Feb 26 – Ujung Padang/Makassar, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. This is another new port and island for us so here comes my obligatory restatement of the major things I've learned about the area.
Makassar is the capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is the largest city on Sulawesi Island in terms of population number and the sixth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, and Semarang. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably. The port is on the Makassar Strait not far from the town. The population is over 1 million.
Beginning in the 1500s, Makassar was the largest area of commerce in eastern Indonesia, and soon became one of the largest cities in the Southeast Asian islands. The Makassar kings understood the value of free trade and allowed anyone to do business here. The Dutch wanted to establish a monopoly over the city and the Kings refused to allow it.
Spices were important all during the known history of the island of Sulawesi. This caused tension and occasional hostilities between the locals and various foreign powers for control of the spice trade. During the past up to the end of the colonial period the spices from this region were much in demand in the west. Their ideas of free trade extended to freedom of religion. As Islam became the majority religion in the area, Christians and Hindus were still able to worship and do business here. As a result of this openness, Makassar was a key center for Malaysians active in the spice trade, as well as a reliable port of transfer for both European and Arab traders from much from more distant places.
The first Europeans to live here were Portuguese sailors. When the Portuguese first got to Sulawesi in the early 1500s, they found a bustling port where Chinese, Arabs, Indians, Siamese, Javanese, and Malays came to trade their manufactured metal goods and textiles for pearls, gold, copper, camphor and spices (nutmeg, cloves and mace imported from the interior and the neighboring Spice Islands of Maluku). By the 16th century, the powerful Gowa and Tallo sultanates were in control of the area. They built 11 forts and a fortified sea wall along the coast.
When the Dutch arrived in the 1600s they displaced the Portuguese. By the middle 1600s their aim of establishing complete control over the spice trade was well underway. They captured the fort in Makassar and renamed it Fort Rotterdam. With that as their headquarters they took control of the Gowa Sultanate and forced the Sultan to live in exile. By the 1800s, after the Java War they took the prince prisoner and confined him in Fort Rotterdam until his death.
While the Dutch controlled the coastline, it was not until the early 20th century that they gained power over the interior of the south through a series of treaties with local rulers. The Japanese did take the area in in World War II.
The city is southern Sulawesi's primary port, with regular domestic and international shipping connections. It is nationally famous as an important port of call for the Pinisi boats, sailing ships which are among the last in use for regular long-distance trade. These boats are made in the south of the island and are much in demand worldwide for diving and commercial sailing.
On to the touring. We were welcomed on the pier by a group of youthful Sulawesi dancers. They ranged in age from about 11-14. Half were dressed in orange, green and yellow; the others wore blue, purple and red. Their uniform consisted of solid color shirt and pants. Over the pants they wore a plaid sarong. On their heads they wore a peaked front cloth tied in back. They each had a dark black mustache drawn above their upper lip. There were many different styles; Fu Manchu, Mario the Plumber, Zapata, Charlie Chan and one little boy had, inadvertently I'm sure drawn a Hitler. To these mustaches some had added a little goatee or sideburns or both.
Our first stop was at the Pasar Terong Market. In some aspects this market was not unlike the many other market streets I've seen around the world. I differed in only one major aspect. Although the narrow lane was lined on both sides with vendors of all types and was packed with a multitude of shoppers it was also treated as a major thoroughfare by the driving public. A constant stream of bicycles, motorbikes, trishaws and, thankfully, small trucks were going both directions. You think they'd at least make it a one-way street. Add to this the small knots of tourists listening to guides and you have a major traffic jam in the offing. The best was when two of the small trucks met up going opposite directions. That brought the flow of traffic to a complete stand still for a while and allowed the shoppers to breathe a little easier. It's hard to pick out a really good rambutan when you're keeping one eye out for traffic.
The market was one of the best one's I've seen in the islands. The shops were all open air with a cover of tarps or umbrellas, but they were fairly large and certainly well stocked. Huge areas were set aside for bananas. They have at least a dozen separate varieties some of which are treated as vegetables and others as fruit. The distinction between the two groups is that the vegetables are cooked before eating, the fruit varieties are not.
