October 5, 2004 edition
FOUR centuries ago sailors from Makassar in South Sulawesi landed on Marege on the northern coast of Arnhem Land in what is now Australia’s Northern Territory. The men, braving the seas in their traditional sailboats known as padewakang, came to gather sea cucumbers and in the process associate with the aborigines, binding the culture, language, and tradition of two peoples of different racial and historical origin.
It’s been almost a century since the last padewakang lay anchor off the coast of Arnhem Land in 1907, leaving traces which still can be found on its shores. Tempo’s Endah W.S. visited Arnhem Land last August to record the legacy left by the intrepid sailors from Makassar in Australia and filed this report:
FOUR centuries ago sailors from Makassar in South Sulawesi landed on Marege on the northern coast of Arnhem Land in what is now Australia’s Northern Territory. The men, braving the seas in their traditional sailboats known as padewakang, came to gather sea cucumbers and in the process associate with the aborigines, binding the culture, language, and tradition of two peoples of different racial and historical origin.
It’s been almost a century since the last padewakang lay anchor off the coast of Arnhem Land in 1907, leaving traces which still can be found on its shores. Tempo’s Endah W.S. visited Arnhem Land last August to record the legacy left by the intrepid sailors from Makassar in Australia and filed this report: