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Saturday, February 2, 2008

The Whale Hunters Of Lamalera




The whale hunters of Indonesia is a traditional but poorly known group of seafarers. Subsidence hunting of whales is an old practice in parts of Indonesia with records dating back more than 200 years. Today,this tradition is continued at two villages : Lamalera on Pulau Lembata and Lamakera on nearby Pulau Solor, East of Flores.
The village of Lamalera in Indonesia is the last place on earth where sperm whales are hunted by hand from small wooden boats. Age-old beliefs remain strong in Lamalera - the success or failure of the hunt depends, the villagers believe, on the whims of ancestral spirits.

When one is spotted,the crew frantically races after the whale, evaluating its size.I it is too large, or the boat is to far out from shore, the chase may be called off. If not,however, the prahu crew close in on their quarry and, standing in the prow of the boat, the harpooner hurls himself into the waterin pursuit, plunging a simple harpoon deep into the animal's body.Sharks, particularly the the large whale shark, manta rays and other larfe fish such as marlin are also captured in the same way. Every part of the prize is used, from teeth to flesh.
It is carefully divided up, according to custom, between the members of the crew of the day and those responsible for the building and maintenance of the boats.
In addition, they usually go underwater to get pearls from the oysters near there.The pearl oysters are still collected by a team of divers in what is a hazardus and increasingly more difficult task as oysters become scarce and divers are forced to spend more time underwater.


Vocabulary:

prow: the forepart of a ship or boat; bow.


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From,
Alvin ©




[9:28 AM]


Posted at 9:28 AM, 15 Comment(s)


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