Bajau - Masters of Deep Sea Diving up to 60m Below the Ocean

Bajau are individuals who spend their entire lives at sea, capable of diving underwater for 13 minutes to catch seafood.

Bajau - Masters of Deep Sea Diving up to 60m Below the Ocean

The Bajau tribe primarily inhabits coastal areas in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, dedicating a significant amount of time to diving for fish, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and other foods. Their millennia-old seafaring lifestyle has garnered much attention from scientists worldwide. Photo: Matthieu Paley/NatGeo.

While most humans can only hold their breath underwater for a few seconds to a few minutes, the Bajau people can dive remarkably deep, staying submerged for up to 13 minutes at depths of around 60 meters. They dive to catch seafood and search for natural materials for handicrafts.

Pictured here is Dido, a young Bajau diver capturing fish and various shellfish offshore of Mantabuan Island, Malaysia. Photo: Matthieu Paley/NatGeo.

Due to their early exposure to free diving, Bajau individuals possess larger spleens than average, allowing them to move and work underwater for longer periods. Research by Melissa Llardo at the Geogenetics Center of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, has shown that the spleens of Bajau people are up to 50% larger than those of the Saluan people living on the Indonesian mainland. Millennia of living at sea have facilitated the evolution of the Bajau to adapt to their aquatic environment. Photo: Matthieu Paley/NatGeo.

Tarumpit, a Bajau 'sea gypsy,' is depicted here catching octopus offshore of Boheydulang Island, Malaysia. Photo: Matthieu Paley/NatGeo.

Living dispersedly in various locations, Bajau individuals often reside in floating villages built amidst coral reef areas. Nowadays, they migrate to coastal regions and live near small islands, but their lifestyle remains closely tied to the sea.

Pictured here are wooden stilt houses built along the coastline surrounding Bodgaya Island, Malaysia. The water level beneath their homes fluctuates from several centimeters to several meters, depending on the tide. Photo: Matthieu Paley/NatGeo.

Bajau people are denizens of the open sea, capable of diving for seafood without the need for support equipment. They typically carry only goggles and long spears for fishing.

Bajau children are observed and gradually accumulate personal experience to learn swimming and diving from a young age. In places like Sampela village, within the Wakatobi National Park in Indonesia, adults even perforate the eardrums of children to help them dive deeper, reducing discomfort. Photo: Cory Richards.

According to Vnexpress

***

Reference: Travel guide Mytour