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Tanja sail (Malay:layar tanjak) ortanja rig is a type of sail commonly used by theAustronesian people, particularly inMaritime Southeast Asia. It is also known as thetilted square sail,canted rectangular sail,rectangular balance lug, orbalance lug sail in English.[1][2][3]: 102–103 [4]: 608 In historical sources, a tanja sail is sometimes incorrectly referred to as alateen sail or simplysquare sail.[5]
Also calledtanjaq,tanjak,tanja',tanjong, ortanjung sail. TheMandar people call itsombal tanjaq because when the wind blows the lower part of the sail (peloang) would "mattanjaq" (lit. "kick").[1][6] In colonial British records, it is sometimes written as "lyretanjong", a misspelling oflayar tanjong (layar means "sail" inMalay;layag inPhilippine languages).[7][1]
There are several different theories regarding the origin of tanja sail.
The sail might be a derivative of the older Austronesian triangularcrab-claw sail. It developed from the fixed mast version of the crab-claw sail and is functionally identical, with the only difference being that the upper and bottom spars of the tanja sail do not converge into a point in the leading edge.[8][9]: 98–99
According to H. Warington Smyth, the Malay tanja sail is an adaptation and development of the primitive square sail, with boom at the head and the foot. The Malay tilted the sail forward, to bring the tack right to the deck, turning the sail into the most powerful of lifting sails on a wind.[10]
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Tanja sail can be distinguished by its canted/oblique design. The sail face isasymmetrical in shape and most of the area is elongated to the sides, rather than upward like those oflug sail. Tanja sails were rigged similarly to crab claw sails and also had spars on both the head and the foot of the sails; but they were square or rectangular with the spars not converging into a point.[8][9] They are generally mounted on one or two (rarely three) bipod or tripod masts, usually made from thickbamboo.[11][12][13] The masts have curved heads with grooves for attaching thehalyards. The lower part of two of the bamboo poles of the mast assembly have holes that are aligned and slotted across a piece of timber, functioning as a hinge. The forward part of the mast assembly had a forelock. By unlocking it, the masts can be lowered across the ship.[11]
Despite the similarity of its appearance to western square rigs, the tanja is a fore-and-aft rig functioning similar to alugsail. The sail was suspended from the upper spar ("yard"), while the lower spar functioned like a boom.[11] When set fore-and-aft, the spars extend forward of the mast by about a third. When running before the wind, they are set perpendicular to the hull, similar to a square rig.[14] The sail can be rotated around the mast (lessening the need for steering with the rudders) and tilted to move the center of pull forward or aft. The sail can even be tilted completely horizontally, lifting the bow above incoming waves. The sail isreefed by rolling it around the lower spar.[11]
In addition to the tanja sails, ships with the tanja rigs also havebowsprits set with a quadrilateralheadsail, sometimes also canted as depicted in theBorobudur ships.[14] In the colonial era, these were replaced by triangular western-stylejibs (often several in later periods), and the tanja sails themselves were slowly replaced with western rigs likegaff rigs.[11]
The 3rd century book "Strange Things of the South" (南州異物志) by Wan Chen (萬震) describes large ships which originates fromK'un-lun (Southern country, eitherJava orSumatra). The ships calledK'un-lun po (orK'un-lun bo). He explains the ship's sail design as follows:
The four sails do not face directly forward, but are set obliquely, and so arranged that they can all be fixed in the same direction, to receive the wind and to spill it. Those sails which are behind the most windward one receiving the pressure of the wind, throw it from one to the other, so that they all profit from its force. If it is violent, (the sailors) diminish or augment the surface of the sails according to the conditions. This oblique rig, which permits the sails to receive from one another the breath of the wind, obviates the anxiety attendant upon having high masts. Thus these ships sail without avoiding strong winds and dashing waves, by the aid of which they can make great speed.
— Wan Chen,Nánzhōu Yìwùzhì (Strange Things of the South)[15]: 207 [16]: 262
Most Southeast Asian and Austronesian vessels used the tanja sail. This type of sail may have brought Austronesian sailors as far as West Africa sometime in the 1st millennium CE,[17]: 41 with its feasibility proved by an expedition carried out bya replica ship using such sail in 2003,[17]: 31–32 and there is probability these sailors reached the New World as early as 1420 CE.[18][19][better source needed] Some examples of vessels that use tanja sails include:
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