What did Makassar people trade?
The Makasar traded with Aboriginal people for trepang (sea cucumber), which they later sold to China. They didn’t settle in Arnhem Land, but they did have an influence on the local Yolŋu people’s society and culture.
What ended the Macassan trade?
While there were also contacts with the Kimberley coast, as Macknight points out, this trade has always been more complex, in regard of both the products collected and the home ports of the vessels involved. This well-defined industry came to an end when the last prau returned from the Arnhem Land coast in early 1907.
Where did the macassans come from?
There are several under-explored areas in the scholarship on the so-called ‘Macassans’, the trepang fishers of diverse ethnicity originating from the Sulawesi port of Makassar who voyaged to the coastline of northern Australia to fish for trepang, also known as sea cucumber, from at least 1720 to the 1906/7 season.
How did the macassans get to Australia?
In large and regular fleets of wooden sailing vessels, known as prau (also spelled in Indonesian and the lingua franca of the region, Malay, as ‘perahu’), the Macassans sailed to Australia with the northwest monsoon each December and returned to their home port of Makassar with the southeast trade winds around March or …
What would Aboriginals trade?
Tobacco, alcohol, calico, fabrics, rice, and knives were among the items introduced to Arnhem Land through the trading partnership. During that time, language between the cultures evolved to include hundreds of shared words, such as rupiah (money) and balanda (white man).
Why were Aboriginal trade routes so long?
The extensive travel that trade required meant that Aboriginal people had a vast knowledge of the world in which they lived, far beyond their direct locality. They used knowledge of the stars to guide them on long journeys; and had understandings of places that they did not have direct experience of.
Who were the Macassan fishers?
The history and heritage of the Macassan fishers form an important chapter of Australia’s history. They have also played a role in the history of Indonesia and the Southeast Asian region, not to mention East Asia.
What did the Yolngu think of the Macassan fishermen?
While undoubtedly the sight of Macassan fishermen was originally a shock to the Yolngu, they soon learned to trade peacefully. “My grandfather used to tell the story about Macassan people, when they came to Bawaka. They seen the Macassan people, they thought it was spirit.
Is there evidence of Makassan fishing in Australia?
There is significant evidence of contact with Makassan fishers in rock art and bark painting of northern Australia, with the Makassan perahu a prominent feature. The heritage-listed Wurrwurrwuy stone arrangements at Yirrkala depict aspects of Makassan trepanging including details of the vessel’s internal structures.
Who were the Macassans at Port Essington?
Macassans at Victoria, Port Essington, 1845, by HS Melville, published in The Queen, 8 February 1862. Contact between Australia and Asia pre-dates European settlement. From at least 1700 until 1907, hundreds of fishermen sailed each year from Makassar on the island of Sulawesi (now Indonesia) to the Arnhem Land coast, an area they called Marege.