Village of the whale hunters

Lembata Island by the prospect of visiting the unique village of Lamalera, where the traditional practice of harpooning whales and dolphins for subsistence still survives. So, on Friday 16 September, after two nights in the 'bustling' port town of Lewoleba (see previous entry), we set off on the four-hour drive to Lamalera, situated on the south coast. Our public transport by 4WD vehicle took us through the mountainous, sparsely populated interior of the island, dotted with small farms and tiny villages of bamboo huts. The surfaced road soon gave way to a rutted, dusty track. As the vehicle passed through settlements and stopped along the way to drop of people and goods, we were met by friendly smiles and waves from women and children.
Boat at sea
Boat at sea

Our car had left at midday, and we arrived in Lamalera in the mid-afternoon. The accomodation in Lamalera is limited to a couple of homestays, and we checked into one of them - the home of Abel Beding and his family. We took a walk around the small seaside village - a cluster of brightly painted brick homes situated on the main street and along the curve of the small bay. On the beach, a picturesque row of palm-thatched shelters housed 40 or so traditional wooden fishing boats. At sunset, three boats returned (empty-handed) and we watched the crew heave the boats up the beach, using logs as rollers. I got chatting to a skipper named Frans, who could speak some English, and we agreed that Rich and I would join his boat on its fishing expedition the following day.
Leaping from boat
Leaping from boat

So on Saturday morning at 7am we accompanied the crew of the boat 'Arnol'. Like roughly half of the 40 or so fishing boats owned by the clans of the village Arnol is a hand-built wooden boat with an outboard engine, and is used for hunting dolphins as well as manta ray and other large fish. The balance of the village fleet are outrigger 'pledang' boats propelled by traditional palm-frond sails instead of engines. These are used for whale hunting.

The international whaling treaty exempts the people of Lamalera from the ban on whale hunting, on the grounds that this is a unique and traditional way of life. They are thus permitted to use only their sail boats for whale hunting, and land around 15 to 20 sperm whales a year. For the rest this subsistence fishing community relies on its catches of manta rays and dolphins. Every part of the whale or dolphin is utilised - the flesh is divided among all the families of the village for eating, the blubber is hung in the sun to release the oil, which is bartered as lamp fuel at the surrounding markets. Bones are used in construction and carved into ornaments.
Traditional village of Lamalera
Traditional village of Lamalera

Visiting Lamalera and accompanying a fishing boat presented a moral challenge to us: of course, we instinctively find the idea of whale and dolphin hunting offensive; yet, staying in the village, meeting the people and seeing how they live, we quickly realised that they were barely eking out a living from this subsistence way of life. As Westeners who live in comfort, consuming huge amounts of natural resources yet staying well removed from our food sources, it would be wrong of us to judge this way of life by our own standards.

Though we were eager to observe the unique hunting methods of Lamalerans, we were secretly hoping that no whales would make an appearance - the thought of a full blown whale hunt was just a little too daunting. Thankfully, no whales had been spotted that morning and the prahus remained firmly ashore; Arnol's crew were on the lookout for dolphins. About two hours into the morning and a good few miles out at sea, we came across a very large pod of dolphins, and the hunt be began.

The technique for hunting dolphins is the same as for whales - the harpooner, youngest and fittest of the crew, stands on a small platform on the bow of the boat, weilding a long bamboo shaft with a barbed metal harpoon tip. When the boat comes within striking distance of an animal, he lunges at it, flinging himself into the water to put his full weight behind the harpoon. More often than not it's a miss; a line is thrown to the harpooner and he scrambles on board looking exhausted. If it's a hit, a second and third harpoon are often needed to secure the animal. Then the long battle to reel it in begins... hit or no hit, the whole process is a labour intensive group effort, requiring each of the eight or so crew members to do their bit at just the right second.

We found the sight of struggling dolphins rather hard to bear, yet the absolute delight and relief of the crew whenever they landed their catch made one realise how much they needed it. At about 2pm, with five dolphins in the boat, the guys called it a day, and we started chugging back to shore. By now the two of us were starving, thirsty, sun-burned and quite traumatised. But instead of coming ashore an hour or so later, it took us another four hours to getb back... the boat engine packed up! The helmsman would really battle to start it (Rich was often asked to pull the chord, as he had an unusually high success rate!), then it would splutter a little and die again. Finally, just before sunset, another boat came out looking for us and towed us back. Phew, what a day! We watched as the old men of the village butchered the dolphins on the beach, sharing out the meat to women from various households.

The following day, Sunday morning, most of the 2,000 or so inhabitants of the village went to church (like Flores, the island is staunchly Catholic) - from the verandah of Abel's place we watched families troop by in their Sunday best: clean sarongs, colourful blouses, the women's long black hair knotted tightly in a high bun. We went for a walk to the west of the village and found a secluded little cove where the snorkeling was excellent. The water was crystal clear and the soft corals covering the dark volcanic rocks seemed more like cold water forms. However, walking back up the hill we discovered that a whole clan of youngsters had been spying on us! They said a shy hello and scattered as we walked up the path. Good thing we hadn't been skinny dipping! After another superb lunch at the homestay, we walked the road along the coast in the opposite direction, and found another beautiful little beach.

