# Trepanging > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Trepanging > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Trepanging.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trepanging > Source revision: 1352245859 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Collecting or harvesting sea cucumbers}} {{Distinguish|Trepanning}} [[File:macassan prau.jpg|thumb|right|280px|A [Makassarese](/source/Makassar) wooden [sailboat](/source/sailboat) or ''[prau](/source/prau)'' of the type trepangers have used for centuries]] '''Trepanging''' is the act of collecting or harvesting [sea cucumber](/source/sea_cucumber)s ({{Langx|id|trepang}}, {{Langx|ms|těripang}}) that are [used as food](/source/sea_cucumbers_as_food). The collector, or fisher, of {{lang|id|trepang}} is a '''trepanger'''. Trepanging is comparable to [clamming](/source/clam_digging), [crabbing](/source/crab_fisheries), [lobstering](/source/lobster_fishing), [mussel](/source/mussel)ing, [shrimping](/source/shrimp_fishery) and other forms of "[fishing](/source/fisherman)" whose goal is the acquisition of edible [invertebrate](/source/invertebrate)s rather than [fish](/source/fish). == History == {{See also|History of fishing}} [[File:Haisom Cah Jamur 2.JPG|thumb|right|''Haisom cah jamur'', [Chinese Indonesian](/source/Chinese_Indonesian_cuisine) sea cucumber with mushroom]] To supply the markets of [Southern China](/source/northern_and_southern_China), [Makassarese](/source/Makassarese_people) trepangers traded with the [Aboriginal Australians](/source/Aboriginal_Australians) of [Arnhem Land](/source/Arnhem_Land) from at least the 18th century and likely considerably earlier.{{Cite news |date=2014-06-24 |title=When Islam came to Australia |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27260027 |access-date=2024-07-07 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} This [Makassan contact with Australia](/source/Makassan_contact_with_Australia) is the first recorded example of interaction between the inhabitants of the [Australia](/source/Australia)n continent and their Asian neighbours.{{cite book|isbn=0-522-84088-4|last=MacKnight |first=CC |year=1976|title= The Voyage to Marege: Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia|publisher= Melbourne University Press}} This contact had a major [impact on the Indigenous Australians](/source/Makassan_contact_with_Australia). The Makassarese exchanged goods such as [cloth](/source/cloth), [tobacco](/source/tobacco), [knives](/source/knife), [rice](/source/rice) and [alcohol](/source/alcoholic_beverage) for the right to trepang coastal waters and employ local labour. Makassar [pidgin](/source/pidgin) became a {{lang|la|[lingua franca](/source/lingua_franca)}} along the north coast among different Indigenous Australian groups who were brought into greater contact with each other by the seafaring Makassan culture. Archeological remains of Makassan contact, including trepang processing plants from the 18th and 19th centuries, are still found at Australian locations such as [Port Essington](/source/Port_Essington) and [Groote Eylandt](/source/Groote_Eylandt), and the Makassar-planted [tamarind](/source/tamarind) trees (native to [Madagascar](/source/Madagascar) and [East Africa](/source/East_Africa)). == Methods == Slow-moving creatures related to [sea star](/source/sea_star)s and [sea urchin](/source/sea_urchin)s, sea cucumbers are found on the [sea floor](/source/sea_floor). As such, trepanging is accomplished by [spear](/source/spear)ing, [diving](/source/underwater_diving), [dredging](/source/dredging) or simply picking the animals up by hand when they are exposed at [low tide](/source/low_tide). Traditionally, sea cucumbers were placed in [boiling water](/source/Boiling) before being [dried](/source/drying_(food)) and [smoked](/source/smoking_(cooking)) before going to market. == Commerce == {{Main|Sea cucumbers as food}} [[File:Yokohama Chinese Medicine Sea cucumber 2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[Dried](/source/Drying_(food)) [sea cucumber](/source/Holothuroidea) in a [traditional Chinese medicine](/source/traditional_Chinese_medicine) emporium in [Yokohama](/source/Yokohama), Japan]] Trepanging is an economically important activity in some areas, particularly [Southeast Asia](/source/Southeast_Asia). Sea cucumber is considered a delicacy in [Far East](/source/Far_East)ern countries such as [China](/source/China), [Indonesia](/source/Indonesia), [Japan](/source/Japan), and [Malaysia](/source/Malaysia). Besides being valued for flavour-enhancing properties, sea cucumber is widely regarded as a [stimulant](/source/stimulant) and [aphrodisiac](/source/aphrodisiac). There is evidence that its reputed [medicinal](/source/medicine) properties may be true.