Since 60,000 years ago, the Aborigines of Australia have relied on their superior crocodile hunting skills to survive.
In the midst of the modern world, there are still primitive peoples living in dense forests. They live in a special population, they have practices that scare many people.
We are talking about the Yolngu people of Northern Australia that have existed for nearly 60,000 years with the most dangerous profession in the world: Hunting swamp crocodiles.
The Yolngu population is about 16,000 people on an area of 97,000 square meters . They were the first indigenous people to appear on the territory of Australia between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago.
They initially co-existed with hundreds of different ethnic groups, with a total of 250 indigenous languages.
However, since James Cook (the first European to set foot in Australia) came here in 1770, the tribes here experienced more than 200 dark years with massacre, disease, invasion…
According to Yolngu legend, the Earth was originally a large pool of mud and clay. Then the ancestors emerged from the earth or appeared from the sky. The ancestors gave birth to everything from creatures and people to wisdom, hope and joy. They are supreme and all their instructions for posterity should be strictly followed.
Arnhem Land is an island between Bali and Sydney, an area of about 37,000 square miles with a population of about 16,000, most of which are indigenous.
The life of the people here does not seem to have changed much over the past ten thousand years, they live in harmony with nature from the time they are born until they return to the land.
Roy Gaykamangu, a man from the Yolngu tribe is entering a forest on the east side of the island to begin his daily hunting trip.
In addition to the rifle as the only modern means of transport, the hunters here mainly use primitive skills that have been passed down by their ancestors for generations.
They didn’t bring food with them when hunting, the forest would provide most of the necessities during a trip that could last from day to day.
This hunter named Robert Gaykamangu had just shot a goose while crossing a dead-end river on his way.
Meanwhile, Marcus Gaykamangu, another hunter, found a native lizard named Goanna .
The lizard was then grilled whole over the fire, making it a rather hearty lunch for the whole group of hunters. However, the main object of the hunt is a much more impressive name, which is the crocodile species – the most formidable killers in the Australian jungle.
Johnny, the three-year-old grandson that Roy Gaykamangu took with him, showed no fear in front of animals that would normally kill him in an instant.
All three generations of the Roy family were present on the hunt, the one carrying the alligator on his shoulder – Marcus – was his son, the boy’s father Johnny.
The crocodiles they hunt are mainly freshwater crocodiles, although not as formidable as the giant saltwater crocodiles, but extremely agile and aggressive.
In addition, they also have the ability to hide extremely effectively that if not for the sharp and experienced eyes of native hunters, it would be impossible to detect.
Marcus Gaykamangu was holding up a small crocodile that he had just caught with his bare hands, right in the middle of a swamp, a shelter for crocodiles in the forest.
Hunters only use guns when encountering large and dangerous crocodiles, the rest of the animals are easily controlled by them with their hands.
Roy and his son were using logs to probe in a root mound just below the water, places like these that are a favorite hiding spot for crocodiles in the lagoon.
He can easily spot and shoot the crocodile diving deep under the water, even if the photographer has not seen any signs yet.
However, it is not because of that that the hunters always avoid danger, as evidenced by the scar that has just pulled the skin on the chest of Bruce Gaykamangu, another hunter in the group.
Before hunting, they always have to hold a ceremony with traditional spiritual dances to beg the ancestral spirits to protect them.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the ancestors of the Yolngu lived in harmony with Mother Nature, but only fear that their descendants will no longer have that opportunity, when humanity is destroying its own living environment.