On Monday morning, Rich joined the fishermen again while I relaxed, chatted to a few people in the village and went back to the little beach we had discovered the afternoon before. The snorkeling from here was absolutely gorgeous too, but I had to keep a look-out for little spies! In the early afternoon, before the boat came in, I returned to the village beach and sat in the shade of one of the boat sheds with a young man named Thomy. Thomy was teaching himself English and eagerly paged through the Rough Guide, trying to read bits here and there. He was particularly taken with the Glossary section, and we had an amusing English-Indonesian conversation using the glossary as a dictionary. By the end of the afternoon, Rich and I had promised to post him a proper dictionary (which we duly did from Bali when we returned there). No doubt the little book will be passed around and use by all the others like him in the village - bright kids who simply do not have educational opportunities available to them.

That evening we said goodbye to all the friends we had made in Lamalera. We'd been bowled over by the friendliness of the villagers and their decency and inner strength despite the hand-to-mouth existence many of them faced. At 5am the next morning, we boarded a 4WD truck back to Lewoleba, from where we returned to Flores by ferry.

ACEH : PLACES OF INTEREST

Banda Aceh is a capital of Aceh and also the main gateway to the province . The Governor's Residence, was built by Dutch in 1880 on the spot where the palace of sultan once stood. The building is known is one of the historical sites with a unique architecture and completed with traditional house equipment. This place is of course restricted area and entering must be with a kind of permission from the security guard.

Baiturrahman Grand Mosque

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It is one of the most outstanding landmarks in the capital city. The old mosque that stood there before it was burnt at the beginning of the Aceh War, was rebuilt in 1875, taking its present shape after a number of renovations and expansions.

Gunongan and Pinto Khop

Gunongan and Pinto Khop which are located at a few steps from the Pendopo are also charms of the city . Gunongan was erected around the 16th century during the reign of Sultan Iskandar Muda.

The Syiah Kuala Grove

It is another visitor's object. Teungku Syiah Kuala was one of Aceh's Great Moslem Ulamas of the past. His grave stands near the mouth of Krueng Aceh River about 2 kilometers from the city, visited by local visitors and other parts of Indonesia and Malaysia.

Indra Patra Fortress

This old fort was build during the time of Iskandar Muda. It probably functioned as a defence against invader's attack

Museum Cut Nyak Dien

It is historical object. The house is a replica of the heroine Cut Nyak Dien, from the Aceh War. The house was burn down by the Dutch but replica was build later, after Indonesia's Independence. This house in Lam Pisang about 6 kilometers from Banda Aceh, is now a museum.

Museum Negeri

It is another charm of the city. The museum is filled with antiques. Among the exhibits is a big clock, a gift from the Emperor of the China and brought to Aceh by the formed Admiral Cheng Ho in 1414.

Beaches

The most popular beaches are Gapang beach and Ibah beach in Sabang, Kuala Dou beach in west Aceh and the others most popular beaches uncrowded Banda Aceh are Ujung Batee beach, Lumpu'uk beach and Lho'nga beach. It's located 16 kilometres from Banda Aceh. All the beaches have clean waters and white sands. Sunset are quite impressive at the all beaches.

Sea Gardens

Sea Gardens are located off short from Banda Aceh at about 45 minutes by speed oat. Some can be enjoyed around Rubiah island in Sabang and the others are around Beras islands, Aceh island and other small islands them. Sea gigantic clams, angel fish, lion fish and much more.

Around Takengon and the Lke

Takengon is a town locates at the central area of Aceh. It is being promoted as a tourist resort since its temperature is about 20 C (68 F), cool enaugh for a holiday resort. The main feature of the town is Laut Tawar Lake. The scenery is loved and the lake can be used for water sport, such as ski. We can tour around the lake by motor boat or other water trasportation. Thre are caves around the lake slopes of the mountain and the mountain itself is suitable for climbing. A number of hotels are being built to encourage a rapidy incriasing tourist trade. The others object around Takengon are warm water pool at simpang Balik, Layang Koro and Layang Pukes caves by the side of Laut Tawar lake.

Around Lhokseumawe and The Former Kingdom of Samudera Pasai

Lhokseumawe is a town located 274 km from Banda Aceh which is now being developed as an industrial zone of Aceh. Many gigantic plants are constructed following the discovery of huge LNG resources in the area. Touristic features of the town is The Samudera Pasai. It was the first great Islamic kingdom of Indonesia.
All that remains of it, however, is a graveyard 18 km east of the town. The historical indication of this can be seen at the grave of Malikul Saleh, the first ruler of the kingdom and from the royal graves, including that a queen named Nahrisyah and graves of other members of the royal families of Samudera Pasai. The kingdom produced its own gold coins which still can be round in the surrounding areas. Other object for visitors are Blang Kolam Falls and Ujung Blang beach.

The National Park

The National Park of Gunung Leuser is probably the wildest in Indonesia, located in Southeast Aceh that can be reached either Kutacane, or Tekangan. The magnificent national park has a wealth of flora and fauna. The park also has research facilities for the study of primates, birds, insect, and other animals. Basic accomodation facilities are available at Katambe. The rapids-infested Krueng alas river inside the park is popular with rafters.

Laut Tawar Lake

Rafting in Aceh
Laut Tawar Lake is located in Aceh Tengah. Takenagn, the capital of the region, lies on the west side of this lake, 1,120 meters above sea level, with an everage temperature of 20 C. The town is quit cool and is growing holiday resort. The scenery is lovely and the lake can be used water sports, such as ski. We can tour around the lake by motor boat or other water transportation. There are caves around the lake slope the mountain and the mountain itself is suitable for climbing. Anmber of hotels are being built to encurage a rapidly increasing.