Ghurab orgurab is a type of merchant and warship from theNusantara archipelago. The ship was a result ofMediterranean influences in the region, particularly introduced by theArabs,Persians, andOttomans.[1] For their war fleet, theMalays prefer to use shallow draught, oared longships similar to the galley, such aslancaran,penjajap, andkelulus.[note 1] This is very different from theJavanese who prefer long-range, deep-draught round ships such asjong andmalangbang. The reason for this difference is that the Malays operated their ships in riverine water, sheltered straits zone, and archipelagic environment, while the Javanese are often active in the open and high sea. After contact with Iberian people, both the Javanese and Malay fleets began to use the ghurab andghali more frequently.[4]: 270–277, 290–291, 296–301 [5]: 148, 155
The name of this ship includesgorap,gorab,gurab,ghurap,gurap, andbenawagurab. The name comes from the Arab word "ghurāb" or "ghorāb", meaning raven or crow. The word also means "vessel" or "galley" in Arabic or Persian.[6]: 86, 98, 100 [7]: 279, 350, 406 The wordbenawa orbanawa comes from theOld Javanese language, which means boat or ship.[8]: 75 [9]: 201 In theMalay language the meaning is more or less the same. In different languages, the word can refer to different types of ships and boats, depending on the context of the sentence.[10]: 195–196
Ghurab is a medium to large-sized trading vessel. They can be converted into a warship by adding swivel guns (rentaka). Early ghurab was galley-like, it has oars in addition to sails.[5]: 163, 165
The larger ghurab had 2 guns pointing forward (bow-chaser) and 15 on each side, with a total of 32 guns. The smaller ones carried 2 forward and 10 on each side (22 guns).[11]: 379 The ghurab has a projecting stern.[12]: 205 They may carry up to 3 masts.[13]: 201 H. Warington Smyth, in 1902 described a large 2-masted tradinggurap built ofgiam wood. The dimension is as follows: 300 ft (91.4 m) long, 30 ft (9.1 m) wide, 20 ft (6.1 m) depth, and 11 ft (3.4 m) freeboard. The capacity was 100koyan (241.9 metric tons), with a 100 ft (30.5 m) mainmast, crewed by 30 men. The vessel is usingfore-and-aft sail made with cloth, withyard and gaff-topsail.[14]
Ghurab is used as a trading ship as well as a warship. One of the earliest accounts of ghurab has a background from the mid-14th century, mentioned in theHikayat Raja-Raja Pasai of 1390s. The ghurab was said to be a ship ofMajapahit empire, used to carry a princess named Radin Galoh Gemerenchang to marry aPasai nobleman.[13]: 95, 97, 154, 156, 201 Ghurab was also used as a warship alongside the jong by thesenapati ing alaga (commander-in-chief) of Majapahit.[13]: 98, 157, 202
TheHikayat Hang Tuah, which has a background of the late 15th to the early 16th century and was composed no earlier than the 17th century, mentioned that twopencalang and two ghurab were used by Majapahit to send a letter and gifts to improve the relationship withMalacca. The ghurabs were said to be "in the style of the Arabs' (ship)".[15]: 258
Until the early 16th century, the main merchant and warship of the Javanese was the jong, but since the mid-16th century the maritime forces of the archipelago began to use new types of agile naval vessels that could be equipped with larger cannons: In various attacks on Portuguese Malacca after the defeat of Pati Unus, they no longer used jong but used lancaran, ghurab, and ghali.[16]: 205–213 [5]
In 1515,Bintan attackedKampar andPortuguese Malacca with 24 lancaran and 6 large ones called gurab.[16]: 212 Pigafetta's Italian-Malay vocabulary of 1521 (published 1524) mentioned Malaygurap as a galley (a la galia).[17]: 137 [18]: 238
TheHikayat Aceh states that theAcehnese sultanate had 120 large ghurab in the 1570s. The state ghurab (ghorab istana) of Aceh, Daya, and Pedir was said to carry 10meriam, 50lela, and 120cecorong (excluding theistinggar). Smaller ones carried 5meriam, 20lela, and 50cecorong.[19]
In 1624, the war fleet of theMataram Sultanate numbered 2000 vessels consisting of gurab and smallperahu.[16]: 212 On 22 August 1628, 59goraps ofSultan Agung's navy appeared at Batavia, unloading provisions for theSiege of Batavia.[20]: 376
There are several types of ships historically also called ghurab or similar names. The description and construction of each vessel, however, aren't necessarily the same.
According to Al-Maqrizi (1441 A.D.), ghurābs of the mediterranean sea were huge war galleys. According toIbn Mammati (1209 A.D.), these ships had 140 oars. Al-Maqrizi refers to both Muslim and Christian galleys as ghurāb.[21]: 188–189, 349 Reinaud said that ghorāb was the name given by Moors to true galleys. Ubaldo (1181) tells about ghurāb as vessels sailing to and fromTripoli.[22]: 363
Genizah letters mention cargo ghurābs that sailed from theMaghrib,Sicily, and on theNile, carryingcarob andflax.[23]: 476–477
Indian Ocean ghurāb, which often appears in the records of the 17th century was a native Arab-Persian and Indian cargo, pirate, and war vessel.[24]: 80–82
Abu Shama ca. 1266–1267, inKitab al-rawdatayn fi akhbar al-dawlatayn, wrote about ghurāb:[7]: 321
"They sail by their masts (i.e. the sails); they (look like) quivers, but penetrate like arrows . . . It is no surprise that they are called ghurābs because they spread their wings like those of a dove"
Sidi Ali in 1552, describes ghurābs as "great (rowing) vessels"; he also says that smaller ghurābs are "galliots with oars".[25]: 300
Grab ofMalabar coast is a vessel that was generally of shallow draft, and broad in proportion to its length. Size could range between 150 and as much as 500 tons (bm).[24]: 80–82
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