The Naked Sponge Divers of Kalymnos Greece
Sponge Divers of Kalymnos – Francesco Zizola – Copyright © Francesco Zizola – NOOR.
Owing to the fact that only 18% of the rocky, infertile land of the small volcanic island of Kalymnos, one of the Dodecanese in the southeast Aegean, Greece, was suitable for cultivation, the inhabitants turned to the sea as their source of income in the form of boat-building, fishing and sponge-diving.
Kalymnos Dodecanese Greece
Sponge-diving is the oldest profession of Kalymnos and the main source of sponges in the Aegean, sponges have been mentioned as far back as the eighth century BC, in Homer’s book, The Iliad, Hephaestus washes himself with a sea sponge and in The Odyssey, sponges are used to wipe down tables after eating.
Other uses of sea sponges were as padding for helmets, drinking vessels, water filters and contraceptives.
From the time the first diver took a deep breath before plunging naked into the deep blue depths of the Aegean Sea, until the present day, various diving techniques have been employed.
Skandalopetra:
Used for Naked diving (also known as Skin diving or Free diving)
Greek skin divers with scythe, collecting net and scandalopetra
Skin diving or free diving was the first diving technique used on Kalymnos.
A cylindrical, glass-bottomed object called a ‘yali’ was used to locate sponges on the sea bed, once sponges had been spotted, naked, armed only with a mesh bag and a scythe, the diver would attach a length of rope to himself weighted with a stone called a skandalopetra.
The other end of the rope was attached to the boat, after taking a deep breath the diver went over the side and with the help of the skandalopetra, quickly reached the sea bed.
A skandalopetra, a centuries old Greek sponge diver’s weight
Once on the sea bed as many sponges as the diver could carry were cut with the scythe and placed into his mesh bag, when his lungs were at bursting point, a sharp tug on the rope alerted the men in the boat to haul the diver up to the surface.
Using this diving technique, with a single breath of air, it was possible to descend to approximately thirty metres for about three minutes.
A skandalopetra, a centuries old Greek sponge diver’s weight, is a flat smooth stone (marble or granite) with rounded edges and a hole in the middle, weighing from eight to fourteen kilos.
Naked Greek Sponge diver with skandalopetra
Scafandro (Diving suit)
In the mid 1800s the diving suit, or scafandro, as the Greeks called it, was introduced to Kalymnos.
This was a weighted, watertight canvas or rubber suit, a diving helmet made from copper, brass or bronze, supplied with air through a hose from a manual surface pump, and heavy boots.
A scafandro suit used by sponge divers on display at the Nautical -Sea World Museum in Kalymnos.
The introduction of the scafandro meant divers were able to remain much longer on the sea bed, gathering many more sponges than when employing the previous naked diving technique.
With the use of the scafandro productivity increased a hundred fold, the few small boats now became fleets of larger boats, venturing as far away as Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, often staying away from Kalymnos for up to six months at a time, sponge diving was now big business, Sponges from Kalymnos were now being exported all over the world.
Sponge Diver – Kalymnos
Nikolas Vouvalis (1859-1918):
The wealthiest sponge trader in the world
Nikolas Vouvalis and family – sponge traders of Kalymnos – Greece
Nikolas Vouvalis (1859-1918) became the wealthiest sponge trader in the world, together with his wife, known to the people of Kalymnos as Vouvalina, they donated the Vouvalis Girl’s school, the Vouvalis hospital, the church of Saint Nikolaos and much more to the island.
The family residence is today The Historical Museum of Kalymnos, some rooms remain exactly as they were when the family lived there.
Divers were making several dives a day without taking breaks for decompression, many died or were paralyzed by the decompression sickness (The bends), it’s said that as many as 10,000 died and another 20,000 were permanently disabled between the 1886 and 1910.
Not a single family in Kalymnos was without the loss of a father, brother or husband, which, in many cases, meant a complete loss of income, all through the perilous pursuit of sponges.
At this time Kalymnos, as were all islands of the Dodecanese, was under Ottoman rule, the bereft island women pleaded with the sultan to do something about this dangerous form of diving, it was robbing the island of their men, the sultan heeded their request and the scafandro was banned.
So, it was back to skinny-dipping with a mesh bag and a stone.
Naked sponge diver diving with a skandalopetra – Nautical Museum of Kalymos Island
As you can imagine profits plummeted, the divers, who had become wealthy merchants, had grown used to the good life, no way were they going back to fishing for sardines and in a few years, the scafandro was back.
Hookha, naghile and Fernez:
Surface-supplied diving and scuba diving
By the 1920s the Hookah, Fernez, and Narghile diving system, using surface supplied air, fed through nose to the helmet, were in full use and by 1970 scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) had practically taken over, things were on the up and up, but, as they say, all good things come to an end.
Sea sponge divers using Fernez technique – Greece
The rise and fall of sponge diving on Kalymnos
In the past, the biggest threat to the sponge divers of Kalymnos had been over-fishing and the development of cheap, artificial sponges, but worse was to come.
In 1962 Egypt and then, in 1972, Libya, banned Greek sponge divers from their territorial waters, now diving in only Greek waters and the international Mediterranean Sea, the annual haul of sea sponges dropped from 120 tons to a mere 40 tons.
Sea sponges – Kalymnos Greece
The fearless divers soldiered on but in 1986 catastrophe hit, a fast-spreading blight more or less wiped out sponges in the East Mediterranean, leaving sponges rotting on the sea bed.
This disease lasted for nearly ten years, the natural sea sponge of Kalymnos, known as Kalymnian gold, was slowly being replaced with synthetic sponges or natural sponges from Cuba.
The Greek sponge divers of Tarpon Springs Florida
During the early 1900s many Greek sponge divers, knowing the area was rich pickings for sponges, emigrated to Tarpon Springs, Florida.
After the setbacks in the Greek sponge trade, in later years, many more followed.
Sponge diver – Tarpon Springs – Florida – 1907
With their diving skills and know how, these Greek divers turned Tarpon Springs into the sponge capital of the world.
A large Greek community has emerged; white-washed houses, narrow streets, Greek food, traditions and culture have all given the place a Mediterranean feel.
Greek sponge diveing boat – Tarpon Springs Florida
Second and third generation Greeks can be seen waiting along the waterfront, calling to tourists of Tarpon Springs to come and see the sponge diving exhibitions, or book tickets for fishing trips, and the ‘spongers’ , can be seen, selling their wares, Kalymnian gold, along the quayside, you would be forgiven for thinking you were on the Greek island of Kalymnos!
Modern day Kalymnos
Sea sponges – Kalymnos Greece
Sponge diving is now but a small cottage industry on Kalymnos, but, in honour of the courageous, (or should that be reckless?) divers, an annual “Sponge Week’ is held every summer.
Greek sea sponges from Kalymnos
The “Sponge Week” consists of diving competitions, spear fishing, street parties, delicious Greek food is abundant and wine flows like nectar.
Today bars, cafes and restaurants line the water front of Pothia, the capital and port of Kalymnos and once the sponge diving capital of the world.
Memories of Kalymnos past can be found in the center of the waterfront area, at the Nautical and Folklore Museum which features displays of the traditional regional dress and the history of sponge diving.
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