majestic traditional schooners at full sail. These are the Bugis pinisi, – or sometimes written phinisi – that have for centuries plied these waters journeying as far away as Malacca, Burma, Vietnam and Australia. Today one can see these [...]

By Horst Liebner* Since the earliest times of human settlement of Indonesia, her seas have been the natural lanes of migration, communication and commerce. Not surprisingly, today’s inhabitants of the Archipelago inherit the perhaps most sophisticated maritime tradition of our World; and, it was this bequest of seafaring and trade that unified the immense diversity [...]

The Phinisi Spirit The highly valued spices, and the fabled spice route itself, actually originated on the islands of the Malay Archipelago, later known as the “East Indies” or spice islands. Spices from these small islands were transported along a well developed network of sea routes by even more impressive sailing vessels, ancestors to the [...]

Pinisi, The Toughest Ship from Indonesia The pinisi is a traditional Indonesian two masted sailing ship. It was mainly built by the Konjo of South Sulawesi but was and is largely used by the Bugis and Makassar. The hull of the ships looks similar to that of a dhow while the fore-and-aft rigging reminds of [...]

The pinisi is a traditional Indonesian two masted sailing ship. It was mainly built by the Konjo of South Sulawesi but was and is largely used by the Bugis and Makassar. General description The hull of the ships looks similar to that of a dhow while the fore-and-aft rigging reminds of western schooners, although it [...]

Bulukumba community has been in contact with the religious teachings of Islam since the beginning of century – 17th AD, which is expected in the year 1605 AD the Islamic religion brought by 3 (three) major scholars (Waliyullah) from the island of Sumatra, each title Dato Tiro (Bulukumba), Dato Ribandang (Makassar), and Dato Patimang (Luwu). [...]

Phinisi Nusantara is a traditional sailboat from Bugis, made by Bugis craftmanship. The sailboat was purposely made to participate in an international exhibition in Vancouver, Canada in 1986. In the movie Titanic described how technologically advanced steamers in his time was sinking after hitting an iceberg in the middle Atlantic Ocean and claimed many lives. [...]

No one can deny that the world’s most unique boat Phinisi this, why could that be?, For the start of the search process until the process of making wooden boats full Phinisi to uniqueness. Phinisi boat building is not arbitrary, begun from the cuts in full, traditional ceremonies for the embryo has begun to ship [...]

One day a pilolog Bugis, Doctoral Nurhayati Rahman, opened the library closet and grabbed a book of ancient literature Bugis La Galigo. He read a verse about the oral tradition of the Bugis boat philosophical: “If you are having difficulties at sea, then palingkanlah boat to the right seven times. If it had not given [...]