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Indonesia - Lembata - Lamalera - Whale Hunters

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Petrus Glau Blikolulong (Papa Petro) – Lamafa by heart

21 years ago I’ve speared my first whale, since then I claim the title of a Lamafa. My ability to go out to sea and pursue a whale is what makes me feel complete. Because it brings life to my family. I feel content and excited when seeking for the whale, not necessarily part of harpooning, but the effort of hunting whether I succeed or not. Being 45 years old I’m a bit young to retire but my brother Antonis Glakais has just killed a whale, so he’s officially allowed to take my position by next year. I have 4 children, all girls. So it’s great Antonis will keep up the Lamafa tradition within our family. I will still be out with Antonis and the crew regurlarly to pursue the mentorship, whilst the heaviness of responsibility will shift to my brother. Well, we do use motorboats since roughly 20 years. These „Johnson“ help to drag the Paledang (traditional boats) offshore once a whale is sighted, but we also go fishing with them daily. It needs to be said, that the number of sperm whales we annualy catch has not increased ever since. It’s just more relaxed and easy, because we don’t need to hoise a sail, nor do we have to row around all day long. We know what the conservationists are up to. But we here in Lamalera have a life, and we simply don’t accept people who come in and can’t understand what this is all about – This here is survival!

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Indonesia-Lembata-Lamalera-485.jpg
Copyright
Claudio Sieber
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3940x2630 / 7.1MB
Contained in galleries
Indonesia - Lembata - Lamalera
Petrus Glau Blikolulong (Papa Petro) – Lamafa by heart<br /> <br /> 21 years ago I’ve speared my first whale, since then I claim the title of a Lamafa. My ability to go out to sea and pursue a whale is what makes me feel complete. Because it brings life to my family. I feel content and excited when seeking for the whale, not necessarily part of harpooning, but the effort of hunting whether I succeed or not. Being 45 years old I’m a bit young to retire but my brother Antonis Glakais has just killed a whale, so he’s officially allowed to take my position by next year. I have 4 children, all girls. So it’s great Antonis will keep up the Lamafa tradition within our family. I will still be out with Antonis and the crew regurlarly to pursue the mentorship, whilst the heaviness of responsibility will shift to my brother. Well, we do use motorboats since roughly 20 years. These „Johnson“ help to drag the Paledang (traditional boats) offshore once a whale is sighted, but we also go fishing with them daily. It needs to be said, that the number of sperm whales we annualy catch has not increased ever since. It’s just more relaxed and easy, because we don’t need to hoise a sail, nor do we have to row around all day long. We know what the conservationists are up to. But we here in Lamalera have a life, and we simply don’t accept people who come in and can’t understand what this is all about – This here is survival!