Alancaran orlanchara is a type of sailing ship used inMaritime Southeast Asia. Although similar in shape toMediterraneangalleys, the lancaran was the backbone of the regional fleet of the western half ofNusantara before Mediterranean influence came.[1]: 151 For their war fleet, theMalays prefer to use shallow draught, oared longships similar to the galley, such as lancaran,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 theghurab andghali more frequently.[4]: 270–277, 290–291, 296–301 [1]: 148, 155
The termlancaran is derived from theMalay wordlancar, which means "swift", "fast", "not hindered", and "velocity without effort". Thus the word lancaran may be interpreted as "swift vessel".[5]
Lancaran is a swift, local ship propelled by oars and sails with two-quarter rudders, one on either side of the stern. In Aceh, lancarans were taller than galley but equaled them in length.[6]: 146–147 They had one, two, or three masts, withjunk sails ortanja sails (canted rectangular sail). Lancarans had a crew of between 150 and 200 crew. Lancaran can be equipped with severallela (medium cannon equivalent tofalconet) and swivel guns ofcetbang andrentaka variety. One distinguishing feature from the galley is the presence of an elevated fighting platform (called abalai), in which warriors usually stood and perform boarding actions.[1]: 165 Cargo lancaran could carry 150 tons of cargo. The lancaran ofSunda had unique masts shaped like a crane, with steps between each so that they are easy to navigate.[7]: 167
Lancaran were used both as warships and for commerce. In the 14th–15th century CE, theKingdom of Singapura and Sungai Raya each have 100 three-masted lancaran (lancaran bertiang tiga).[8]
In about 1500 CE, theSultanate of Malacca opposed Siam with 200 boats, consisting of lancaran and kelulus.[9]: 212 According to Afonso de Albuquerque, during the1511 Portuguese attack on the Malacca Sultanate, the Malays used an unspecified number of lancaran (lanchara) and twenty penjajap (pangajaoa).[10]: 80–81 [11]: 68 After SultanMahmud Shah of Malacca was deposed fromMalacca in 1511, he took overBintan. In 1519 and 1520 he had a fleet consisting of 60 and 100 boats respectively, both being made up of lancaran and kelulus.[9]: 212
During theDemak Sultanate attack onPortuguese Malacca of 1512–1513, lancaran were used as armed troop transports for landing alongsidepenjajap andkelulus, as theJavanese junks were too large to approach the shore.[12]: 74 Lancaran was the other type of vessel counted byTome Pires afterjunks andpenjajap upon arriving at a port.[7]: 185, 195
Royal lancaran ofLingga is said to carry 200 fighting men and is about the size of a largegalleass (larger than ordinary galleys). The regular lancaran ofPasai is said to carry 150 men and is under the command of aJavanese captain. Large ones with 300 crew are said to have been Javanese vessels. In the 1520s, smaller lancarans ofBintan andPahang were armed with only 1berço (breech-loading swivel gun, likely refers tocetbang), but also had arrows, spears, and fire-hardened wooden spars. Nicolau Perreira's account of the 1568Acehnese siege ofMalacca said that Aceh's boats are usually lancaran. It has two rows of oars and was as long as a galley.[6]: 146–147 An anonymous work depicting the 1568 siege showed a ship with a double quarter rudder and 3 masts, which corresponds with "lancaran bertiang tiga" (three-masted lancaran) mentioned in Malay texts.[1]: 150–151
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