Ama divers
Encyclopedia : A : AM : AMA : Ama divers
Ama divers (Japanese: 海 士(for Men) / 海 女(for Women)) are Japanese female divers famous for diving for pearls.
The word ama literally means "sea woman". Japanese tradition holds that the practice of Ama divers may be 2000 years old. Traditionally, and even as recently as the 1960s, Ama dived wearing only a loincloth. Even in modern times, Ama dive without scuba gear or air tanks, making them a traditional sort of free-diver. Depending on the region, ama may dive with masks, fins and torso-covering wetsuits at the most. Only divers who work for tourist attractions use white, partially transparent suits.
Ama are famous for pearl diving but originally they dived for food like seaweed, shellfish, lobsters, octopus and sea urchins - and oysters which sometimes have pearls.
Ama divers can keep diving well into old age. Usually they also have another job, typically working on a farm.
It's supposed that the majority of Ama are women because of how their bodies differ from men. They naturally have more body fat, which ensures that they can stay warmer in colder water.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.