A Balinese Jukung (photos by Colin Reedy)
The following text and images are by my old friend Colin Reedy, who has been making an extended excursion by scooter throughout the countryside of western Bali. Colin is a Seattle-based designer and adventurer, who recently completed an expedition down the Mekong River by kayak. Thanks Colin!
Balinese Jukung by Colin Reedy
Living the past 18 years in the Pacific Northwest brought me familiarity with a wide range of watercraft: sailboats, kayaks, runabouts, tugs, and numerous types of fishing boats. Each vesselʼs lines and design details clearly communicate itʼs purpose. I feel like I understand the language of boats at a glance but always enjoy improving my fluency by discovering new parts and nautical systems with curious functions. Traveling through a different culture brings a flood of observations in everyday life, but I especially appreciate how a culture designs and builds its boats.
No boat Iʼd seen around Seattle prepared me for my first glance at a Balinese “jukung”. Iʼm not sure which hit me first, the bright gaudy colors or the odd proportions of a narrow hull and spindly outriggers, called ʻamasʼ. Hundreds of these boats crouch on Baliʼs beaches like insects having just crawled out of the sea. And like just about everything else in Bali, the jukung boats are spiritual entities whose creation and use follow long established traditional practices.
On a recent scooter-powered road trip around western Bali, I took a spontaneous turn off the main road in search of a route to the black sand beaches not far in the distance. These little side wanders thru rural village alleys, rice fields, and even footpaths often lead to good discoveries and chance encounters. This wander didnʼt get me to the beach, but dead-ended at the bank of a shallow river where five men worked around the construction of a new jukung.
