SKIRMISHER

The fishermen of Lamalera (a village perched on the southern part of Lembata island, Indonesia) kill their prey with their bare hands.

It is all a far cry from the whaling fleets of Japan, whose factory boats and grenade harpoons wreak slaughter on an industrial scale.

The sails of the Lamalera boats are woven from gebang leaves and each vessel is hand-made, with no nails or metal parts. Ropes are made from palm leaves and waru wood fibres, coiled together.

They battle for more than six hours, their hands gripping traditional duri flensing knives, to subdue the whale - which they call Koteklema.

Finally, the fishermen of Lamalera (a village perched on the southern part of Lembata island, Indonesia) kill their prey with their bare hands.

It is all a far cry from the whaling fleets of Japan, whose factory boats and grenade harpoons wreak slaughter on an industrial scale.

The sails of the Lamalera boats are woven from gebang leaves and each vessel is hand-made, with no nails or metal parts. Ropes are made from palm leaves and waru wood fibres, coiled together.

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