Pearl diving in Indonesia | SLICE | Full documentary — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:03For centuries, Aru pearls have been
2. 0:05renowned for their purity and beauty.
3. 0:08They are the most precious resource of
4. 0:09these remote islands.
5. 0:13Kojabi is one of the many small villages
6. 0:16of the Aru Archipelago in Indonesia.
7. 0:19These Maluku Islands lie between the
8. 0:21northern coast of Australia and western
9. 0:23New Guinea. Kojabi is Babar's village.
10. 0:27Agong, a Chinese fisherman and trader,
11. 0:29visits Babar regularly to buy his pearl
12. 0:32oysters.
13. 0:43From September to November, Babar dives
14. 0:45for oysters using a traditional
15. 0:47ancestral method.
16. 0:50Agong fishes for oysters as well, but in
17. 0:52a totally different manner.
18. 0:54All these oysters are sold to
19. 0:56specialized farms where they are
20. 0:58operated on.
21. 0:59After this delicate operation, they are
22. 1:01gathered together and permitted to age
23. 1:03peacefully in the water and produce
24. 1:05pearls.
25. 1:06Only young oysters can produce enough
26. 1:09mother-of-pearl or nacre to create a
27. 1:11pearl.
28. 1:23In Dobo, the archipelago's main city,
29. 1:26the crew of the Success sets sail once
30. 1:29again.
31. 1:30These seasonal divers work for Captain
32. 1:32Agong.
33. 2:02The men dive many miles from the coast
34. 2:04on the Arafura waters in the Indian
35. 2:06Ocean. For them, it is always a new and
36. 2:09exciting adventure.
37. 2:14The success must sail through the
38. 2:16several channels which divide the
39. 2:18archipelago into six main islands and a
40. 2:21hundred or so small land masses. These
41. 2:23maritime canals are uniquely
42. 2:25characteristic of the Aru Islands.
43. 2:33Contrary to Agong, Babar only has a
44. 2:35modest belong, the traditional Aru
45. 2:38archipelago boat, to navigate the
46. 2:40meanders of Dobo.
47. 2:42The water is shallow and inaccessible to
48. 2:44large boats.
49. 2:46He fishes for the pearl oysters in the
50. 2:47same way his ancestors, the Mujus, did.
51. 2:50The Mujus were an ethnic mixture of
52. 2:52Malay and Papuans.
53. 2:59Legend has it that in ancient times,
54. 3:01when the archipelago was still
55. 3:03uninhabited, two men with magical powers
56. 3:06came to Pulau Enu, the Turtle Island,
57. 3:09with their families.
58. 3:11Sardukai, the black man, came from the
59. 3:13east, and Lodukai, the white man, from
60. 3:16the west.
61. 3:17The black man brought his prized
62. 3:19treasure with him, the mother of all
63. 3:21pearl oysters.
64. 3:22She thus brought wealth to the island
65. 3:24and contributed to the harmony of the
66. 3:26tribes.
67. 3:58Babar and his brother Selit have fished
68. 4:01together since childhood.
69. 4:03Using barely any equipment, they dive
70. 4:05down to 15 m.
71. 4:18They are animists and believe that their
72. 4:20ancestors were whales. The whale is
73. 4:22their totem.
74. 4:30Fishing underwater is dangerous. One
75. 4:32must dive a little deeper each day to
76. 4:34find the oysters.
77. 4:36It often happens that one of the two
78. 4:37divers has to come to the rescue of the
79. 4:39other when the latter has overestimated
80. 4:42his ability.
81. 4:56Valuable shellfish are very rare at this
82. 4:59depth and several dives are necessary to
83. 5:01find pearl oysters.
84. 5:15The Success sailed from Dogo 2 days ago.
85. 5:18Captain Agong and his crew have finally
86. 5:21reached the fishing site.
87. 5:45Due to a lack of skills and money, the
88. 5:47diving equipment aboard is outmoded, in
89. 5:50poor condition, and kept to a strict
90. 5:52minimum.
91. 5:53Simple lead sinkers are used for
92. 5:55ballasts, and bottles are only filled
93. 5:57halfway for fear of explosion.
94. 6:49The divers are always at the mercy of an
95. 6:51equipment breakdown. The old valves
96. 6:54often play tricks on them.
97. 7:05The nets used to lay out the oysters are
98. 7:07linked to floaters, which permit the
99. 7:09boat to spot divers who are drifting
100. 7:11with the current.
101. 7:13Each diver has his own technique. Some
102. 7:15tie a rope to a piece of coral and go
103. 7:17around it in search of oysters. Others
104. 7:20pull the net behind them.
105. 7:23The Indonesians call this area the
106. 7:25Lumpur, a favorite spot for pearl
107. 7:27oysters. They feed on the plankton in
108. 7:30these deep, dark waters, consisting of
109. 7:32algae and coral.
110. 7:34Spotting oysters in the sand requires a
111. 7:36great deal of experience.
112. 7:38Each diver catches an average of six per
113. 7:41day.
114. 7:42Not all of them, however, are sold to
115. 7:43the farms.
116. 8:34Fishing for pearl oysters is exhausting
117. 8:36work. Hours of continuous diving are
118. 8:39necessary.
119. 8:52From the boat, Agong nervously watches
120. 8:54the buoys, the only contact with the
121. 8:56surface.
122. 10:01The divers are truly at home underwater
123. 10:03and yet they have had no formal
124. 10:05training.
125. 10:07Their diving technique is based on
126. 10:08stories of accidents which have already
127. 10:11taken place caused by diving to great
128. 10:13depths without going down gradually and
129. 10:16by coming up too quickly.
130. 10:39The men are happy. It's been a good day.
131. 10:42They found a great number of oysters in
132. 10:44this area.
133. 10:55The motivation for diving is far more
134. 10:58convincing than the risk.
135. 11:00They receive 7,000 rupees, about $3 for
136. 11:03each pearl oyster.
137. 11:05The average annual salary on the Aru
138. 11:07Archipelago is 80,000 rupees or about
139. 11:10$35 a month.
140. 11:21The crew of the success is typical of
141. 11:23the diverse population of Aru, Bugi and
142. 11:26Makassar Muslims, Chinese Buddhists,
143. 11:29Aborigine animists, mixed race
144. 11:31Christians, people of all origins and
145. 11:34all religions.
146. 11:54In spite of their perseverance, Babar
147. 11:56and Salith have nothing to show for
148. 11:58their day of fishing.
149. 12:00They decide to go hunting in the forest
150. 12:02of a tiny neighboring island.
151. 12:10Centuries ago, Dobo was already
152. 12:13receiving merchants from all over the
153. 12:14world. In the 17th century, hundreds of
154. 12:17Makassar and Bugi boats came to the Aru
155. 12:20Islands to trade.
156. 12:22These trades involved primarily nacre
157. 12:24and pearls.
158. 12:27Many local people participated in these
159. 12:29profitable exchanges, and divers were
160. 12:31already risking their lives courageously
161. 12:34in the hope of striking it rich.
162. 13:03Deer are abundant in these thick
163. 13:05mangrove forests. They come to graze in
164. 13:07the clearing in late afternoon when the
165. 13:09sun is strongest.
166. 13:11Babar and Salith must cross immense
167. 13:13caves filled with bats and swallows to
168. 13:16reach the clearing.
169. 13:27Aru is often called the land of a
170. 13:29thousand caves.
171. 13:31Chinese and Makassar pirates would hide
172. 13:34their booty here in the 18th century,
173. 13:36the golden age of the Moluccas.
174. 14:29Babar is the best hunter in his village.
175. 14:32Hunting with bows and arrows is very
176. 14:34difficult.
177. 14:35In this wild region, rifles are almost
178. 14:38non-existent.
179. 15:01The flesh of the oyster is a special
180. 15:03treat.
181. 15:04Aboard the Success, dinner is being
182. 15:06prepared.
183. 15:08Only mature oysters, which cannot be
184. 15:10sold, are opened.
185. 15:12The young oysters will be operated on
186. 15:15since they still secrete mother-of-pearl
187. 15:17as they grow.
188. 15:19To supplement their income, the divers
189. 15:20will sell the shells in the market. The
190. 15:23nacre is used to make buttons.
191. 15:47Captain Agong is preparing the next
192. 15:49day's fishing. The crew will be diving
193. 15:52on the other side of the island.
194. 16:10In this lush vegetation, there are 250
195. 16:13different species of birds, including
196. 16:16cassowaries and birds of paradise, all
197. 16:19sorts of small marsupials, and a wide
198. 16:21variety of parrots and magnificent
199. 16:23butterflies.
200. 16:43Navigating some of the channels is
201. 16:45difficult. The water is fairly shallow,
202. 16:48and the sea bottom is constantly moving.
203. 16:50It's hard to avoid getting stuck.
204. 17:17Okay. Okay. Okay.
205. 17:57The mangrove and channels of the Aru
206. 17:59Islands are home to the very dangerous
207. 18:02Indo-Pacific crocodile.
208. 18:05He is especially threatening to divers,
209. 18:07and Babar is always on the alert for
210. 18:09them when he fishes.
211. 18:34Luck is with Babar today. He is not
212. 18:37going to disappoint Captain Agong.
213. 18:40He carefully chooses the oysters, taking
214. 18:42only the youngest. He knows that the
215. 18:44captain is a demanding customer.
216. 19:52These three oysters will allow Babar and
217. 19:54Salik to buy rice and medicine for their
218. 19:57families.
219. 20:54The mother-of-pearl oysters made the
220. 20:57island wealthy and contributed to the
221. 20:59harmony of the tribes.
222. 21:01But only until the black man borrowed
223. 21:03the white man's harpoon and went fishing
224. 21:06for the manatee.
225. 21:09During the hunt, he lost the harpoon and
226. 21:11he lied about it.
227. 21:13The white man grew angry and implored
228. 21:15the help of the master of the waves.
229. 21:21A great tidal wave swallowed up half of
230. 21:23the islands and their people as well as
231. 21:25the precious mother of oysters.
232. 21:33There was a curse on the archipelago and
233. 21:35the tribes were impoverished.
234. 21:43The black man, stricken with remorse,
235. 21:46went searching for the mother of oysters
236. 21:48who had made the islands rich.
237. 21:52Riding on a shark, he traveled the sea
238. 21:55and found the mother of oysters on the
239. 21:57other side of the ocean.
240. 21:59He brought her back
241. 22:00and along with her, peace and
242. 22:02prosperity.
243. 22:07But the souls of the tidal waves victims
244. 22:10are still alive and haunt the ocean
245. 22:12depths. Divers today still hear the
246. 22:15cries of women and children coming from
247. 22:17the bottom of the abyss.
248. 22:35The pearl oyster farms first made their
249. 22:37appearance on the islands 30 years ago.
250. 22:40Japanese, Chinese, and Indonesians share
251. 22:43these concessions, but the Japanese are
252. 22:45the uncontested masters of this
253. 22:47ancestral art.
254. 22:49The largest concessions have about
255. 22:51100,000 shells. These farms are like
256. 22:54fortresses and jealously guarded.
257. 22:57During the season, Agong sells Babar's
258. 22:59oysters and those of his crew to the
259. 23:02farms.
260. 23:09The initial sorting takes place directly
261. 23:12on the wooden platform.
262. 23:13The farms are very demanding about the
263. 23:15quality of the oysters.
264. 23:17It's especially important to make
265. 23:19certain that those they buy are not
266. 23:21sick.
267. 23:22Epidemics regularly wipe out the oysters
268. 23:25of an entire farm.
269. 23:29In the long run, oyster fishing is
270. 23:30destined to disappear. A technique has
271. 23:33been found for reproducing them in
272. 23:34captivity.
273. 23:36One day, the divers will no longer
274. 23:38embark on the adventure of finding
275. 23:40oysters in their natural state.
276. 23:45The oysters are first operated on using
277. 23:47a top secret technique.
278. 23:49It will take 2 years to produce a pearl.
279. 23:53A cargo ship comes once a year to
280. 23:54collect the oysters, which will be
281. 23:56opened in Japan.
282. 24:11In their quest for pearl oysters, the
283. 24:14divers perpetuate the legend. The mother
284. 24:17of oysters is found again and again,
285. 24:19bringing to these islands at the end of
286. 24:21the world peace, prosperity, and
287. 24:23fertility.