Some shops only sold things that grow underground. The Jains would pass these by completely. Potatoes, yams, onion, garlic, taro root, ginger and the products made from them are all represented, as well as some things I did not readily recognize. The fruit vendors sold tapioca as well as coconuts, avocados, pineapples, rambutan, dragon fruit and others. There were egg shops; they have their own version of the 100-year-old Chinese egg. The noodle shops also sold tofu. The proprietor of one noodle shop was braiding her daughter's hair. I made motions that were meant to convey that her daughter had lots of very thick, lush hair. I'm not sure she understood until I picked up my hat and rubbed my bald head and then pointed at her daughter and make the patting a full head of hair gesture. She started laughing so hard she almost fell off her stool.
There were shops that only sold chilies. There were scads of varieties from very large to very small. I asked the lady which were the hottest. She gave me a shrug, which I took to mean 'I don't understand', not 'I don't know.' I opened my mouth and fanned it quickly with my hand. This produced an instant smile of understanding and she quickly pointed to the tiniest of peppers, which were stacked in an impressive pile near the front of her display. Must be very popular with the locals, confirming my belief that Indonesian cuisine should be very spicy. The fish vendors were also a one item store, albeit it a wide variety of types. One fish vendor also had shrimp.
Some shops did not specialize. These shops tended to have carrots in addition to beans, green onions, cabbages of many types, green beans, squash, cauliflower, broccoli, leeks and others as well as a few types of fruit, chilies, tomatoes, and corn on the cob. Only one shop was selling the dreaded durian. This large fruit tastes pretty good but the smell when you cut it open is not at all pleasant and lingers for a long time. In many places it's banned on public transport and in hotels.
In the market I came upon a group of Muslim school girls in their uniforms. They were watching the tourists pretty closely and I wanted to get a candid shot. It wasn't easy because all five of them were very curious about all these pale people in their market. One girl said something that caused almost every one to turn to look at her and that was my chance. Not a perfect shot, but it is candid.
The motorists that were cutting through the market seemed to have a good attitude about the snarled traffic. Horns were not beeped and if you made eye contact with one or the drivers or passengers you almost always got a smile and a wave. One man driving a three-wheeled motorcycle-truck with a gigantic load of onions both smiled and waved as he scooted by in a rare break in the traffic.
Driving through town to our next destination we passed a group of Christian school girls (Where are all the school boys? Probably in detention!). They wore nothing on their heads, had white short sleeved shirts with a light maroon design on them, solid pleated skirts of the same maroon color and white socks with either black or maroon sneakers. I know they weren't standard because they varied in size and style but each of them had a backpack with the Disney princesses on it in that pink color that little girls the world over love at one time or another. Actually for style it was the Catholic school girl look that in the USA only more colorful than most.
Next stop, Fort Rotterdam. If you've visited any of the colonial area forts of the northeastern USA you've seen a fort much like this one. The corners of the fort extend away from the fort's walls in a diamond shape that allows them to fire on people trying to scale the forts walls at any point. It is not symmetrical like Fort Ticonderoga, because the extensions at the corners are not uniform and they also built an extension in the center of the front wall. The model in the museum shows the fort as it is today. Over the years more buildings were added, the last were built during Japanese occupation in the early '40s. All the building have tile roofs in deep red and the trim of the windows and doors is painted the same color. The exterior walls are a very pale yellow.
The way it is configured now there's no room for a parade ground and maybe there never was one. I don't know if the Dutch were a big on that sort of thing as the British. They did have an execution platform on one side of the fort. The King of Gowa built the first version of the fort in 1545 and it was the last one standing when the other forts in the area were destroyed in 1669. It was taken over and renamed by the Dutch, but retired from its military role in 1937. Now, the Fort Rotterdam Foundation maintains it for cultural purposes. Two of the long buildings are occupied by the La Galigo Museum. It has artifacts from the forts history as well as some cultural artifacts and replicas of the dress of various local people.
