The Warrau Canoe and the Construction of Landscape

In October, I gave a presentation titled The Warrau Canoe and the Construction of Landscape at the first Early Watercraft Congress in Vila do Conde, Portugal. The presentation was derived from my PhD thesis (in process), which is based on fieldwork conducted in 2022 and 2023 in Imbotero, a small village of Indigenous Warrau people in northwest Guyana. The canoes in question are dugouts, and "construction of landscape" refers to the cognitive processes of making sense of the physical environment in which the people live and creating personal and social structures to suit. 

Click the image below to view the video on YouTube. A brief introduction to my presentation, by Dr. Niall Gregory, begins at 25:18.

Do watch the other presentations before and after mine on this video, and some of the other excellent presentations from the conference:

https://www.youtube.com/@EarlyWatercraftCongress

https://www.youtube.com/live/dmaHAgopDQY?si=Ie5MjuUqTVbjGu23

https://www.youtube.com/live/YtCjb_LOd7Y?si=6_QA351a5MYDBm8r

https://www.youtube.com/live/LbJtqd2VtsA?si=i8Mf9oGavhL1L5kI

https://youtu.be/kTxgw-yAZek?si=LmxPMpq7e3J5oGau

https://www.youtube.com/live/HEdLmWdSVNc?si=LYHWESrEzJLvwJmZ

https://youtu.be/MyEdiF6q_BI?si=kxGraGUhuoWs2dax

https://www.youtube.com/live/2o2kBeNu8Cg?si=HpV0Bbbv9SolOxGf

Poujade's and Piétri's books on traditional Vietnamese boats: free dowloads

Blocks and pulleys onVietnamese sailboats. From Sailboats of Indochina (Voiliers d'Indochine) by J. B. Piétri. 

Thanks to a contributor who wishes to remain anonymous, I'm delighted to present two more works on the boats of Vietnam for free download: Sailboats of Indochina by J. B. Piétri, and Bateaux en Indochine by Jean Poujade. They join a page of other free downloads of books on Chinese and Southeast Asian watercraft.

Piétri was a fisheries officer for the French colonial government in Indochina, and he evidently travelled the coast intensively and documented everything he saw. His work, presented in English translation, is an encyclopaedic survey of boat types by geographic area, with detailed descriptions and fine illustrations of construction methods, fittings such as rigging details, achors, and rudders, and how each boat type is used. The French edition of 1949 (Voiliers d'Indochine) was translated by Stephanie Dumont and published by the Vietnam Wooden Boat Foundation, Port Townsend, Washington, in 2006. I have attempted unsuccessfully to contact the VWBF and the translator for permission to make the book available. I welcome the parties to contact me to discuss the matter. I will respect copyright requests by its current owner.

Poujade's shorter work, presented in the original French, consists of brief essays on a small selection of boat types, accompanied by pleasing drawings in pencil. Poujade was an officer in the maritime law department of the French colonial navy in the Far East.

A small Vietnamese fishing boat. From Bateaux en Indochine by Jean Poujade.

REVISION 12 FEBRUARY, 2024: Some readers are finding problems with the maritime terminology in the English translation of Petrie's Sailboats of Indochina (Voiliers d'Indochine) posted here. A translation that some find superior is avalable at reasonable cost on Lulu.com as an e-book and in paperback.

REVISION, 28 Nov. 2023: The French original of Piétri's work, Voiliers d'Indochine, is also available on this blog's download page.

Download Volume 2 of Worcester's Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze

Miao-Ch'uan boat, from Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze, Vol. 2, G.R.G. Worcester

Now available for free download is Volume 2 of G.R.G. Worcester's huge and detailed work, Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze: The Craft of the Lower and Middle Yangtze and Tributaries. It joins Volume 1 and other books on Asian watercraft on our page of free downloads. 

Among the hundreds of craft included are the lovely Miao-Ch'uan or Miao boat (above). The one shown, at 47' LOA, beam ~5', and depth 2', is a typical size for the type. Although slender and graceful, they are heavily built on eight bulkheads, for use in rapids. During downstream travel, control is maintained with the long bow sweep; to move upstream, the craft is tracked with a line fixed to the short mast. They were used to carry cargoes of beans, cotton, yarn, and gypsum, and by hog farmers to carry pigs, meat, manure and feed.

The tiny double sampan below, a little more than 5' long and 5' broad, was used by fishermen on calm waters, using a long-handled net to scoop up fish between the twin hulls. It was light enough to pick up and carry home at the end of the day.

