Lepa-lepa is a traditional canoe from the eastern part of theIndonesian archipelago. They are short range coastal fishing craft, but they can also be used for inter island voyages. The routes they took, among others are betweenSeram andAmbon-Lease, Geser island and Seram Laut, withinBanda andKei group of islands.[1] They are already existed since at least 1500 A.D.[2]
Traditional lepa-lepa canoe is made from single piece of hollowed wood (dugout base). The wood can be of various sizes. They can be used with or without a sail,[1] as they can be propelled with paddles (calledwosa in native language) andquant poles (doan).[1][3] Some of them may be equipped with doubleoutrigger. Lepa-lepa may be enlarged by adding additional planks to its sides. A boat that has been added with a kalulis prow is calledlepa-lepakalulis. The sails used are fromnade, gaff, andtanja types. After 1980s lepa-lepa began to be modernized by adding outboard motor.[1] Modern lepa-lepa is made by fiberglass.[4] A lepa-lepa may be 3.4–9.3 m long, with 40–80 cm width, and depth of 30–55 cm.[3]
Lepa-lepa is mainly used forfishing. They are also used for transporting, such as transporting trading products (sago,fish, greenvegetables), and people. Lepa-lepa is suitable for maneuvering through narrow shallow channel using combination ofquant poles and paddles. In the present however, it is not considered appropriate to sail or paddle for long distances using them, and motorized lepa-lepa are more often used.[1]
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