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August in Madagascar

Thursday, October 4, 2001 - 4 comments
In August of 2001, Toby and I went to Madagascar. Madagascar is the 4th largest island on earth, and is located off the east coast of Africa. First settled 2000 years ago by Indonesians, today it is a mix of many tribes. The country is 1000 miles long and 300 miles wide, and has all types of terrain: mountains, plains, dry and arid areas, and rainforest. This is a photo of the capital city, Antananarivo, but widely called Tana (TAH nah).
There is a lot of clay in the soil in many parts of Madagascar. In areas rich in clay deposits, houses are built from blocks formed from the clay. These houses are very typical.
Madagascar has had a changing political history. From 1896 until 1960, it was a French colony. During the 1980's, it was closely associated with Russia and experimented with Communism. Economically the country suffered greatly both during the Communist years and after independence. Today there is little industry. Sisal is a straw like material grown widely in the southern part of the country. Sisal plantations are vast, and employ a fair number of people. All are owned by French who either retained Malagasy citizenship after independence or married Malagasy citizens. Non-Malagasy are not permitted to own businesses, but we found that most businesses are owned by people from other countries who have figured out ways around the rules. People all over Madagascar use sisal to make baskets, hats and other consumer goods. This woman had a booth at the road side where I bought a satchel.
Electrification has not been a high priority and most Malagasy do not have plumbing, septic or sewer, or electricity. This inventive man is operating a scroll saw with a lever (and no power).
Blacksmithing is a trade that is very important to the Malagasy economy. Because the country is very poor, virtually nothing is imported. There are still a number of vehicles from the French days, and if your engine block goes, or you need a piston; blacksmiths will make what you need. The precision we expect is not available in Madagascar, and many cars spewed black smoke, but still ran. Blacksmiths also produce tools such as hammers, shovels, scythes and knives.
The boy on the left is operating a hand bellows. Note that these blacksmiths are barefoot. Also note that there is no anvil or forge as we know it. The charcoal is on the floor rather than in a forge.
Foreigners are known as vassa (vah SAH). If you walk through the countryside, as we did this day, all of a sudden children will appear, eager to talk to you and have their photos taken. You will hear the cry Vassa, Vassa go all through the hills and fields, and everyone comes running. The Malagasy are a very friendly people and rarely see Americans. The French are more common but not as popular.
Rice is a dietary staple, and is grown in the central highlands. Some rice is exported. These are rice paddies and terraced fields.
These girls are husking rice. Below the 2 long sticks is a wooden bowl and a small amount of rice. They are pounding the husks off.
The roads have had little maintenance since colonial days. Sometimes it took 3-4 hours to go 50 kilometers. There was a brief period when the Chinese engaged in some road building, and during those years (the 80's), some bridges were built and it became possible to go from the north to the south by road. Today, tourists fly from the central highlands to the south, as the roads are far too bad to travel on. Next to particularly bad spots, locals sell goods to those who have to crawl over the valley and ravines.
One of the most famous aspects of Madagascar is its wildlife. This is a civet, which is a cat like creature who is carnivorous.
Music and dance are widely loved. These boys danced a warrior dance for us one evening.
These were the musicians that accompanied them. They were wonderful, yet observe the condition of their instruments!
This child was standing by the roadside and was carrying her hatchet. Slash and burn agricultural techniques are widely practiced. Children chip wood off trees to make charcoal.
A Malagasy man is a rich man if he has lots of zebu (zee boo). The zebu is a meat animal and is much like cow only more flavorful. Zebu have a large hump on their backs that are filled with fat that is used for soap making. They are well suited to the dry climate.
Isalo (iss AH lo) is a preserve in the south central part of the country. It is filled with very exotic rock formations. Because there are no freezing temperatures, land erodes but rock and mineral structures don't fall over. We hiked through Isalo extensively.
This is an elephant foot plant in Isalo.
More of Isalo
The only place on earth where lemurs live is in Madagascar. These are ringtail lemurs in Berenty Reserve. Ringtails are very curious and come very close to people. They have no predators and as a result, no fear.
This is a brown lemur.
There are many reptiles in Madagascar, this is a chameleon we found in a rainforest. We even saw a boa constrictor moving along the path.
Isn't this a remarkable spider web covered with dew? The spider is red and quite large. You can see him in the center.
Sifaka lemurs are very social creatures and can leap very long distances both in the trees and on the ground.
If a man does not have zebu, he is still considered a rich man if he has many children. This family has 8 children and they all live in the house they are standing in front of. This house is considerably upscale, as most houses are built from reeds or hand pressed bricks. This man is in charge of ostriches, which are located on a sisal plantation. The plantation owner usually supplies housing for certain employees. To the left of the door is a double bed that fills the space completely both to the left of the door and front to rear. To the right of the door is a stack with all their stuff, like clothing. There is a short shelf on the back wall and a window on the right wall. Outside is a cooking fire and a thatched roof to protect from the intense sun.
Further south in the country, there are trees that are used from lumber. As a result, the truly ambitious have wood houses. This house probably has 6-12 people living in it. Houses are not a measure of wealth and most living is done out of doors.
This is me in the spiny forest. The spiny forest is a very arid area.
This is a nocturnal lemur, the Sportiv lemur.
This is me in a tree that grew together. If you look at the branches above me, you will see how they are actually connected to each other and growing.
This is another example of vegetation in the spiny forest.
and more...
These are very typical houses. This particular village was a fishing village, on the Lokaro peninsula on the very southern tip of the island.
Ahhh, the Indian Ocean. I had never swum in it or even seen it before. It is very salty and you float like a cork. The water is crystal clear and quite warm.
Looking back to Fort Dauphin, on the southern end of Madagascar. The Indian Ocean is quite beautiful.

Comments

Renata Verdonk -

I am doing an assessment for Computing and I was very impressed with your pictures. I was wondering if your pictures are copyrighted? If not would i be able to use them on my powerpoint about Madagascar?

Gabriela Barbulescu -

beautiful description :) thank you for all the info.

Miri -

Thank you very much for sharing these wonderful photos. I am only 13 years old, and my dream is to grow up to be a primatologist and live on the island of Madagascar. I've spent a lot of my spare time studying the country and it's exquisite animals.The one that has fascinated me the most would be the Aye-aye. I have done several school reports on this animal, and without ever have seen them, I love them. I was just curious, I know a sighting is very rare, but did you perhaps see one? Thanks again! (:

RG -

Wow, nice pics and descriptions but you people who posted fairly recently realise this was put here over 9 years ago! You would have been 4 then Miri! You silly people.

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