They had a table set up with some local snacks and soda or water. Nearby a local group of men was demonstrating the art of wicker ball kicking. There were six on them and they took turns keeping the ball alive. At one point three of them kept the ball airborne while the three others formed a standing pyramid. When they were set the ball was kicked up to the top man and he performed some tricks including passing the ball to the men on the ground while the other three formed a similar pyramid and then the two top guys kicked the ball back and forth between each other. All this was accompanied by two drummers. The snacks were good and the water cold.
We encountered another group of school girls. These appeared to be high school age. A candid shot was not possible so a group shot was taken. The uniform was obviously Muslim but two of the girls were not wearing a head covering. Maybe their families are in a more liberal sect or they could just be rebels.
I took a look in both sides of the museum. Most of the exhibits were not well interpreted but the indigenous people's costumes were interesting. They had some models of the Phinisi schooners made on the island and in use all over the world.
We stopped for a short time at the Jalan Somba Opu shopping strip. This is actually a street lined with stores on each side. Most have open fronts, some have walls with doors. The main thing on sale here is gold and lots of it. They also had some more general stores that sold batik, sarongs, watches and other souvenirs. No one was much interested in buying so we all pretty much looked around. Diana's been looking for a batik shirt with no luck and that didn't improve here.
Our next stop was in Paotere, a small harbor just outside the city proper where the Phinisi schooners operate from. These ironwood sailing ships are built by the Buginese people in the extreme south of Sulawesi. They have a very wide beam and a high bow that sweeps back to a rounded stern. There's a substantial two story structure at the back that serves and pilot house and residence for the captain and his family and sailors. These ships are not automated and are sailed as ships have been sailed for centuries. They are equipped with an auxiliary engine for close maneuvering and making way when there's no wind. They are schooner rigged so they can sail almost into the wind if necessary.
They have a separate harbor because these boats are loaded in the traditional way. Men carrying very heavy and sometimes bulky loads walk on two by ten inch planks to get the ships loaded. If they are lucky and the ship gets a good berth they can carry the load to a raised platform where men with long poles can shove the cargo down a wooden slide onto the ship where others can pick it up and stow it. Of course this method is not useable for all types of cargo so much of the time it's walk the plank onto the ship with your load on your back.
We had a bit of spare time since the shopping stop was so short. The guide took us over to the other side of the long road and gave us a look at where the workers lived. They have a village mostly over the water on stilts with boardwalks along and in-between them. After speaking with one of the locals who was working on his boat he said it would be ok if we went down the ladder like stairway to the level of the housing to look around.
As soon as we got down to that level a crowd started to gather. Word spread quickly that some strange people were visiting. As is often the case the boys between the ages of 7 and 12 were the first to break the ice. They stood by us and smiled while looking us over. Someone would do something they thought was comical and then the fun starts. Kids were laughing and running and forming small groups to have their picture taken. D went to talk to a little girl who was staying on the sidelines. The girl responded to her and soon they were gesturing to each other like they were playing charades. I don't know if any communication was taking place but they were both having fun. I walked over and the little girl and D posed for a picture. She was so cute in what appeared to be her school uniform.
We were invited into their homes but I felt that was too much of an invasion so, while some went in, D and I stayed out with the kids. I'm sure we had more fun. The little girl's mom, dressed in a happy face t-shirt and skirt came over to talk to us. I say talk and that's what we did if pantomime counts. Actually the mom had some English, enough to tell us the girl was her daughter. We hope she understood enough to get that we thought her daughter was very sweet and pretty. The way she was smiling led me to believe she understood. Soon it was time for us to head to the ship. The best part of the day was the interaction with the kids and their parents.
Our entertainer was Kateryna Sychova, a Ukrainian violinist. She was outstanding and one of the youngest people to perform in the evening show. Her repertoire ran from classical to bluegrass. She performed the Midnight Sonata and Orange Blossom Special as well as some Irish tunes. She's a fairly tall, blond woman with a good figure and she knows how to dress and the lighting she needs to make that clear while you listen. In her opening she was lit from above and behind. When the lights came on you could only see her silhouette and the halo of her blond hair. The HALCats were dressed in black and they had a black curtain at the rear of the stage. She almost looked like she was floating in the air. The most striking entrance I think I've ever seen on a ship. When the lights came up from the front you could see that her dress was sequined royal blue. Pretty striking fully lit too.
