Bugis Navigation

Yale Southeast Asia Studies Monograph Series #48

by Gene Ammarell

This book is an ethnographic study of the indigenous navigational knowledge and practices of a group of Bugis seafarers who reside in an island village located in the Flores Sea, midway between South Sulawesi and Sumbawa in Indonesia. Ethnohistorical data has allowed the author to trace both the origins and evolution of Bugis maritime activity from earliest records and the relatively recent settlement and development of the village, Balobaloang. Changing social, cultural, economic, and political conditions are considered, as well as innovations in maritime technology, providing a context by which transformations in both the science and art of navigation and the role of the navigator can be understood.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1999