I am always fascinated by water people. Those that live on the water. Generally they use wooden boats and those boats are usually fashioned by hand. I can’t remember how I stumbled upon this video but it is quite beautiful. Of course, “rowing” is defined as propelling a boat with an oar. But most of us think of oars being manipulated by hands and not feet. Notice how they use their legs as oarlocks.
From the videographer, Jan-Arend van Boeijen:
Inle Lake is a very special lake in Myanmar. The lake is known for its villages built on stilts, the floating market, the floating gardens, and the leg rowers. Our film shows it all. We visited Inle Lake in November 2012 (see our travelogue with a lot of pictures and clips at: www.travelbyphoto.nl ).
Around and on the Inle lake lives the Intha minority, often in villages with houses built on piles. The village best known is Ywama, built in the lake, with wooden houses on stilts and canals as streets. Parts of the village are connected with wooden bridges. There is a floating market, visited by people who arrive by boat from around the area to do some shopping.
The Intha have a very special way of rowing: the leg rowing. The rower stands on the boat stand, and rows with the oar between a hand and a leg.
the Rondout Rower 