Stranded whale in Maroantsetra
Since a few days the whales are here in the Bay of Antongil. All operators in the bay (the fishers and the ship owners) are usually careful and don’t interfere with the whales when they come into the bay. But this time a small whale (varongohitra) not far south of Maroantsetra, came too close to a Lithuanian vessel and was stressed. The small whale stranded on the sand. According to analysis, the whale was exhausted and that was why it swam on to the sand. Not long after, the small whale was died on the sand and this was reported to the authorities (ANGAP, WWCS, the marine services, the district authorities and the authorities in the city of Maronatsetra). Because the whale stranded itself it was considered a natural death and people were glad that they could access this free meat, fat and oils without risk. I tried to convince people not to attack the whale, but there was not much time and before I knew it – the people attached and killed it.
I photo of the event is posted in the picture library. Please find it on the follwing link; http://www.dlist-asclme.org/gallery/stranded-whale-maroantsetra-madagascar
Another comment from Mr. TSIMANOVA Estan di Papa Cyrille
Author: tsimanova estan di papa cyrille
Content:
François
In madagascar law concerning the defence of the whales are many because here in maroantsetra there are agents of protection such as WCS, ANGAP and Marine Park Manager within WWF from tanaraive. The small whale was killed by some acident. I think the small whale was tired while in the sea, and that is why it stranded on the beach. Some people tell me the whale was not killed by people from Maroantsetra, but they all enjoy having some meat, because it died a natural death. The responsible people from ANGAP and WCS from Antatanarive will know this problem well and will now leave it for others to discuss. TSIMANOVA Estan
Re : DLIST ASCLME: Stranded whale in Maroantsetra
FRIDA and the Dlisters,
If I get an opportunity to contruct my planned ecolodge on my land in ambodiforaha near Maroantsetra, I will be in a very good position to even help ANGAP and ETWCS to defend these marine mammals. I'll show people how to manage and look after whales during the planned festival in Ambodiforaha. I am confident that the awareness on whales will be increased through these activities and that people will stop eating them.
To be able to proceed with the plans for the festival and the construction of the eco-lodge I will need support from investors and contacts with different tours operators. We need to work together to make tourism grow in this region of Madagascar.
Merci
Between the Legend and the Real Whale Story
The baby whale story by Papa Cyrille is not a common case. Personnaly, I have never seen it in my life. However, during the ground work for my thesis, some people told me an old story about whales. And this recent event reminds me of the legendary story that an old man in Ambanizana village told me, in 1998.
The wise old man said:
“In the old times, people living around the Bay of Antongil used to catch whales in a very specific moment. For example, when there was a severe famine situation, the Raiamandreny (the old wise persons of the community) of the village initiated a long process of purification to get permission from God to catch one baby whale. Then, the young men would spend a week of living spearated from their families in an intense praying session with the most important shaman. During that time, they were not allowed to communicate with anyone even their wives and children. When they were spiritually ready, they would go in the sea in a particular style compared to the usual fishing. God had already given the permission to the people to kill one whale, but the hunting was still very risky. That was why only the shaman could decide who could join this exceptional expedition. It could take a couple of days to catch one whale, and when the mission was successfuk, the women in the village went to the beach to sing. The heroes from the fishing mission would progressively take the big catch to the beach. After the villages had taken the meat they needed, the remaining whale meat was returned to the sea and got pulled to the next village to share the remaining meat. The meat could be shared by many villages and made people survive during the time of famine."
I have never seen this kind of event before in Maroantsetra or the Antongil Bay. But the picture and story from Papa Cyrille shows that it happens.
The important thing to remember is: the name of the Whales in the local language is "Zanaharibe" which literally means "the supreme God". We know that one of the main roles of the God is to feed the people. The fishermen knows that it is always good to fish near the place where the whales are playing, because the small and medium sized fishes stay there to hide against predators. So, the Zanaharibe is still providing food for people. The oil of whale is locally also known as a very good medicines for many problems (including cancer), so the Zanaharibe is also saving people in that way.
There are many legendary stories about the whales you can record around the Antongil bay. People in this area have a very strong respect for the whales.
Through a short discussion that I had with Papa Cyrille yesterday, the baby whale was not killed by the people, but they just took meat from there after the whale had been stranded on the beach, about 5 kilometers south of Maroantsetra.
Maybe, there are problem with whale poaching somewhere in the open sea, but we don’t know. We can just say that the case of people eating whales in Maroantsetra is really not usual here. The scientists can probably give us more explanations.
Chaplain TOTO