Wordless Wednesday: Old Time Sabani Construction

Ever Wonder How Many Fish Are in the Ocean?

Tons Are Caught Every Day

No interesting birds got in the range of my lens today but, it was a blast, anyhow.

Out on the west coast of the island, the weather was beautiful.

There was 420MM of glass on the end of the camera so, I picked on this fishing boat.

Without a tripod, I figured, it would be best to sit on a rock, down at sea level.

To create a GIF, it's best to make sure the camera remains steady.

That was accomplished, by propping my elbows on top of my bony knees.

Then, I blasted away and shot a series of about 100 images, just for the fun of it.

At 8.6 frames per second, it doesn't take long to get enough photos to create an animation.

After I had my fill of photos, fresh sea breeze air and, scorching sunshine, I got thinking.

"Damn, it's hot down here."  So, I hurried off the beach looking for some shade.

There Should Be a Guinness World Record

If, they had one for the Worst Fisherman on Earth, I could probably win.

Fresh fish, I love especially, when they just came out of the ocean.

Throw them on a grill, the same day they were snagged and, they are delicious.

People who eat fish that was frozen for a few months, have no clue. That stuff stinks.

The folks, who work catching fish, are real heroes to me. I can't catch the darn things.

Not even with a net, when the critters are in an aquarium.

It's easier, to dump all the water out and, stomp on the little things, 'til they stop wiggling.

That's what kind of fisherman, I am.

Nobody Could Count All the Fish in the Sea

 

 

Maybe, they can do some estimates but, fish don't hold still very long.

In my never ending searches for the truth, I came up with a tidbit for y'all.

An average of twenty tons of fish, comes into a market, every day, down in Naha.

When, they have a lucky, day sometimes fifty tons, come into the same port.

That's a bunch of fish in my hillbilly opinion.  Check it out !

Okinawan Folktale: A Mermaid and the Tsunami Warning

When a Mermaid Speaks Pay Attention

 

 

This photo was taken at Moon Beach, far from the Yaeyama Islands.

The story comes from Ishigaki and a place called Nohara Village.

On moonlight nights youngsters would sing and dance at a beach.

From out at sea, music and singing could sometimes be heard.

An old man fishing with nets was surprised by his extraordinary catch one night.

One toss of the nets, gave him an unusually heavy load to haul ashore.

When he raised his torch to see what was caught in the nets, he spotted this beauty.

She cried, begging the fisherman to release her.

To the man, she looked like a young maiden but, she explained, she was a mermaid.

The gal had to be released to live in the sea.

She had come to warn the villagers of Nohara about a tragedy about to happen.

The fisherman untangled her from the nets and promised to let her return to the ocean.

But, he wanted her to tell him about what terrible event was about to occur in the village.

A tsunami would hit the island, the next day and, destroy everything, she told him.

She warned him to go to the mountains before morning.

The fisherman released her and, she swam away, singing once again.

The villagers were warned and, went to the mountains.

They dispatched someone to warn the people in the adjacent village.

The villagers in the next town, didn't believe the tsunami story and refused to evacuate.

The next morning, from the mountaintops, the villagers of Nohara watched.

The waves, reached high into he skies and, ripped the villages from the island.

People from Nohara lost their homes but, their lives were saved.

Those who didn't believe the mermaid's story were washed out to sea with their homes.

The 1771 Great Yaeyama Tsunami hit Ishigaki and Miyakojima Island and

 killed a total of 12,000 people.

From the OnlineLibrary -- G3 -- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems:

 "The chronicles of the Ryukyu Kingdom describe at least four coastal inundation events

 at Ishigaki Island during the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries."

REFERENCE:

 Okinawan Folk Stories ISBN978-4-99009-146-0



MORE FOLKLORE

10 Photos of Treasures Found in Itoman, Okinawa Today

Itoman Uminchu Koubou

 

 

That is the name of this place. Roughly translated: The Fisherman's Art and Craft Center.

The building is stocked full with history of the Itoman fisherman's equipment.

I've been to this town 100's of times, over the past 30 years, or so.

It was the first time, I'd ever been in this building so, I went crazy with the cameras.

They let me go anywhere I wanted and photograph, everything so, that's what I did.

 The sailing sabani (サバニ) boats are really, what I'm most interested in.

They build the boats, by hand, in a portion of this attraction. I want to learn.

See the difference between those three hats ?  I want to know about them, too.

Old wooden buckets, I'm not sure what they were used for. Maybe fish bait ?

They have some mean-looking shark specimens on display, too.

So, once I get all the images processes from the three cameras, I took, I'll be going back.

This place is better than a museum of natural history.  It's a goldmine !

Look at Some Characters and Faces from the Sanguacha (Images)

Centuries Old Ritual Tradition

 

The Sanguacha is an event that takes place on Henza Island in Okinawa, Japan.

Further research and translation will be needed before I have a complete story to publish.

But, I can give you a peek at some of the folks and things I met during the Sanguacha.

This brightly-colored fish appears to be the village mascot.

Much of the prayers and rituals are dedicated to the success of fisherman.

The whole entourage proceeds to a small off shore island to conduct ceremonies.

Villagers, of every age, participate.

There could be as many costumes as you would see in New Orleans Mardi Gras, for all I know.

Every major brand of camera and video recorder are there, too.

It's always a pleasure running into those who know what they are doing.

These guys cracked me up.

They knew how to stuff a bra but, forgot to shave the armpits.

To keep confusion to a minimum, I won't try to name any of these characters.

It would have been nice to get photos of everyone but, I had to move quickly.

The procession covers a lot of ground so, there's no time to waste, sitting down.

It was a really warm day.

Those people wearing rubber masks must of been awful hot.

When the crowd stopped at a tent for some opening ceremonies, I took a break.

There was a drink machine, in the shade and I bought some cold water.

While everybody in the tent was praying or, whatever they do, I was over here.

 This sweetheart invited me to sit down and cool-off.

And, we just entertained ourselves.

Everywhere you go at the Sanguacha you run into friendly people.

Sometimes, I pop-up from behind the camera and blow a kiss, to see what will happen.

Hah.  I better not let the wife see this one !

 The Henza Community Center is where everything started and ended.

There were plenty of dances and performances, that probably lasted all night long.

One of my favorite characters, is the Shishimai; that purple guy above.

The two youngsters, under that fur, had to be roasting, dancing in that contraption.

This was where I took my parting shot, for the day.

Some Photo Printing Needs to be Done

 

 

A pile of photos of these faces and characters will be made for my return trip to Henza Island.

Maybe, I should just burn them to a CD for the village office.

Out of all the faces, I took photos of, I only came home with one, signed model release.

That means, I have to track some folks down for signatures if I want to get them published.

Can you guess who, from the photos above, already signed one ?