Smoking while diving on the decline in Sentani<\/p>\n
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post\/Jayapura<\/p>\n
Smoking while diving? People may raise their eyebrows when they
\nhear this for the first time. But not the people who live near
\nSentani Lake in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province.<\/p>\n
Smoking while diving is common for the Sentani people, who
\nsmoke when diving for fish.<\/p>\n
How they do it? Before jumping into the water, Sentani
\nfishermen prepare all their equipment, such as kalawai and onggei
\n(two types of spears), wauw (net to collect fish), felfale (a
\nspecial net for shellfish), goggles, a cigarette and betel nuts
\nto chew on. All the equipment is then loaded into a boat and the
\nfishermen row out into the middle of the lake. Before diving into
\nthe water, each fisherman lights a cigarette and puts on his
\ngoggles. Some chew an betel nut.<\/p>\n
Once a fisherman is ready, he jumps into the water with a
\nspear. Fisherwomen take a felfale to collect shellfish.<\/p>\n
Why light a cigarette? A fisherman puts the cigarette in his
\nlips with the lit end in his mouth and dives into the water with
\nhis mouth shut tight.<\/p>\n
When he returns to the surface few minutes later, he turns the
\ncigarette around to the proper position and smokes in the normal
\nfashion.<\/p>\n
\"The cigarette, which stays alight when I dive, helps warm my
\nbody while I'm in the water. I smoke while I wait for a fish to
\npass that I can catch with my spear,\" said James Opuhiri, 34, a
\nfisherman who learned to swim when he was four years old.<\/p>\n
However, the habit is dying out since a growing number of
\nfishermen are using nets to catch fish. Using a net is more
\npractical as more fish can be caught in a short time.<\/p>\n
Nomensen Ongge, 50, a local figure in Asei Besar hamlet in
\nSentani, hopes the government will preserved the habit through
\nregular competitions to attract tourists. \"These days, the
\nactivity is usually done at the request of tourists,\" said
\nNomensen.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/smoking-while-diving-on-the-decline-in-sentani-1447893297",
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