Island Subsistence: Hunting, Trapping and The Translocation of Wildlife in The Western Indian Ocean

Azania XLII 2007
Island subsistence: hunting, trapping and

the translocation of wildlife in the Western
Indian Ocean
Martin T. Walsh
Researchers have recently begun to re-examine the settlement of the islands of the
Western Indian Ocean from multi-disciplinary perspectives that incorporate evidence
from both the natural and human sciences (Blench, this volume; Hurles et al. 2005;
Mitchell 2004, 2005). In this and other respects the study of the maritime heritage of the
Indian Ocean lags behind that of the Pacific, where the history of human colonisation
is the subject of lively interdisciplinary debate (cf. Hurles et al. 2003). One particularly
fertile area of research has been the historical ecology of oceanic islands and analysis of
the environmental impacts of human settlement and subsistence practices (Kirch and
Hunt 1997). In the Western Indian Ocean Madagascar has been the focus of this kind
of investigation (Goodman and Patterson 1997), but it has not been extended to other
islands or integrated with study of their settlement histories. In this paper I will make
a preliminary attempt to do so, by reviewing the cultural and biological evidence for
people’s interactions with the terrestrial fauna of island archipelagos that lie between
East Africa and Madagascar. I will argue that the significance of hunting, trapping and
the translocation of wild animals has been greatly underestimated in previous histories
of this region. The evidence presented here evokes a number of historical hypotheses,
some contrary to received wisdom, about the settlement of the islands and relations
between the communities involved. It also suggests some general correlations between
island biogeography and human settlement that can be compared to observations based
on research in Oceania.
Old histories and new histories
Older histories of the three archipelagos surveyed in this paper – Zanzibar, Mafia,
and the Comoros – make little reference to the importance of hunting and trapping
for island subsistence, and generally say nothing at all about the translocation of wild
animals or the ecological impacts of any of these activities. Even Ingrams, a key source,
declared that there ‘is little game in Zanzibar, and so not much chance for the hunting
faculties of the natives to develop’ (1931: 290). He was, however, enthusiastic about the
‘considerable ingenuity’ of their traps (1931: 291), and took some trouble to describe
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84 Island subsistence: hunting, trapping and the translocation of wildlife in the Western Indian Ocean
and illustrate them. The Ethnographic Survey of Africa volume on the Swahili-speaking
peoples devotes just three short paragraphs to hunting (Prins 1967: 49-50). Despite the
amount of ink spilled on Swahili studies since, very little has been written about the
utilisation of wildlife on the East African coast and islands (Horton & Middleton 2000;
Kusimba 1999; Spear 2000). The same can be said mutatis mutandis of other maritime
communities speaking languages related to Swahili, including the Bantu-speaking
inhabitants of the Comoro archipelago. The possible historical impacts of hunting on
Madagascar have attracted more scholarly interest (e.g. Dewar 1997; 2003).
There are important exceptions to this general lack of interest in hunting and other
aspects of human-wildlife relations. Grottanelli’s (1955) ethnographic description of
Bajuni practice in southern Somalia is more detailed than most, though it focuses
on the exploitation of marine animals (not considered in this paper) and hunting by
these northern Swahili speakers on the mainland opposite their island homes. Harpet’s
(2002) short study of attitudes to the common brown lemur on Mayotte is among the
best of recent contributions by an anthropologist, in conjunction with her earlier book
(2000) on the lemurs of Madagascar. The possible part played by human agency in
introducing animal species to the islands is considered at greatest length in the work of
the natural historians and zoologists – most notably by Moreau and Pakenham (1940)
for the Zanzibar and Mafia archipelagos, and Louette et al. (2004) for the Comoros.
Disappointingly, though, we lack even basic mammal lists for most of the smaller
islands off the East African coast, from southern Somalia and the islands of the Lamu
archipelago in northern Kenya down to Mozambique. Mammal, bird and reptile lists
have been drawn up for some islands associated with marine parks and other protected
areas (e.g. Downs and Wirminghaus 1997), but these are often unpublished.
Excavation and archaeozoological reports are our best source for island wildlife
and its uses in the past, though well-researched archaeological sites are few and often
far-between in the archipelagos of the region (Chittick 1984; Horton 1996; Horton &
Mudida 1993; Juma 2004; Mudida 1996; Redding 1992; Redding and Goodman 1984;
Wright 1984, 1992). Unfortunately stratigraphy, dating, and the faunal identifications at
some recently surveyed insular sites have all been questioned (Sinclair 2006), and even
the best reports tend to suffer from an absence of reliable biogeographical, zoological
and ethnozoological information to place the archaeological data in context.
The available archaeological evidence indicates that the ancestors of contemporary
Swahili and Comorian speakers hunted and trapped animals for food, though this was
probably always subsidiary to fishing, farming and other subsistence activities in the
community. Historical linguistics and comparative ethnography support and add to
this generalisation. Most mammal names on the islands included in this survey (see the
online Appendix and Tables A2-A7) reconstruct to proto-Sabaki, the ancestor of Swahili,
Comorian and other languages that are thought to have first diverged from one another
somewhere on the East African coast, most likely in what is now Kenya. Some can be
traced even further back to proto-Northeast Coast Bantu and higher (earlier) nodes of
Bantu (Nurse and Hinnebusch 1993). The same can be shown for other terminologies
associated with hunting and trapping. The existence of such practices today, varying by
island and fauna, supports the thesis that they must have been practised by early Swahili
and Comorian speakers as they moved down the coast and onto the islands, adapting
to local conditions as they did so.
Recent research, however, suggests that this can only have been part of the story.
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Martin T. Walsh 85
Archaeological investigations by Chami and colleagues in Tanzania indicate that at

