ofthe SAME TREE

The Orang Laut raids extended as far east as the north coast of Java and
as far west as Ujung Salang (Junk Ceylon), but their primary hunting grounds
were the shores of the Straits of Melaka and the islands to the south. In February,
March, and April, the Orang Laut collected edible seaweed for the China
market. By June, with the change of monsoons and the onset of fine weather,
they set off in different directions grouped according to individual settlement
units or by suku. A group normally consisted of about twenty boats, each capable
of carrying about a hundred people, though even larger expeditions have
been recorded. Some notion of the scale of these Orang Laut raiding activities
can be obtained from a 1669 Dutch report, which claimed that the Jambi
Orang Laut alone had seized and brought back more than twenty-five hundred
people. The Orang Laut then returned to their respective settlements in October
to await more favorable weather in February to resume a new cycle. 57
The valuable service performed by the Orang Laut gave them considerable
leverage in their dealings with the Malayu lords. The rulers of the Malayu
kingdoms on both sides of the Straits of Melaka competed for the loyalty of the
Orang Laut and had to be ever vigilant in preventing their being “poached” by
a neighboring lord. One way the Malayu lords sought to strengthen their relationship
was in satisfying the desire of Orang Laut leaders for Malayu titles
and accoutrements of office to “legitimize” their activities. Equally important
was the assurance that the Malayu lord would provide a reliable market for
their goods. The turmoil that followed the 1699 regicide in Johor encouraged
some of the Orang Laut to abandon the usurping Bendahara family
and to seek new legitimation from the Palembang ruler. 58 After the upheaval
in Johor, Palembang’s stable marketplace would have been appealing to the
Orang Laut.
The valuable but at times volatile relationship between the Orang Laut
and the Malayu lords was part of the politics of the Straits of Melaka. The
Malayu kingdoms that bordered the straits were all reliant on the services
of the Orang Laut as guides for ships maneuvering through the dangerous
waterway or seeking a safe channel through treacherous sandbars and hidden
entrances to rivers leading to the Malayu royal capitals. This function of
the Orang Laut was perhaps the most valuable to the Malayu lords because
it assured that foreign traders would continue to patronize their ports and
therefore guarantee the prosperity of the polity. In addition, the Orang Laut
constituted the major naval force of the rulers and an important supplier of
export products and slaves. Understandably, therefore, there was a stiff rivalry
among the Malayu lords in the vicinity of the straits to seek the cooperation
of Orang Laut groups.
Raids on passing ships in the northern end of the Straits of Melaka would
have been conducted by the Urak Lawoik and the Moken, particularly in ear-
188 Chapter 6