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Indonesia - Lembata - Lamalera - Whale Hunters

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„Ba leo, ba leo! – Carry the rope!“ – yells the lookout guy on the village’s top, waving his white shirt maniacally to inform the seafaring crews to return as quickly as possible to get their whaling boats ready. This is the official call for a sperm whale hunt.

The "Leo" need to be blessed every now and then. It's a sacred rope, which will be attached to the bamboo harpoon. There is a deep connection from the Lamafa to the hook – if not usable anymore, we will keep it back home as a sacred token.

The clans inhabiting the tiny village of Lamalera, on the sunbaked Lembata island (Nusa Tenggara Timur Province) have been spearing and landing sperm whales by hand for at least six centuries. Their artisan subsistence whaling has overcome heavy missionary influence, the Japanese occupation of Lembata during World War II and a well-established Catholic education system. And because the Lamalerans have been doing this since the dawn of time, they carry on, even with a permission from the Indonesian government – as long as they hunt for their own consumption and not for commercial sale. Most of the fishing tradition dates back way before the transcontinental Republic of Indonesia even existed. Historical tales indicate that the Lamalerans originated from Sulawesi, where they waded out with nets for mackerel or other small fish; more experienced, they pushed off in boats and and captured bigger prey; and at last, launching a small fleet of sailing boats on the Banda Sea, explored this watery world until they must have reached what is now Lamalera. The first European record of their existence is an anonymous Portuguese document from 1643.

Filename
Indonesia-Lembata-Lamalera-770.jpg
Copyright
Claudio Sieber
Image Size
5839x3898 / 12.3MB
„Ba leo, ba leo! – Carry the rope!“ – yells the lookout guy on the village’s top, waving his white shirt maniacally to inform the seafaring crews to return as quickly as possible to get their whaling boats ready. This is the official call for a sperm whale hunt.<br /> <br /> The "Leo" need to be blessed every now and then. It's a sacred rope, which will be attached to the bamboo harpoon. There is a deep connection from the Lamafa to the hook – if not usable anymore, we will keep it back home as a sacred token.<br /> <br /> The clans inhabiting the tiny village of Lamalera, on the sunbaked Lembata island (Nusa Tenggara Timur Province) have been spearing and landing sperm whales by hand for at least six centuries. Their artisan subsistence whaling has overcome heavy missionary influence, the Japanese occupation of Lembata during World War II and a well-established Catholic education system. And because the Lamalerans have been doing this since the dawn of time, they carry on, even with a permission from the Indonesian government – as long as they hunt for their own consumption and not for commercial sale. Most of the fishing tradition dates back way before the transcontinental Republic of Indonesia even existed. Historical tales indicate that the Lamalerans originated from Sulawesi, where they waded out with nets for mackerel or other small fish; more experienced, they pushed off in boats and and captured bigger prey; and at last, launching a small fleet of sailing boats on the Banda Sea, explored this watery world until they must have reached what is now Lamalera. The first European record of their existence is an anonymous Portuguese document from 1643.