least some of the islands in the Zanzibar and Mafia archipelagos were occupied by
people with Late Stone Age and Early Iron Age cultural assemblages long before the
appearance of Triangular Incised Ware / Tana Tradition pottery in the second half of
the first millennium AD (Chami 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004; Chami and Wafula 1999).
The timing of the latter is consistent with presumed dates for the diversification and
movement of Sabaki speakers down the coast, including the linguistic ancestors of what
was to become the Bantu-speaking community of the Comoros. Linguistic history
and geography imply that the Late Stone Age fishers, foragers and hunters of the coast
and nearby islands spoke non-Bantu languages, perhaps related to one or more of the
isolates spoken by East African hunter-gatherers in recent times (see Walsh 2006 and
references therein). There seems little doubt now that Bantu-speaking farmers also settled
on nearby islands, some centuries before the southward migration of Sabaki speakers.
The linguistic evidence suggests that these Early Iron Age islanders may have spoken
different East African Bantu languages, not just early dialects of Northeast Coast Bantu,
the language group which later spawned Sabaki.
Archaeology has yet to provide convincing proof that the Comoros were also settled
before the middle of the first millennium AD, though a growing volume of circumstantial
evidence, linguistic and palaeozoological, suggests that this might have been the case. If
Blench (in press, also this volume) is right in proposing that Madagascar was first settled
by African hunter-gatherers, then it is not difficult to envisage similar sea-crossings
to the Comoros, whether direct from Africa or from Madagascar itself. A number of
linguists, meanwhile, have argued that the proto-Malagasy themselves probably spent
time on the East African coast and then in the Comoros before they finally settled on
Madagascar (e.g. Adelaar, in press; Simon 1988).
Hunting and the exploitation of island wildlife: a survey
The following survey is based on a combination of different kinds of evidence from a

wide variety of sources, among them the zoological, archaeological, linguistic, historical
and ethnographic. As part of this I have compiled mammal lists with scientific and local
names for six of the islands considered in the survey: Pemba, Unguja, Mafia, Grand
Comore, Anjouan, and Mayotte - a selection determined by the availability of data.
These tables (numbered A2-A7) are referred to in the text and can be found in an online
appendix. The sources that I have used in this survey are uneven in quality, and often
provide no more than a fragmentary view of what must be a more complex reality. If
nothing else, I hope that this will highlight the many gaps in current knowledge, and
suggest future topics for research.
The Zanzibar Archipelago
The Zanzibar archipelago comprises two large islands, Pemba and Unguja, each of which
is associated with a number of smaller islets. Although Zanzibar is generally treated
as a single geographic unit, the two islands have had quite different geological and
ecological histories, and so are considered separately below. Research in Zanzibar since
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the 1990s, most of it undertaken for agricultural development and community-based