Ichang "Water Shoes", from Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze, Vol. 2, G.R.G. Worcester

Download G.R.G. Worcester's "Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze, Vol. 1"

A skiff propelled by a yulow, or stern sculling oar. From Worcester, G.R.G., The Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze, Vol.1 (1947).

Now available for free download is G.R.G.Worcester's monumental study The Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze (1947), Volume 1: Introduction: and Craft of the Estuary and Shanghai Area. It contains lengthy descriptions of an amazing number of boat and ship types and dozens of plates of very clean construction plans similar to the one above, although most are of larger vessels. The Introduction details propulsion methods, rigging arrangements (like the image below), rudder configurations, anchors and other fittings.  

Details of spritsail rigging. From Worcester, G.R.G., The Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze, Vol.1 (1947).

Download Farrère and Fouqueray's Rare "Jonques et Sampans" Free

"Le Port de Saigon", from Jonques et Sampans, p.28 (of PDF)

 

Now available for free download is Jonques et Sampans by Claude Farrère and Charles Fouqueray. The valuable, hand-painted limited edition (500 copies) book, published in 1945, was scanned and made available to us by a generous enthusiast who wishes to remain anonymous. 

The text of Jonques et Sampans is in French and is less technical than the other books on our free downloads page. It describes watercraft in China, Indochina, and Singapore and is illustrated with dozens of beautiful watercolors.

 

Small craft in Hue, from Jonques et Sampans, p.75 (of PDF)

Coastal Vessels of Thailand - Free Book Download

Now available for free download is the Green Book of Coastal Vessels of Thailand, published in 1967 by a joint Thai-U.S. military research group as an identification guide and instruction manual for interdiction of boats engaged in weapons smuggling, sabotage, spying, and similar activities. It joins other books on our page of free downloads, including The Junk Blue Book: A Handbook of Junks of South Vietnam, which was written for much the same purpose.

The scan was made available by a generous enthusiast who wishes to remain anonymous.

Published in both English and Thai in a single volume, The Green Book was the result of a survey of thousands of coastal vessels. A typology of 14 categories was compiled, into which dozens of specific examples were placed. Each example is shown on two pages in photos and a profile silhouette, as shown below, plus a map of typical locations -- because boats not in their accustomed locations were considered suspicious. There is also information about shipboard activities, fishing methods, crewing, smuggling methods, and much more to help military personnel identify boats engaged in unauthorised activities.

Two pages of description and images of one boat type from Green Book of Coastal Vessels of Thailand.

Download Audemard's "History of the Junk" Free

A Chinese ship shaped like a dragon. From L. Audemard, Les Jonques Chinoises, vol. 1, plate 29. 

And the first shall be last.

Now available for free download is the first volume of L. Audemard's 10-volume series, Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 1: Histoire de la Jonque (1957). Volumes 2-10 are also available on this page.

With the exception of the photographic portrait of Capt. Audemard, below, all the illustrations are from historical Chinese sources, like the one at the top of this post. Like the other volumes in the series, the book is in French.

The series was published by the Museum Voor Land en Volkenkunde and Miritiem Museum "Prins Hendrik", which have given us permission to post them. Scans were made available by a generous enthusiast who wishes to remain anonymous.

Capitaine de Frégate L. Audemard. From volume 1 of his series Les Jonques Chinoises.

Boats of Vietnam and China's East Coast - free book downloads

Vietnamese "three plank canoe" (i.e., sampan) of stitched construction, used in shallow and rocky tributaries of the Mekong River. From Audemard, Les Jonques Chinoises, vol. 10, plate 42.

Now available for download are two more volumes of the series Les Jonques Chinoises, by L. Audemard:

Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 9: Côtes Est (east coasts), 1970. 

Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 10: Indochine (Indochina [i.e., Vietnam]), 1971

Both are in French and full of wonderful illustrations showing the vast range of traditional watercraft types of these regions. For non-French speakers, Google Translate makes it easy enough to make sense of the text concerning any boat that piques your curiosity. 

The volumes were published by the Museum Voor Land en Volkenkunde and Miritiem Museum "Prins Hendrik", which have given us permission to post them here. Scans were made available to us by an enthusiast who wishes to remain anonymous. Several other volumes in this series are available on the same page; all are free downloads.

A fisherman's raft from the island of Amoy, built of 5-6 bamboo stems about 2m long, tied with cords of bamboo fiber. From Audemard, Les Jonques Chinoises, vol. 9, plate 78.

Watercraft on Lower Yang Tse River and China's Coast - Free Downloads

A duck hatchery boat. From Audemard, L., Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 6, Plate 76. See main text for further desription.

