Run by a fuel-powered motor and
connected to a tank and hose, the
air compressor was the lifeline of
the former pearl divers at sea in
Tawi-Tawi, Southern Philippines.
Photo by JMM Dasal and MF Ubalde, 2022.
PEARL-DIVING IN SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES
In Sapa-Sapa, Tawi-Tawi, former pearl divers now earn their livelihood
as local fishermen. Their grandfathers engaged in diving in what is
termed as manu-mano, equipped with tipara (Sama,
goggles), a rope tied to their waist and another one they tug for
signals, and a tingga (diving weight) of about 10 kilograms.
Their generation, however, used an air compressor. They would dive as
deep as 50 meters and stay for about 45 minutes or less, getting air
from the end of the hose, which they would wrap around their waist and
which would be connected to the machine on the other end. The high
risk of paralysis, if not death, it poses to divers led to its
prohibition.
The divers had to resort to other sources of living such as fishing
and farming to support their family. Some found employment in the
cultured pearl farms which are now concentrated in Palawan, northwest
of Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.
“You get pearls by luck… you have to pray, seek permission
from
the mountain and the sea before you go diving…
– Hji Rahim Amilasan
5 June 2022
Pearl-Diving in Southern Philippines
Curatorial Note
