Most garay were built in the shipyards of Parang, Sulu in the late 18th century. During the early 19th century, Banguingui garay squadrons regularly plagued the straits of southern Palawan from the months of March to November each year. They raided coastal areas in northern Borneo for slaves as well as cut off trade into the Sultanate of Brunei. These attacks severely affected the economy of Brunei, leading to its decline. The Banguingui purportedly had a saying: "It is difficult to catch fish, but easy to catch Borneans."
Description
Garay were smaller, faster, and more maneuverable than the Iranunlanong warships. They had a much broader beam and a somewhat round hull with a shallow draft. They had a single tripod main-mast made of three bamboo poles, which was rigged with a large rectangular sail with tilted upper corners. They also had a foremast and sometimes a mizzenmast, which were rigged with smaller triangular crab claw sails. When the wind was heavy, the mainsail was lowered and only the foresail and the mizzen sails were set. They were also propelled by oars. Large garay could have around 30 to 60 oars, usually arranged into two banks, one on top of the other. They were rowed by either people belonging to the alipin caste, or by captured slaves. The hull was partially or fully decked. The deck was made of split bamboo slats, divided into square sections that could be removed as required. Most of the length of the ship was covered by a house-like structure roofed with nipa leaves. A raised platform over a clay stove was used for cooking. At the sides of the hull were overhanging catwalks, about in width. The ship did not have a central rudder, but had two steering oars located near the stern. The largest garay were around long and could carry up to 80 men, but most garayaveraged at with around 60 men. Even smaller garay also existed with an average crew of 25 to 30 men. Large garay can serve as motherships to smaller salisipan, which could carry an additional 15 people. Garay were led by a nakura or nakuda who in turn is led by a squadron leader, the panglima. The julmuri is in charge of the crew and also controls the rudder. Another officer, the julbato stays at the prow of the ship and watches out for reefs and enemy ships. The julbato is also in charge of the anchor. Garay did not possess outriggers. Despite this fact, garay were commonly incorrectly referred to as prahu or proa in historical records. However, the projecting catwalks can function as a sort of outrigger in instances where the hull was flooded, keeping the ship afloat. In Malay, Javanese, and Portuguese sources, garay are also sometimes referred to as penjajap. This term, however, referred specifically to penjajap, very long and narrow warships used mostly in Nusantara. They differed from garay in the width of their beams, and the fact that large penjajap usually had outriggers and two layar tanja sails. Garay were also sometimes referred to generically as panco.
Role
Garay were lightly-armed, in comparison to the lanong. They usually only had a single large cannon. While the lanong specialized in ship-to-ship combat, the garay was more suited to raiding coastal villages and attacking unarmed or lightly armed trade ships.
