On the water with the sea gipsies - Bajau People

On the water with the sea gipsies: Intimate portraits capture life of Borneo's Bajau children who live their whole lives on the ocean

They are not recognized by neighboring countries, do not know their ages, and have little concept of reading or writing.

The Bajau people are known as the 'sea gipsies,' as they spend most of their time living on boats and working in the turquoise Pacific Ocean

'The children are like fish in the sea. Young children are sometimes on the boat alone, but all seemed very happy to see a foreigner,' the 35-year-old French photographer said. 

'Children were jumping from a wooden bridge and they wanted me to take their photo. They were perfect models.' 

The Bajau tribe's beliefs centre around a combination of animism and Islam, with their relationship with the ocean and its inhabitants being at the heart of the nomads' existence.

The Bajau live in small boats or stilted huts, relying on their extensive knowledge of the ocean to make a living through fishing. 

The young children learn from a young age how to swim or dive, and start their hunting as young as eight years old. 

Despite many of them not knowing their ages, or written communication, Réhahn described the peace and serenity that emanated from the water tribe. 

Being around water from a young age results in the best divers being able to stay submerged at depths of 20 metres for several minutes, while they hunt for fish.

The hunter-gathers mainly use spearfishing to get their produce, but can dive for pearls and sea cucumbers.  

Studies have shown that youngsters have exceptionally good underwater-vision due to being constantly in the ocean environment.

As diving is such a big part of their lives, often their ear drums rapture at an early age.