Three more volumes of the series Les Jonques Chinoises, by L. Audemard are now available in two free downloads:

Vol. 6: Bas Yang Tse Kiang, 1965. Tremendous variety of boats and ships on the lower Yang Tse. One of my favorites is the duck hatchery vessel illustrated above. Here's Google Translate's version of part of the description:

"These boats must be ranked among the most original designs in the chosen industry. They are found on most rivers and streams, along the sheltered coasts, mainly in the province of Kouan-tung where duck breeding is practiced with prodigious intensity for the sale of eggs which China exports in considerable quantity in all parts of the world.

"These are wide and spacious boats where the ducks occupy a privileged place under a vast shelter covered with mats extending over the greater part of the deck, while the owner and his family skirt aft, in a small hut. A slanted board at the front serves as a walkway for the ducks to descend into the water."

Vols. 7 and 8: Côtes Nord et Sud de la Chine, 1969. Two volumes published in a single tome. Volume 7 is junks of the north coast of China; Volume 8 is junks of the south coast. As might be expected, most of the vessels illustrated and described are ships, but there are a fair number of small craft too.

The volumes were published by the Museum Voor Land en Volkenkunde and Miritiem Museum "Prins Hendrik", which have given us permission to post them here. Scans were made available to us by an enthusiast who wishes to remain anonymous. Like the other volumes in this series, the books are in French.

Hiking out on a small, two-masted coastal vessel. It's interesting to see that not all "junks" are junk-rigged. From Audemard, L., Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 8, Plate 26. 

Audemard's Chinese Junks: Free Downloads of Two New Volumes

Crooked stern junk on the Yangtse River. Plate 30 from Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 5, Haut Yang Tse Kiang, by L. Audemard, 1963

Now available for free download are two more volumes of the series Les Jonques Chinoises, by L. Audemard:

Vol. 4: Description des Jonques, 1962. This volume is a statistical survey of junks in China -- where they were, in what numbers, of what capacity, etc. The only graphics are maps.

Vol. 5: Haut Yang Tse Kiang, 1963. This volume describes not only the boats themselves on the upper Yangtse River, but also pays considerable attention to their usage, including propulsion (especially man-hauling), sleeping arrangements, provisioning, etc. Many surprising vessel types illustrated, including stitched/sewn craft, dugout canoes, rafts, and the intriguing crooked-stern junk shown above. So many wonderful illustrations that it was difficult to choose only two for this post.

The volumes were published by the Museum Voor Land en Volkenkunde and Miritiem Museum "Prins Hendrik", which have given us permission to post them here. Scans were made available to us by an enthusiast who wishes to remain anonymous. Like the other volumes in this series, the books are in French.

Enjoy!

Preparing a meal on a junk. Plate 5 from Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 5, Haut Yang Tse Kiang, by L. Audemard, 1963

Decoration of Chinese Junks - Free Download

Decorative motifs on Chinese junks. From Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 3: Ornementation et Types by L. Audemard. Plate 60.

Now available for free download is Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 3: Ornementation et Types, by L. Audemard, published in 1960 by the Museum Voor Land en Volkenkunde and Miritiem Museum "Prins Hendrik", which have given us permission to post it here. Scans were made available to us by an enthusiast who wishes to remain anonymous. 

Like Vol. 2: Construction de la Jonque, which we posted last week, the work is in French but is worthwhile to anyone interested in traditional Chinese watercraft on account of its wonderful illustrations. And of course Google Translate is available to help non-Francophones understand the text. 

We plan to steadily add more resources to our page of free downloads of books about boats of China and Southeast Asia.

Launching ceremony for a small boat, with small ribbons inscribed with propitious text on the transom, and incense burning fore and aft. From Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 3: Ornementation et Types by L. Audemard. Plate 88.

Construction of Chinese Junks - New Resource Available

"Construction d'une jonque, Haute Yang tse", from Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 2: Construction de la Jonque  by L. Audemard 

Thanks to a contributor who wishes to remain anonymous, I am happy to present the first in a new batch of books about Chinese and Southeast Asian boats available for free download. The first title is Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 2: Construction de la Jonque, by frigate captain L. Audemard, published in 1959 by the Museum Voor Land en Volkenkunde and Miritiem Museum "Prins Hendrik", which have given us permission to post it here.

Audemard's work (i.e., "Chinese Junks: Junk Construction") joins The Junk Blue Book: A Handbook of Junks of South Vietnam, which has been available here for years, on a new page of downloads. We will periodically add more titles to the new page, all made available by the same anonymous contributor.

I encourage anyone interested in the vernacular boats of Asia to take a look at Les Jonques Chinoises Vol. II. Even if you don't read French, the illustrations should make it well worth the visit.

Two images from Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 2: Construction de la Jonque  by L. Audemard