The Bajau people are a tribe who have evolved into real-life Aquamen.
They free-dive 60 feet deep into the ocean, walk at the bottom and remain underwater for 2 to 5 minutes.
These humans are often better at fishing than dolphins or whales.
I currently rank “Hunters of the South Seas” #1 on my list of “The Best Bajau People Documentaries” (that contains
Trailer for “Hunters of the South Seas: The Bajau”
Watch “Hunters of the South Seas: The Bajau”
Watch “The Bajau” documentary for free by clicking the video embed above or here: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ne9uv. (I find playing the embed is better than the link because the embed appears to be ad-free).
I don’t see any major streamers showing “Hunters of the South Seas: The Bajau”.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 90/100
- IMDB Rating: 8.2/10 (this is IMDB’s rating for the entire Hunter of the South Seas” series.
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: na
Release Date: April 19, 2015
My Review of “Hunters of the South Seas: The Bajau”
This is the best comprehensive documentary on the Bajau people.
Hosted by British writer, TV presenter and fisherman Will Millard, this doc shows the Bajau people in myriad ways.
From how they live (he sleeps there), eat (he eats a fish head!), pee & poop and, of course, fish.
Fishing is what the Bajau people are famous for.
If it rains. They don’t fish.
If they don’t fish, they don’t eat.
But Kabei risks it one night. Spear fishing in a storm.
He catches 3 fish. It’s a small amount.
But it’s enough for his family to eat.
Kabei learned to swim from his father. His father swam down 15 feet holding him. They he would put him on his shoulders and send him to the surface.
His father (75 years old) still swims 45 feet down to fish.
Will Millard says “I’ve never seen anything like it…it’s like watching underwater ballet”.
Poop & Waste System
They poop and toss other waste below their stilted homes. Small bait fish eat it up and the ecosystem seems to work efficiently
The Myth of the Bajau
As the Bajau people tell it, the origin of their people is that there was a king whose daughter is washed away in a flood.
The king sends a child to search the seas. And when he did not return, the king sent out others.
Many of these went to land.
But some remained in water.
And they learned to live off the sea.
Interaction with Mainland
They do go to “the mainland” to buy fresh water and trade their fish.
The women are in charge of selling the fish.
They only have small canoes and can only make it to one market (so they tend to get paid low prices).
They’ll pay only $1 per pound for tuna.
One potential buyer spits at the Bajau women.
Some Tension with Those on Land
Two loan sharks from the mainland come visit one of the mothers who they say owe her money (65,000 Rupiah).
It adds stress to the village.
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc