Lumba-Lumba

At the other end of the beach of Lamalera, I registered an adult villager who looked at me curiously. Since I really wanted to meet one of the fishermen, I said goodbye to the group of youngsters and walked towards him. My knowledge of Bahasa (Indonesian language) was enough to introduce myself and learn from him that his name was Jacobus and that he was, as hoped, one of the many fishermen of the village. He proudly showed me a cut open dolphin head, commented by the beautiful word “Lumba-Lumba”. For a moment I was a bit shocked, because until then I didn’t realize that this kind of whales was also on the menu of the inhabitants of Lamalera. Jacobus, who seemed despite the small shock sympathetic to me, did not speak a word of English. From his hand movements, however, I concluded that he wanted to invite me on a boat trip in exchange for a tip. Grateful for his kind offer, I arranged to meet him at 7 o’clock the next morning.

Lembata (Indonesia), July 2013