natural resource management projects, has provided us with more detailed knowledge
about terrestrial wildlife and its exploitation than is available for other islands in the
Western Indian Ocean. In the accounts which follow I have made extensive use of the
published and unpublished literature, as well as notes from my own research in Zanzibar
since 1994.
Pemba Island
Pemba is a low-lying island which lies c.40-60 km off the East African coast and covers
an estimated surface area of approximately 1,000 km2 (Koenders 1992; Pakenham
1979), surrounded by a deep sea channel (of 600-750 m). It has evidently been separate
from the African mainland for much longer than recent continental islands like Unguja
and Mafia (Kent et al. 1971, Pakenham 1979), as reflected in the island’s relatively
depauperate terrestrial fauna (Moreau and Pakenham 1940, 1942, Pakenham 1979,
1983, 1984).
About half of the terrestrial mammal species of Pemba are bats, and many of the
rest are known or presumed to have been introduced. It has even been suggested that
all of Pemba’s ground-dwelling mammals owe their presence to human activity, and
were brought to the island either deliberately or accidentally. Table 1 below summarises
the evidence in favour of the theory that all of the four-legged mammals on the island
have been introduced.
Table 1: Evidence for the introduction of mammals on Pemba island
Mammal species Evidence for introduction / translocation
Tiny musk shrew, The subspecies endemic to both Unguja and Pemba, C. f. sansibarica
Crocidura fuscomurina (Pakenham 1984) is small enough to be have been carried accidentally
from the former to the latter.
Asian house shrew, This is a known ship-borne introduction, originally from south and/or
Suncus murinus south-east Asia, and now found on many islands in the Western Indian
Ocean and on parts of the East African coast (Hutterer and Tranier 1990).
Small-eared greater This widespread species is known to have been kept as a pet in Zanzibar
galago, Otolemur (Pakenham 1984) and could have been carried either deliberately or
garnetti accidentally to Pemba and neighbouring islets where it is also found.
Vervet monkey, The taxonomic status of the Pemba vervet is uncertain. Pakenham
Chlorocebus aethiops (1984) considered the local race, C. a. nesiotes, to be the same as that
found on Mafia. Vervets are also known to be kept as a pets (Aders 1920,
Halsted 1979, Pakenham 1984).
Zanzibar red colobus, Introduced to Ngezi Forest on Pemba in 1974 as part of an government
Colobus kirkii programme to help conserve this Unguja endemic (Struhsaker and Siex
1998a).
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Martin T. Walsh 87
Mammal species Evidence for introduction / translocation
Marsh mongoose, The local form, A. p. rubescens, is also found on the nearby mainland and
Atilax paludinosus could have been brought either intentionally or otherwise to Pemba from
there. Pakenham (1984) reports examples of this mongoose being kept in
captivity on the island.
Small Indian civet, A known introduction, widely kept in the past for its musk. Pocock
Viverricula indica (cited in Pakenham 1984: 45) found the form occurring in the
Zanzibar archipelago, V. i. rasse, “to be indistinguishable from Javan and
Madagascan specimens”.
East African tree hyrax, The Zanzibar tree hyrax, D. v. neumanni, is endemic to both Pemba and
Dendrohyrax validus Unguja. Its presence on some of the smaller islets, like Njao and Fundo,
suggest that this edible species might have been translocated.
Wild boar Historical documents indicate that domestic pigs were introduced on
(feral domestic pig), Pemba by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century, and at one time were
Sus scrofa domesticus even bred by Pembans for sale to their Christian conquerors. These pigs
subsequently became feral on the island and something of a nuisance to
local farmers (Gray 1962).
Blue duiker, The Pemba blue duiker, C. m. pembae, is thought by some authorities to
Cephalophus monticola be identical with the form found on Mafia (Pakenham 1984), and may
well have been carried between islands for its value as a food species.
Common house mouse, A known ship-borne introduction, widespread in the region.

