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Indonesia - Lembata - Lamalera - Whale Hunters

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Aloysius Gneser Tapoona (Papa Alo) – The uncrowned Lamafa champion

Papa Alo’s yard is largely decorated with trophies from the whales he once speared. He tinkered skulls, spines, ribs and other bones into sculptures, naming them with the exact date of execution. An artist some would say.

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98 whales I’ve killed during the past 35 years of being a Lamafa. There might be some who have speared more whales than me, but they already past away. I was able to take over the place from Sebastianus Geroda Batafor, who lost his right arm on duty because he got tangled in the ropes when the wounded whale contrived to escape. Sebastianus came over to my house enquiring my intentions, of course, I agreed to take over his place and thus all the tools. I have speared my first sperm whale at the age of 26 with my „Teti Herri crew”.

With my 63 years, I’m too old to roam the sea with a harpoon. Although having retired, I’m still out during the “Ba leo” as a mentor, especially to take care of the young Lamafa. I teach them how to balance in the front of the Paledang during rough waters. It has to be said, that the most difficult part of being a Lamafa is the responsibility they shoulder for the entire village. If a Lamafa fails, the people (at least the crew) would be angry on him. So we only pick the most couraged and skilled ones.

The village was connected by a bumpy road some 20 years ago, and with this road, the importance of money has arisen! 1999 was the main change when our microeconomics transformed partly into a money culture. This is obviously because of development and modernization. Along with the road connection to Lewoleba, many opportunities opened up. To be honest, if there would be a university who takes fish in exchange for education, that would be the best solution in my opinion.

Filename
Indonesia-Lembata-Lamalera-682.jpg
Copyright
Claudio Sieber
Image Size
6016x4016 / 17.9MB
Contained in galleries
Indonesia - Lembata - Lamalera
Aloysius Gneser Tapoona (Papa Alo) – The uncrowned Lamafa champion<br /> <br /> Papa Alo’s yard is largely decorated with trophies from the whales he once speared. He tinkered skulls, spines, ribs and other bones into sculptures, naming them with the exact date of execution. An artist some would say.<br /> <br /> ---<br /> 98 whales I’ve killed during the past 35 years of being a Lamafa. There might be some who have speared more whales than me, but they already past away. I was able to take over the place from Sebastianus Geroda Batafor, who lost his right arm on duty because he got tangled in the ropes when the wounded whale contrived to escape. Sebastianus came over to my house enquiring my intentions, of course, I agreed to take over his place and thus all the tools. I have speared my first sperm whale at the age of 26 with my „Teti Herri crew”.<br /> <br /> With my 63 years, I’m too old to roam the sea with a harpoon. Although having retired, I’m still out during the “Ba leo” as a mentor, especially to take care of the young Lamafa. I teach them how to balance in the front of the Paledang during rough waters. It has to be said, that the most difficult part of being a Lamafa is the responsibility they shoulder for the entire village. If a Lamafa fails, the people (at least the crew) would be angry on him. So we only pick the most couraged and skilled ones.<br /> <br /> The village was connected by a bumpy road some 20 years ago, and with this road, the importance of money has arisen! 1999 was the main change when our microeconomics transformed partly into a money culture. This is obviously because of development and modernization. Along with the road connection to Lewoleba, many opportunities opened up. To be honest, if there would be a university who takes fish in exchange for education, that would be the best solution in my opinion.