Indonesia - Lembata - Lamalera - Whale Hunters
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Leva (Ocean) Season Opening Ceremony
With the arrival of the twilight, the blend of spirit superstition and world religion becomes more visible, as the Catholic mass is about to start. The tiny chapel has been festively decorated with polished whale spines and a skull which had to be carried by not less than a dozen men. Tonight, the bishop reminds the villagers that bad deeds will upset their ancestors and therefore almost logically cause bad results, in contrast, all good deeds will help to pursue a blissful life. The ancestors are of higher importance because it’s them who will carry all wishes of the Lamalerans to God.
Before the Corpus Christiwill be shared among the people led by the hymns of a local chorus, the bishop calls out the names of the fishermen who died on duty. Like the crew members from the Batafor Clan who vanished in 1925 after going on a hunt. Their boat had been found but not the crew. Yes, even if quite rare, there is death in this business of whaling. The ceremony ends with the fading flicker of candle lights which the Lamalerans have been sending to sea as offerings for their ancestors.
Before the Catholic missionaries arrived in Lamalera, the villagers believed in Lara Wulan „the god of the sky“, Tana Ekan „the god of the earth“ and „Ina Leva“ the mother of the sea. Additionally they were worshipping their ancestors (which became saints with the rise of Christianity). These forefathers are responsible to faithfully carry the wishes to Lara Wulan. The priests made them believe that water has been created by God. This has been was accepted, as it was quite easy to replace Ina Leva by holy Mother Mary. Ina Leva alias Mother Mary together with their ancestral saints will always prepare food for this village – which are the whales.
- Filename
- Indonesia-Lembata-Lamalera-332.jpg
- Copyright
- Claudio Sieber
- Image Size
- 6016x4016 / 20.1MB
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Asia Southeast Asia Indonesia Indonesian Lembata Lamalera Whale Hunters Animals Lamafa Spear hunters Whaling Sperm Whale Controversy Tradition Culture Life Asian Practices Heritage Sea Ocean Water Seafaring Voyage Thrill Spiritual Survival Moby Dick Prey Catch Village life Microeconomics Microeconomy Sharing culture Sharing Bravery Courage Disappearing Culture Fading tradition unpredictable Future uncertainty Pride Respect
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