MANILA, Philippines - The balangay is alive, and it's raring to sail across the mighty seas.

Today, July 16, the wooden balangay "Sama Tawi-Tawi" will be launched in Butuan City and will join two other balangays, "Diwata ng Lahi" and "Masawa Hong Butuan" in Zamboanga City for an expedition across South East Asia and then to China on July 26.

Balangays "Diwata ng Lahi" and "Masawa Hong Butuan" will rendezvous with a third balangay, "Sama Tawi-Tawi", for a voyage across Southeast Asia and China. Credit: Agatep Associates

The 14,000-kilometer voyage will take the balangays to Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and China before going back to the Philippines.

The previous Philippine leg of the voyage covered 2,500 kilometers and lasted for 8 months. It started in Manila on September 1 last year and arrived in Zamboanga City last May 1 after 70 multi-port stopovers. “The stops,” said voyage leader Arturo Valdez, “helped rekindle maritime consciousness among the local population. “

Members of the First Philippine Mount Everest Expedition team of the Kaya ng Pinoy Foundation will be manning the balangays.

They are expected to reach Vietnam in time for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in September this year.

They are also expected to dock in mainland China by mid-October for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. The Philippines has a pavilion in the Shanghai Expo until October.

Once extinct, the wooden balangay, the mode of transportation of Filipino ancestors in ancient times, is sailing again in an effort to retrace the migration of Filipinos in the South Pacific.

The all-wooden balangay was the mode of transportation of ancient Filipinos. Credit: Agatep Associates

“We want the balangays to not only be the source of unity for the country, but also as a source of unity for the whole of Asia,” added Valdez.

The balangay was used by Southeast Asians in trading with China. “We want to commemorate this through the balangays’ new voyage,” Valdez said.

The international leg of the voyage is being sponsored by Tao Corporation, Agatep Associates, Team Ventures, Holcim and Jollibee.

Balangay roots

In 1976, a relic of a balangay was found in Butuan, and when subjected to carbon dating, it was found to be 1,600 years old.

In an effort to retrace the migration of our ancestors across the seas, the Kaya ng Pinoy Foundation launched the Balangay Voyage using a native balangay built according to the craftsmanship and using materials available during ancient times.

Organizers said the voyage aims to showcase and challenge Filipino ingenuity and native survival skills in this modern age by using natural seafaring technology.