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Garay were traditional nativewarships of theBanguingui people in thePhilippines and were used by theBruneian Navy.[1] In the 18th and 19th centuries, they were commonly used forpiracy by the Banguingui andIranun people against unarmed trading ships and raids on coastal settlements in the regions surrounding theSulu Sea.
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Mostgaray were built in the shipyards ofParang, Sulu in the late 18th century. During the early 19th century, Banguinguigaray squadrons regularly plagued the straits of southernPalawan from the months of March to November each year. They raided coastal areas in northern Borneo for slaves as well as cut off trade into theSultanate of Brunei. These attacks severely affected the economy of Brunei, leading to its decline. The Banguingui purportedly had a saying: "It is difficult to catch fish, but easy to catch Borneans."[2]
Garay were smaller, faster, and more maneuverable than the Iranunlanong warships. They had a muchbroader beam and a somewhat round hull with a shallowdraft. They had a single tripodmain-mast made of three bamboo poles, which was rigged with a large rectangular sail with tilted upper corners (alayar tanja). They also had aforemast and sometimes amizzenmast, which were rigged with smaller triangularcrab claw sails. When the wind was heavy, themainsail was lowered and only theforesail and the mizzen sails were set.[3][4]
They were also propelled byoars. Largegaray could have around 30 to 60 oars, usually arranged intotwo banks, one on top of the other. They were rowed by either people belonging to thealipin caste, or by captured slaves. The hull was partially or fully decked. The deck was made of split bamboo slats, divided into square sections that could be removed as required. Most of the length of the ship was covered by a house-like structure roofed withnipa leaves. A raised platform over a clay stove was used for cooking. At the sides of the hull were overhanging catwalks, about 1 to 2 ft (0.30 to 0.61 m) in width. The ship did not have a centralrudder, but had twosteering oars located near the stern.[3][4]
The largestgaray were around 70 to 80 ft (21 to 24 m) long and could carry up to 80 men, but mostgaray averaged at 60 to 70 ft (18 to 21 m) with around 60 men. Even smallergaray also existed with an average crew (sakay) of 25 to 30 men.[3] Largegaray can serve asmotherships to smallersalisipan (a coveredbanca, shielded against arrows and spears), which could carry an additional 15 people.[3]
Garay were led by anakura ornakuda (commander) who in turn is led by a squadron leader, thepanglima. Thejulmuri (first mate) is in charge of the crew and also controls the rudder (bausan). Another officer, thejulbato stays at the prow of the ship and watches out for reefs and enemy ships. Thejulbato is also in charge of the anchor (sao).[5]
Garay did not possessoutriggers (unlike thelanong and otherkarakoa warships). Despite this fact,garay were commonly incorrectly referred to asprahu orproa (bothoutrigger vessels) in historical records. However, the projecting catwalks can function as a sort of outrigger in instances where the hull was flooded, keeping the ship afloat.[3] InMalay,Javanese, andPortuguese sources,garay are also sometimes (incorrectly) referred to aspenjajap. This term, however, referred specifically topenjajap (mangaio inIranun), very long and narrow warships used mostly inNusantara. They differed fromgaray in the width of their beams (penjajap were extremely narrow), and the fact that largepenjajap usually had outriggers and twolayar tanja sails.Garay were also sometimes referred to generically aspanco (bangka).[3][6]
Garay were lightly armed, in comparison to thelanong. They usually only had a single large cannon (lela). While thelanong specialized in ship-to-ship combat, thegaray was more suited to raiding coastal villages and attacking unarmed or lightly armed trade ships.[3]
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