PEARL DIVING IN TAWI-TAWI

It was a status symbol, then and now. But for others, the pearl was a bounty of the sea, a blessing from Allah, merely an accidental find, or an ultimate emblem of a community’s way of life.

Following the recent conclusion of Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month (MANA Mo), let us continue to appreciate the significance of this marine biodiversity that permeates community life in the southern islands of the Philippines and showcases the dynamics between nature and humankind.

Pearls are produced when mollusks secrete nacre to form layers around an irritant.  These natural gems are abundant in the Philippine seas, earning their moniker “home of the South Sea Pearl.” Known for its luster and texture, South Sea Pearls are produced by 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘢, a species of pearl oyster. Other marine animals from which pearls are sourced include the 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘢, the genus 𝘗𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢, and the families Haliotidae, Trochidae, or Turbinidae.

Before the advent of mechanical diving technology, the Sama Bajau group from the Islands of Tawi-Tawi in southern Philippines was already known for their unique ability to hold their breath for a longer period than normal and navigate the sea waters more than a hundred feet or so to collect pearl-producing oysters manually. They became known as “naked” or traditional pearl divers without any gear or equipment. Later on, the pearl divers started using air compressors for pearl diving.

In the Municipality of Sapa-Sapa, Tawi-Tawi, the remnants of this life are seen through equipment and boats in their sheds, and yet remain alive in the collective memory of former compressor pearl divers who participated in a practice that has since evolved into a contemporary pearl culturing industry.

From the 1970s until the early 1990s, former compressor pearl divers in Sapa-Sapa conducted pearl diving expeditions in the waters of the Sulu Sea as well as the boundary between Tawi-Tawi and Malaysian waters. Most usually started during their early teen years, and their experience was marked by the long days spent on boats and the coldness of the water to collect the pearl oysters. A 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴𝘢 (fishing vessel) tug at least 20 pump boats in each diving leg, carrying four pearl divers each to their dive site.

Run by a fuel-powered motor and connected to a tank and hose, the air compressor was the lifeline of the compressor pearl divers at sea. Without modern regulators, the diver would hold the hose’s one end in his mouth and loop the rest around his waist. The other end of the hose would be attached to the tank, which was connected to the air compressor and transmitted the air to the diver underneath.

Although used by compressor pearl divers as a supposed aid to breathe, air compressors have put many lives at risk and permanently ended livelihoods in the pearling industry for some. With every dive into the sea, pearl divers faced the danger of oxygen loss.  As air compressors were used without modern timers and gauges to indicate oxygen levels, divers were left to estimate the time they could stay underwater. When the air supply becomes depleted, headaches and numbness of the limbs creep upon the body. Nabada (Sinama term for ‘paralyzed’) is what the pearl divers call someone who has suffered permanent paralysis due to oxygen loss during diving.

The decline of traditional and compressor pearl diving during the mid-1990s has been attributed to changes in demand and the policies enacted by the government at the local and national levels to protect the dwindling maritime resources, including pearl oysters. Aside from the growing emphasis on environmental protection, the market-driven demand for pearls led to the development of a pearl-culturing industry. As a result, most of the former pearl divers in Tawi-Tawi shifted to fishing for their livelihood, with many relocating to southern Palawan as the fish were more abundant in its waters.

The story of the Sama Bajau’s pearl diving tradition and its evolution into the current pearl-culturing industry manifests how nature can shape community practices and traditions and, consequently, how these have affected the natural environment.

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