the pearl diver

Once the last breath of air is inhaled and I slip underwater, the world expands as my lungs contract. I lose all sense of time, transported to a different dimension. My skin dissolves and I am one with the ocean. Immersed in my element - water. 

I dive down to the bottom as quickly as I can - no time or gesture wasted. Loose, fluid, relaxed - yet intent and focused to get to the good part and my main objective. 

Pearl Diver | © StefanLins/Flickr

Walking on the sea bed. Feeling the crunch of the grit and sand. Colors dimmed. First the reds go. Then the oranges. The yellows after. I float in a world of greens and blues in the light, indigo and purple in shadow. 

Skimming past undulating seaweed. Zipping by coral and rock. 

Pulling, Propelling. Projecting. 

Purposeful. Primed. Primordial. 

Lost in my overblown sense. Blanked out. No agenda. 

Aimless and free, I dive as I please, in sensual pleasure. Poised on the brink of a precipice. What now? Time for more exploring? Or should I head back up? 

The youngest of a dying breed, at 65 she was still 10 and 20 years younger than the other pearl divers. There were only 2,000 of them left worldwide. Eight hundred in her home country. 

Lessons from Jeju

Already they were being treated as curiosities. This quaint interesting thing they did - not for profit or any tangible gain. There were much more efficient and effective ways to harvest pearls nowadays. 

Even natural pearls were being cultured in large scale beds. Blame Mikimoto for turning them into every woman's dress up accessory. Or blame the girl with a pearl earring. 

Today, only about 2,000 ama remain in Japan. 
photos courtesy of the photo book Ama by Nina Poppe

Our seas dredged and natural pearl beds destroyed, it took too long to grow a pearl naturally anymore. In this current world of immediate gratification and entitled pampering these elite tribe of pearl divers were the last of their breed. 

She knew she had arrived too late. She was glad to have missed the grand old hey days. She loved the dives too well. Finding a pearl was just the bonus. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tambanokano | the titan crab

Image
Belief in giant monsters eclipsing the moon and efforts to frighten them away are widespread throughout the Orient. Found all over Asia — in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Mongolia, China and India — these ancient stories were spread through trade routes with the expansion of the earliest empires. The folklore of Bisaya and Mandaya indigenous tribes of the Philippines tell different tales of a giant moon eating crab they call Tambanokano . Crab_king by noah-kh / DeviantArt Tambanokano the crab was the colossal son of LiAdlao, the golden orb of our sun and LiBulan, the silver sprite of our moon. They were two of four siblings born to LiDagat, the sea and LiHangin, the wind. Long ago in a tiny village of Buglas, the cloudless night sky was illuminated by a bright flash of lightning. Buglas is the fourth largest island in the ancient archipelago we now know as the Republic of the Philippines. As the ocean waves crash violently along the shore, smashing
Read more

impUNITY

Image
We recently commemorated the 125th death anniversary of a fallen hero. Betrayed and sold out by his fellow guerillas in the fight to birth a new nation. Out of the ashes of the Spanish American war in the Philippines much is left devastated and traumatized.  The tragedy of a multi colonized land. Invading armies descend on our shores to ransack and ruin all. For an agricultural archipelago and economy it means people starve and easily turn on each other. Leading to decades of ingrained crab culture.  generational trauma  -  ties that bind War is an angry ugly horror. Kill or be killed. Nowhere to run or hide. Too many innocents caught in the crosshairs. The toll so cripplingly heavy generations are totally derailed.  It doesn't just change the behavior of both winner and loser - our DNA is forever altered. Carrying the carnage in blood and bones. In muscle memory. In ruined digestions tuned acidic with fear and lack. Sleep loss and nightmares. Dodge and cower in constant chaos and
Read more

state of grace

Image
Love it, hate it - New York City evokes extremes. Stunning senses and maxing us out with its all-out, in-your-face force and energy.  There's a new rendition of the song, New York State of Mind . It's got an impressive roster of top-notch celebrities and personalities singing snippets of the song against a backdrop of NYC's five boroughs.  Columbus Circle, New York City Created to help NYC get back on its feet – could they have done so with more care and consideration? NYC is like a cat running out of its god given nine lives.
Read more