Haenyo

Haenyo ( " Seefrauen " ) called on Jeju, an island off South Korea, living divers reap what seafood. They are considered as a living symbol of the island.

Diver life

From about six years, the training begins. You learn to swim and dive near the shore by sea grass. With about 14 years, they learn to reap the lucrative shellfish in the deeper waters. They learn from their mother 's secret places known to work, without getting stuck in the rocks, and to remain calm in dangerous situations. With about 17 years, they start to work fully and dive until about the age of 70 to 15 determined by the lunar calendar days.

Through hard training and physical adaptation they can stay under water for up to three or four minutes and dive up to 20 meters deep. They have an extended lung volume and Weddell seals as they use the spleen as an oxygen reservoir. When diving, the institution draws together, creating oxygen-rich red blood cells enter the circulation, thus allowing a longer dive. Mostly, however, they remain a maximum of 90 seconds under water. In the long and deep diving, the water pressure compresses the chest and under water everything is in order. An ascent to the chest and oxygen flows from the blood into the lungs expands. Fainting may result. For this reason, at least in pairs, but usually dipped into groups that can shake her friends again if necessary.

After surfacing, they give the so-called Sumbisori of itself, a number of high rhythmic whistling caused by the blowing out of the air. Warren Zapol, head of anesthesiology at the General Hospital of Boston in Massachusetts, who has conducted a number of studies in the 1990s, this explains: "When you exhale through pursed lips, the air bubbles expand in the lungs, that have been compressed by the diving. "In addition, the lungs are emptied, the buoyancy is reduced, and the women get on the next dive easily into the depths. " This principle is similar to the breathing behavior of whales and seals while diving. "

Most twice a day, before and after the tide, up to a total of four or five hours they are in the water. Dip water temperature even at eight degrees. Earlier they were up to 20 minutes at a time in the water. In the cold season they warm each other for generations, between dives at a bonfire on the shore. Previously they wore only homemade cotton bathing suits, diving masks and flippers. Even before the Haenyo began in the 1970s to wear wetsuits, they were examined by Suk Ki Hong and Hermann Rahn of the University at Buffalo. The two found that the body of the divers was able to take in the winter twice as much oxygen as the average Koreans. Zapol thinks: "Maybe boost their thyroid heat production at, so they burn more oxygen and thus produce higher temperatures, they keep warm in winter. " By the suits they could spend more time in the water and reap more seafood. And there came also to more headaches, deafness and neuralgia. 67.5% of Haenyo over 50 have these problems today.

They solve the marine animals from with knives and small iron hoes from the stones. The harvest baskets are held by styrofoam balls at the water surface. Traditionally, there were taewak, hollowed-out pumpkins. There are also caught some fish with a spear. The women are organized strictly according to villages and groups appear again in groups and also their dive sites have staked so that the income of the individual villages is assured. Between the two dives till 95% of the Haenyo fields.

On the first day of the second month of the lunar calendar, the spirit of coming " grandmother Youngdeung " - goddess of the wind and the sea, protector of fishermen and seaweed - to the island and remains until 15 Two or four weeks, then shamanic rites held, in which they prayed for protection and a rich harvest.

Anything like this is only possible with the ama in Japan, most of which are women.

History

For over 1500 years, immersed in the southern coastal waters of Korea and Japan for seafood. There are historical reports that until the 17th century, both men and women emerged off the coast of Jeju. Men gathered in the deeper waters abalone and women harvested near the shore seaweed. After high taxes were introduced and the work for the men was unprofitable - they had to pursue throughout the year for the hazardous work - appeared only the women who had to pay no tax.

That brought the folk songs sung in Haenyo more economic influence and many freedoms that were denied to women on the mainland. So they had to have the right to divorce and remarry. The men took care of the children. Women were often the head of the family. Women have to say more today on the island, many important deities are female, there was a strong matriarchal society. The prisoners ensured the survival, they were the main provider of the family. Previously was also the Women's men's relationship to Chejo 3:1 because many men perished at sea. This, too, urged the women. A few exiles - almost invariably political persecution - the beginning of the 20th century mingled with the island nation and helped to build a rudimentary education system and roads. The Haenyo founded cooperatives, every village has one, and earned the money. The organizational strength was so great that they 1932 the independence movement spearheaded against Japanese colonial rule on the island, a part of history that was long forgotten.

In the 1960s, still wanted some women start out as illegal in Japan to live in the modern age, others had already earned enough to buy homes and to give their children a good education. The economic impact of women increased. The seafood were a delicacy and exported. First on the Korean mainland, and in the 1970s was the export to Japan in momentum, there was a great economic upturn, and life improved tremendously. Experienced divers bring it today on a monthly income with which the children even the study can be financed.

Fewer and fewer young women entering the profession. Was there in 1960 about 30,000, or 23,000 so there are only 5,406 in 2006 and more than half of them is already over sixty years old.

This has several causes. On one hand, changed the marine fauna, possibly due to overfishing or pollution. Most of what you find today are sea urchins. The divers are hoping for their daughters a better life and send them to schools and universities. They are proud when their daughters to work in the office. Tourism is also booming, many women work in this sector, and the Haenyo are increasingly becoming a tourist attraction.

Hated the earlier Haenyo their hard life in many ways, they are, since tourists come, proud of their diving and hunting skills. In 1999, the island administration began to offer complete medical care, each local government had to build changing rooms and community jobs. The administration also showed how valuable the Haenyo for the island, through the provision of diving suits, equipment for physiotherapy and supports. It also considerations were made to register the Haenyo as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The catch falls today not as rich as earlier. To supplement their income, some Seefrauen grow vegetables or work in motels or restaurants along the coast. Some also built with the accumulated money custom homes, which also guest rooms are housed. Have you previously often the men looked after the house and children, so they are now working on Mandarin farms, in the stables of the island or fishing. In a small village on the east coast fisheries cooperative has 160 members. 139 are female divers and 21 men fishing.