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Indonesia - Lembata - Lamalera - Whale Hunters

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There stands a Whaleman’s Chapel, a sacred place even before the missionaries came across to spread the word of God. Many centuries ago, the Lamalerans used this very place to store their deceased people, practicing a bizarre ritual. These bodies haven’t been buried though, but sunbathing by the beach until the skin was stiff and parched. Then they were to be cleaned with ocean water by a spiritual leader and put back onto the sand to rot.

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.

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Indonesia-Lembata-Lamalera-393.jpg
Copyright
Claudio Sieber
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5812x3880 / 13.4MB
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Indonesia - Lembata - Lamalera
There stands a Whaleman’s Chapel, a sacred place even before the missionaries came across to spread the word of God. Many centuries ago, the Lamalerans used this very place to store their deceased people, practicing a bizarre ritual. These bodies haven’t been buried though, but sunbathing by the beach until the skin was stiff and parched. Then they were to be cleaned with ocean water by a spiritual leader and put back onto the sand to rot. <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.