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Post:Lam Linh. Image:Long Vu
In the red sunset on the horizon, the simple stakes on the sea create a rare beauty. On the calm blue sea, the stakes are firmly planted on the road around the sea, creating ideal fishing spots. At 4 pm, the fishermen of Galle fishing village gather at the sea, preparing for the afternoon fishing session.
The Kathaluwa fishermen begin swimming with powerful strokes, overcoming the relentless pounding waves towards land to their positions. The stilts are about 2m high. The fishermen sit on a crossbar called a petta attached to a vertical pole planted into the reef. They hold the stilts in one hand and the fishing rod in the other, hoping to catch herring or small tuna. The fish they catch are stored in a plastic bag tied around their waist or the pole.
Fishing from stilts is a long-standing tradition among about 500 fishing families in the southwestern part of Sri Lanka, Galle district, especially around the towns of Kathaluwa and Ahangama. It is not clear when this tradition began. According to some older fishermen, this way of fishing was invented after the end of World War II. At that time, people fished from rocks that jutted out from the ocean surface. People used iron bars left over from the war to make stilts and planted them in the coral reef. But when iron stilts became scarce, they replaced them with wooden stilts, which they found to be strong and sturdy enough to withstand the wrath of the sea. From then on, wooden stilts completely replaced the iron stilts that had rusted over time.
Another explanation is that this unique way of fishing originally arose because fishermen were too poor to afford fishing boats. They came up with this way of fishing and passed it down from generation to generation.
And a highly appreciated environmental explanation is that instead of fishing with nets, fishermen here sit for hours fishing on stilts. They believe that fishing with nets disturbs the fish and the fish may not return for years, forcing them to look for new fishing grounds further afield. Whereas the simple and unobtrusive stilts in the sea disturb the fish much less and the fish stay in the sea. So the fishermen wait patiently on their stilts, until the fish hook themselves.
The fishermen spend two shifts a day fishing, spending hours in front of the sea. With a fishing rod, a bag of fish and a few cigarettes, the fishermen, heads wrapped in scarves, bare-chested or with a shirt on, wait for the fish to bite. The fish caught in the afternoon are all small fish. These will also be bait for the next morning, to catch bigger fish. The stilts are firmly planted in the sea, but not everyone has the patience to sit on them. After hours of fishing under the blazing sun, the fish caught can be sold or used for dinner for the family. The fishing tradition is passed down from father to son, and with it, the specific skills of each fishing family. Stilt fishing is a traditional way of making a living for the people of Sri Lanka, and each stilt is considered a valuable family heirloom.
To this day, stilt fishing has become a beautiful image in the seas of Sri Lanka. Sitting on stilts hanging between the sky and the water, in the crimson sunset, their faces also glow red, the waves crashing, the tall coconut trees, like a beautiful still life painting of nature.
| More information: After the tsunami in 2004, parts of Sri Lanka's coast were also severely affected and recovery was slow. |
