the fisherman at work

Yesterday at sunset I noticed the fisherman near my bungalow was mending his net, and I realized it is an opportunity to watch a craftsman at work…so I went out with my camera and sat down next to him and his wife…

She had a little plastic purse with "tweety" on it and inside were rounds of nylon fishing thread and each time she would take a round of it, place it on her 2 big toes and prepare a needle for him that is kind of like what women use for weaving, a spindle. So that whenever he will need one, they are ready.

He had the big net in front of him, resting on the boat and on his toes, so that each time he opened another section of it, checking for holes and it the weights that are tied to the edges are still good. When he needed a new weight, he looked to his right at the stones on the beach where he was sitting, and chose just the right size, grabbed a piece of abandoned material that was also on shore, brought in with the tide, and covered the stone and then tied and sewed it as a weight to the net, using a small knife to cut off ends. Every now and then he would take the little knife and either run it across the bamboo pole of his boat in order to sharpen it, or another fisherman just ran it back and forth on a stone next to him. His wife just picked up a stone and hit her piece of nylon when she wanted to cut it off.

His feet were so powerful, as were his hands…walking barefoot on the rocks everyday and his hands nimble enough to do the fine quick stitches to mend the net, and strong enough to row and lift up the boat to bring it on shore, and firm enough to grab the jumping fish from the pit of the boat each time her returns from the all night fishing routine. They pump kerosene lamps to take out with them at night or wear headlights when they are out at sea, rowing 4 hours out, 2 hours fishing and 4 hours back, or using a motor sometimes.

This morning as I watched them at sunset, returning, I saw that when they are throwing the fish out of the pit onto the ground, they throw a few back to sea or give them to someone…I think this is like in Judaism where you give 10% of your profit to charity.

So it is quite nice to have such fresh fish everyday, a staple for the Balinese, and a treat for us, as we had a huge fish called mahi-mahi grilled on coconut shells last night for dineer which tasted like smoked fish that I remember from my childhood…very moist and soft and delicious…

It is interesting to watch them use whatever they happen to have around them to supple all their needs; a fisherman that doesn't have a "parking place" under a nice shady tree where he can unload the fish, and mend his net, etc, took the big sail they sometimes use when it is windy, and he opened it up so that he would have some shade to sit for hours mending the net. It is also interesting to watch their wives, waiting on shore to help pull the boat in or whatever else is needed…the family unit is very strong here, and also the community..everything is done together, and with laughter and song, and whistling. .