Ama (diving)
Japanese pearl diving
Ama (海女, "sea women") are Japanese divers famous for collecting pearls, though traditionally their main catch is seafood. The vast majority of ama are women.
Terminology
There are several sea occupations that are pronounced "ama" and several words that refer to sea occupation.
ama (海女) – a sea-diving fisherwoman
ama (海士) – a sea-diving fisherman
ama (海人), kaijin (海人) – a sea-diving fisherperson of either gender
uminchu (海人) – a sea fisherperson of either gender in Okinawan
While one definition of ama specifically refers to divers, another definition refers to fisherpersons in general.
History
Japanese tradition holds that the practice of ama may be 2,000 years old.
Records of female pearl divers, or ama, date back as early as AD 927 in Japan's Heian period. Early ama were known to dive for seafood and were honored with the task of retrieving abalone for shrines and emperors. Ama traditionally wear white, as the colour represents purity and also to possibly ward off sharks. Traditionally and even as recently as the 1960s, ama dived wearing only a loincloth, but in the 20th century, the divers adopted an all-white sheer diving uniform in order to be more presentable while diving. Even in modern times, ama dive without scuba gear or air tanks, making them a traditional sort of freediver.
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