{{cite journal|title=Fatty acid compositions in local sea cucumber, ''Stichopus chloronotus,'' for wound healing|author=B. D. Fredalina |author2=B. H. Ridzwan |author3=A. A. Zainal Abidin |author4=M. A. Kaswandi |author5=H. Zaiton |author6=I. Zali |author7=P. Kittakoop |author8=A. M. Mat Jais |journal=General Pharmacology|volume=33|issue=4|date=October 1999|pages=337–340|doi=10.1016/S0306-3623(98)00253-5|pmid=10523072}} Based upon the belief in the healing properties of sea cucumber, [pharmaceutical](/source/pharmaceutical_company) and [cosmetics](/source/cosmetics) companies have developed pills, oils, and creams based on extracts. The effectiveness of sea cucumber extract in tissue repair has been the subject of scientific study.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019|reason=removed citation to predatory publisher content}} == Art == Although some historians dates the start of the trepang industry to 1720, Regina Ganter of Griffith University suggests that the start of the industry may be around 1640. Artistic evidence, like the Arnhem land rock, also suggests that contact may go as far back as the 1500s.{{cite book|title=China and the Beginning of Australian History|author=Ganter, Regina|url=https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/server/api/core/bitstreams/434136a3-b7fc-58e4-a933-eb0f6769cb99/content}} The land rock depicts the extensive boat voyages that spanned thousands of miles around the Australian cost line. The north-west monsoon, which arrived each December, also dictated the semi-permanent locations where the Makassan people would settle. These images likely contribute to narrative stories, which are associated with the ancestral story telling tradition of the indigenous people of Arnhem Land. Artist Nandabitta Maminyamandja (1911 - 1981) of the [Anindilyakwa people](/source/Anindilyakwa_people) painted Macassan [prau](/source/prau) and trepang curing in 1974.{{cite web|title=Groote Island Bark Painting|author=Richard Aldridge|date=21 November 2023 |url=https://www.energymining.sa.gov.au/industry/minerals-and-mining/exploration/exploration-licensing}} This work is natural pigments on eucalyptus bark and is now on display in the [National Gallery of Australia](/source/National_Gallery_of_Australia).{{cite web|url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/trade-with-the-makasar|title=Trade with the Makasar}} The subject matter includes the communication that the trepanging industry fostered, most importantly early trade interactions. In 1883, the trepanging trade started to decline with the South Australian governments implementation of the trepanging license.{{cite web|title=Exploration Licensing|author=Government of South Australia|date=21 November 2023 |url=https://www.energymining.sa.gov.au/industry/minerals-and-mining/exploration/exploration-licensing}} Trepanging-related art work was consistent with the influx of missionaries into the area, as there was a greater demand for secular stories. The missionaries did not encourage the production of ceremonial stories, and they established clear regulations around the subject matter that was depicted and distributed. Therefore, the narrative elements of the Makassan people harvesting sea cucumbers, engaging in the production process, and starting to trade, was culturally educational and desirable for the art market.{{cite book|author=GEORGE CHALOUPKA|title=PRAUS IN MAREGE: MAKASSAN SUBJECTS IN ABORIGINAL ROCK ART OF ARNHEM LAND, NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA}} == See also == {{portal|Food|Indonesia|Oceans}} * [Carronade Island](/source/Carronade_Island) * [Gamat](/source/Gamat) * [Makassan contact with Australia](/source/Makassan_contact_with_Australia) * [MOU Box](/source/MOU_Box) * [Padewakang](/source/Padewakang), a type of perahu used by trepangers * [Patorani](/source/Patorani), another type of perahu used by trepangers * [Pobasso](/source/Pobasso) * [Sama-Bajau peoples](/source/Sama-Bajau) == References == {{reflist}} {{Austronesian ships}} {{Commercial fish topics}} {{Fisheries and fishing}} Category:Fishing techniques and methods Category:History of Australia before 1788 Category:Echinoderms and humans Category:Sea cucumbers as food Category:18th century in Australia --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Trepanging](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trepanging) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trepanging?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.