From the seagoing ships carved at Borobudur to the Waqwaq raids on East Africa, the Javanese proved the era's greatest mariners; linguistic, genetic and crop evidence shows Madagascar's population descends from a single boatload of Indonesian settlers, and a 2003 replica voyage proved the journey possible with medieval technology. ✦ AI generated
Paul Cooper · Fall of Civilizations · 2026-07-31 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 48:29
In the large island of Madagascar, just off the coast of Eastern Africa, the people's language has always puzzled linguists. The Madagascan language of Malagasi shares little in common with those of the African mainland. And it was only when the grammar and syntax were compared with Indonesian languages that a remarkable similarity was noticed. Although separated by the entire Indian Ocean, the language of Malagasi shares a grammatical structure with several Indonesian languages like Javanese. And they even have a number of different words in common. Just one example is the word for island, nosi in Malagasi and Nusa in Japanese. In fact, the closest living relative of Malagasi is thought to be a language called Manan, which originated on the south coast of Borneo. The most modern analysis of mitochondrial DNA in Madagascar has confirmed this connection and shows that the people there can trace their lineage back to about 30 mothers who arrived on the island from what is now Indonesia. This suggests a single boatload of settlers who had traveled across one of the world's widest oceans to find a new home.
verbatim transcript · starts at 48:29
48:29Indonesia today. Among them, a dish called tonang, a tall cone of rice surrounded by side dishes which is still prepared for special occasions. But one particular feature of these carvings has always captured the imagination of those who visit the ruins. These are the so-called Boro Budor ships. In among the scenes of daily life are carved the shapes of five large seagoing vessels, graceful and high-sided, which show just how accomplished the Javanese
49:20had become as shipbuilders and sailors. And so it's no surprise that it was around this time that the people of Java began to gain a reputation around the world as traders and pirates. The Javanese of the Mataram period sailed in large ships that were often built from teik. This kind of wood was prized for its strength and its high oil content which gives it a natural water resistance even
49:59without varnishing and gives it a distinct rich aroma like fine leather. These ships were built without nails using only interlocking joints and wooden dowels and with ingenious arrangements of sails. The 3rd century Chinese writer Wan Chen in his work Nanju Yiu J or strange things of the southern lands describes the sight of these majestic vessels. The people sometimes rig as many as four sails which they carry in a row from bow
50:43to stern. 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. If it is violent, the sailors diminish or augment the surface of the sails according to the conditions. Thus these ships sail without avoiding strong winds and dashing waves by the aid of which they
51:13can make great speed. To Wan Chen and other Chinese writers, these Javanese ships were so remarkable because China itself would not develop large oceangoing vessels until around the 9th century or 600 years later. In fact, the Chinese held the ships of these islanders in such reverence that no foreign craft were permitted to sail within range of the main port of Guangong or Canton. As the 16th century
51:52Portuguese diplomat Tom Perez recounts, "They say that the Chinese made this law about not being able to go to Canton for fear of the Japanese and Malays, for it is certain that one of these people ships would route 20 Chinese ships. Such is their fear of Malays and Japanese." This fear appears to have been warranted. The inscriptions of the Cham people of Vietnam and the Camair in Cambodia
52:31frequently reference the arrival of fearsome seagoing raiders who are thought to have sailed from islands like Sumatra and Java. One inscription in the Po Nagar temple in Vietnam describes one such raid in the year 774. Ferocious, pitiles, dark-skinned men born in other countries whose food was more horrible than corpses and who were vicious and furious came in ships, took away the temple statue and set fire to
53:10the temple. The Javanese were in part able to become such successful sailors due to the extremely predictable wind patterns that take place in this part of the world. During the rainy season from December to March, the winds blow in over Java from the Asian mainland in the northwest, picking up moisture over the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean and bringing the monsoon. But during the dry season from April to