Bridging the Gap
The early development of boat-building in Panay
References to extensive construction and use of boats in pre-colonial Panay are numerous, both in oral traditions and written accounts. These are indications of the early development of the sail- and paddle-powered boats in the area. This situation can be attributed to several factors that can be categorized either as geographic, political, and economic in nature.
The archipelagic nature of the Philippines promoted a seafaring people in the past who had relied heavily on boats for livelihood and transportation. The boat became their most reliable and effective means of transportation when they traveled by sea or when navigating unchartered seas. The boat was also very helpful to them when moving towards the interior of the island through the rivers. Boats, in fact, became synonymous with the trading activities of the people, both inland and coastwise. Also, like most Filipinos, the Panayanons had satisfied their protein requirements by subsistence fishing from outriggered "barotos" within the edges of reefs and lagoons surrounding the island. For centuries prior to the coming of the Spaniards, the traditional "baroto" or "bangka" had been eminently suited to these tasks.
Also interesting is the fact that, in early times, boats were used by the inhabitants of Panay in the conduct of their wars and raids which they referred to as "mangayaw" (Scott 1981). According to the Spaniards, as recorded by Emma Blair and James Robertson (1903-1909), war was part of the early Panayanon's lives, and they were especially feared due to their fast boats.
The materials in the construction of boats in Panay was never a problem in the past. The island had rich timber resources that were excellent materials for boat-building. The neighboring islands of Guimaras and Negros, similarly, abounded in various species of trees that were suited for boat construction. A report sent by John Bowring to William Hooker in England in the mid-19th century, for instance, revealed that of the 60 important species of wood found in the northern and western sections of Panay, the most notable were those that made good boat-building materials (Bowring 1963).
The people of Panay themselves were an important factor in the development of the industry. According to the accounts of the Spanish writers, the Panayanon carpenters were skilled boat-builders. They were esteemed for their work and some were even considered by the Spaniards to be equal to them when it came to boat-building. Despite the restrictions imposed by their primitive tools, some of the local construction methods were considered by the colonizers better than their own (Alcina 1668). Because of these good impressions of the Spaniards, shipyards were established in the estuaries of Oton and Arevalo in Iloilo, as well as other places in the island, and the carpentry skills of the local boat-builders were utilized by the Spanish colonizers all throughout their occupation of the country. Through the "polo" or forced labor, the natives were made to construct boats used by the Spaniards in their explorations of the archipelago and in their expeditions to Mindanao, Sulu, and the Moluccas. Many more were conscripted to work in the boat-building industry as wood cutters, rope makers, coopers, caulkers, and smiths. They also helped built galleons for the lucrative Manila-Acapulco trade (Blair & Robertson, 1903-1909).
The Panayanon men were required not only to construct boats, with some of them even sent to the Cavite shipyard in Luzon to work, but also to man the Spanish fleets. They were made to fight the Moros, the Dutch and the Portuguese at sea. The situation became so oppressive that many of the young men in Dumangas, Iloilo, considered among the best sailors in the archipelago, fled to other towns and as far away as Negros to avoid being conscripted (Geolingo 1976). Some of the young men from Panay who were made to man the galleons in the Manila-Acapulco trade jumped ship upon reaching Mexico due to untold hardships at sea. This probably explains the presence of some families of Filipino ancestry in Mexico today.