Photographer Bo Thomassen

The unique village of Lamalera is situated on the side of an old volcano on the island of Pulao Lembata in eastern Indonesia. The slope of the volcano extends 2 kilometers deep into the sea, very close to the shore.

Due to the slope of the mountain, the 2000 inhabitants of Lamalera and their ancestors have been unable to grow anything and as a result have been traditional whalers for hundreds of years. The whale hunt is ingrained in their culture; going to the sea and catching big fish with harpoons is our inheritance and a tradition we cannot break is a key phrase in their culture. Although the villagers are devout Catholics, they believe that the boats are living beings and the most important members of their clan. They use the souls of the boats to contact the beyond.

The whalers will try to harpoon any big fish including big rays, manta rays, and sharks plus whales of different kinds; however, the mighty sperm whale is their main target. Ironically, these devout Catholics call the sperm whale Ikan Paus – which literally translates as “pope fish,” – and are named Puas –Indonesian for the Pope– regularly. The catch is shared between the people after an ancient system, and a sperm whale is shared by the entire village. The village can live from a big whale for 2 months. They live in a barter only economy, so twice a week Lamalera’s women meet with women from the highlands in a market only women have access to, to trade fish and whale meat for agricultural produce.

The Lamalera whalers can legally hunt whales due to an exception in the International ban on whaling. The village catches from 4 to 20 sperm whales a year. The sperm whale is not endangered.

This beach is in the center of the village and is where the boats are launched from. The boats have eyes on the bow to show that they are living beings.

Whale shark.

Flying fish

In recent years, the number of whales caught is falling and nobody knows why. This has caused a few boats with outboard motors to now fish with surface nets for smaller fish.

Manta ray.

The boats are made entirely from wood. Every time some of the wood is damaged in the battle with the whales, the boat is dismantled, and the damaged piece wood is replaced. Therefore, in the eyes of the whalers, the boats are the original boats that have lasted for hundreds of years.

The first of May is the start of the whaling season, and a Catholic mass is held on the beach to honor the souls of the whales who have died, and to ask God for a good season.

The eighth of May. Six boats head out and for the first time in eight months are successful.

Every day starts with a prayer.

The hunt has started. In the beginning, the group of whales attacks the boats by hammering them with their heads and tails.

Winner of 1st price Nature and Environment, singles.

World Press Photo 2001.

Every year, men are killed in the battles with the whales. “Lamafa”, the harpooner takes the biggest risk.

The whale is dragged in and more harpoons pierce its thick skin. The harpoons don’t kill the whale. They don’t even make it bleed; however, the energy it uses to drag the boats will eventually tire it out. At least two boats must be attached to the whale, as it will drag a single boat down with it when it dives. Normally the fight takes an hour.

When the whale is tired and can be hauled to the side of the boat, the whalers cut its neck and it dies in one to two minutes.

The next day at low tide, the parting starts. The whale is parted according to an old system, so the crew gets certain parts, the Lamafa another, the old men who made the sail yet another, and so on and so forth. At the end of the day, everyone in the village has meet hanging outside their house to dry.

Sperm whales eat squid and regularly battle giant squids. The scars from suction cups can be seen on the whales.

The sperm whale is both the largest toothed whale in the world, and the largest toothed predator.

From the moment the men drop the meat and blubber on the beach, the women take over. In this way the women “control” the economy. Women have nothing to do with the boats and hunt, and the men don’t interfere with the meat/“money.”

Everybody helps when a whale is caught, whether they like it or not.

This one-armed man is not the first, nor will he be the last to lose his arm in battle with the whales.

Saint Peter is the whalers’ guardian angel and he holds the key to heaven.

Twice a week, women from the village meet with women from the highlands and swap the protein from the sea for agricultural products.

If the village has more whale than they need, they go to the main town on the island and sell the whale for money, so that they can buy things that they can’t get in the barter market.