
Bigiw is a small
double-outrigger sailboat native to the islands of
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
(particularly in the
Island Garden City of Samal
Samal, officially the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCOS; ; ) is a component city in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 116,771 people.
It is made up of Samal Island and the s ...
),
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, a ...
, and
Palawan
Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. It is used for personal transport or small-scale fishing and can hold one to three people. It is traditionally propelled by sails and steered with a single oar, but is commonly motorized in modern times. It can also be paddled. The sail type used is predominantly triangular
crab claw sail
The crab claw sail is a fore-and-aft triangular sail with spars along upper and lower edges. The crab claw sail was first developed by the Austronesian peoples by at least 2000 BCE. It is sometimes known as the Oceanic lateen or the Oceanic ...
s (''banog pindang''), but it can also use
spritsail
The spritsail is a four-sided, fore-and-aft sail that is supported at its highest points by the mast and a diagonally running spar known as the sprit. The foot of the sail can be stretched by a boom or held loose-footed just by its sheets. A ...
s or
tanja sail
Tanja sail ( Malay: ''layar tanjak'') or tanja rig is a type of sail commonly used by the Austronesian people, particularly in Maritime Southeast Asia. It is also known as the tilted square sail, canted rectangular sail, rectangular balance lug ...
s.
Bigiw is similar to the
vinta
The vinta is a traditional outrigger boat from the Philippine island of Mindanao. The boats are made by Sama-Bajau, Tausug and Yakan peoples living in the Sulu Archipelago, Zamboanga peninsula, and southern Mindanao. It is also made by t ...
and other small Philippine outrigger boats (''
bangka''), but differs in that its prow and stern are not open or covered by flat decks but is uniquely knife-like and sharply-pointed. They are named after the ''bigiw'', the local name for
needlefish
Needlefish (family Belonidae) or long toms are piscivorous fishes primarily associated with very shallow marine habitats or the surface of the open sea. Some genera include species found in marine, brackish, and freshwater environments (e.g., ...
, due to its shape.
See also
*
Vinta
The vinta is a traditional outrigger boat from the Philippine island of Mindanao. The boats are made by Sama-Bajau, Tausug and Yakan peoples living in the Sulu Archipelago, Zamboanga peninsula, and southern Mindanao. It is also made by t ...
*
Paraw
Paraw (also spelled ''parao'') are various double outrigger sail boats in the Philippines. It is a general term (similar to the term '' bangka'') and thus can refer to a range of ship types, from small fishing canoes to large merchant lashe ...
References
Sailboat types
Indigenous ships of the Philippines
Multihulls
Outrigger canoes
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