Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
i re, their tough skins protecting the l esh from burning. Other toxic i sh
such as scorpioni sh (
Scorpaenidae
), cati sh (
Plotosidae
) and most puf er-
i sh and tobies (
Tetraodontidae
) were discarded but some large puf eri sh
were retained for sale to Makua people in Pemba and Nampula. Some
Makua people eat these i sh and know the special methods for preparing
them to avoid fatal poisoning.
Fishing traditions
Fishing communities all over the world have long traditions and complex
systems of beliefs and superstitions (Ruddle, 1996b), from the South
Pacii c (Johannes, 1981) to the Isle of Man (pers. obs.; Manx Heritage
Foundation, 1991). In southern Kenya, where the habitats and i shing
methods are similar to those used on Quirimba and the coastal people
have a broadly similar cultural history with strong Arab inl uences, strong
i shing traditions still exist (McClanahan et al
.
, 1997). There were few
traditions associated with i shing in Quirimba but it was dii cult to ascer-
tain whether this was because there had been a complex system of beliefs
that had gradually disappeared or whether there had never been such a
belief system. The seine net i shers did not seem to have any traditions or
superstitions directly associated with i shing apart from a vague concept
of 'luck'. One i sher sometimes wore a seamoth i sh (
Pegasidae
) round
his neck as a talisman to bring luck. Seeing dolphins during i shing was
considered good luck. On the other hand, i shers in some parts of Kenya
still hold ritual ceremonies and have sacred sites at sea where of erings
are made to spirits to improve i shing. These rituals are gradually being
lost, in many instances because Islam is increasing in strength and the
younger generation of Muslim i shers see the traditional rituals as against
Islam. Although there has been a lot of population movement around the
Kenyan coastal area, it probably does not approach the large-scale migra-
tion of people around the north of Mozambique as a consequence of the
war. McClanahan et al. (1997) suggest that the more recent Islamization
of culture in Kenya is linked to the decay of the rich and elaborate cul-
tural traditions of coastal management. This may also be the case to some
extent in Quirimba.
There were a number of traditions associated with eating i sh or other
marine products. When dugongs were caught, and they were i shed in the
area up until the 1990s, they had to be taken to the mosque for blessing
before they were eaten. Dugong meat was given to pregnant women to
make their babies 'beautiful'. Other i sh species were by tradition not eaten
by pregnant women because they were said to harm the baby. (In a place
where a large proportion of women lost babies at late stages of pregnancy
and where infant mortality was high it was not surprising that there were