Mus musculus
Black rat, Rattus rattus Another ship-borne introduction, also widespread.
At present we lack both the genetic or palaeozoological evidence that could support
or disprove the hypothesis that all of these mammals have been introduced to the island.
Likewise we have little evidence to indicate when and why and by whom species were
introduced, though we can guess that the shrews and rodents were not brought to the
island deliberately.
Archaeologists working on Pemba have yet to excavate any sites other than those
associated with the Swahili diaspora in the second half of the first millennium (LaViolette
2004). The existence of early fishing and foraging groups on both Unguja and Mafia
makes it likely that they were also present on Pemba in the centuries and perhaps
millennia before the current era. The settlement of Pemba by East African hunter-
gatherers required no more than a simple sea-crossing by raft or canoe. At present we
can only speculate on the impacts such early settlement might have had on the fauna of
Pemba. Oral traditions are not much help here, unless stories about mythical inhabitants
called the Magenge preserve a folk memory of aboriginal cave-dwellers and foragers who
traded with other visitors and settlers (Ingrams 1931).
It is also likely that by the time of the Periplus (c.50 AD) both Pemba and Unguja
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had been settled by farmers speaking one or more East African Bantu languages. In the
case of Pemba these may have been speakers of early Northeast Coast Bantu dialects
from the mainland opposite. Because this is the group from which the Sabaki languages
and Swahili derive, and also because of the possibility of later contacts across the Pemba
Channel, it is difficult to immediately discern this influence in the surviving Pemba
dialects of Swahili, at least in the little material on these that has been published (Nurse
and Hinnebusch 1993; Whiteley 1958).
The political unification of Zanzibar under Omani Arab rule and the spread of
plantation agriculture in the nineteenth century saw the development of a common
language and culture in the archipelago, especially in the towns and fertile lands on
the west of both islands (Bennett 1978). In most of Pemba the original varieties of
Swahili have been replaced by the Unguja dialect originating in and around Zanzibar
town, though some distinctive Pemban vocabulary is still in use. This is evident in
some differences in the local Swahili names for plants and animals, as can be seen by
comparing the names of mammals that are in common use in Pemba and Unguja (see
Tables A2 and A3).
Many of the recorded traditional hunting practices on the two islands are broadly
similar, allowing for local differences in fauna and variations in technique. These practices
reflect both farmers’ need to control animals (‘vermin’) that are harmful to their crops
and livestock, and the availability of game meat as an occasional supplement to local
diet.1 Organised hunting also serves a social purpose, and on Pemba this was, until
recently, most evident in collective pig hunts, using trained dogs and (originally) knives
and spears. The history of pigs and of pig hunting on Pemba also serves as a reminder
that the exploitation of domestic stock and wildlife on islands can be a dynamic process,
and consequently can be difficult to reconstruct from knowledge of contemporary
practice alone.
Table 2: Hunting and trapping on Pemba Island
Species Known hunting and other practices
Formerly hunted by groups of men using hunting dogs and

Wild boar bearing hunting knives and/or spears. Craster (1913) describes a collective
(feral domestic pig-hunt in the Ngwachani area; organised hunting clubs as well as the use
pig), of poison and guns were later encouraged by the British (Wilson 1939). It
Sus scrofa domesticus is now doubtful whether there are any wild boar left in their final refuge in
Ngezi Forest. Pork is not eaten by the Muslim inhabitants of the island.
Blue duiker, Known to have been hunted opportunistically during pig-hunts and their
Cephalophus meat eaten. This small antelope has been largely hunted out: there are said to
monticola be relatively few left now on the east coast of Pemba.
1
The principal source of protein on both islands is fish - when it is available and affordable, fresh or
dried. Meat from livestock including poultry is most likely to be eaten by villagers on festive and other
special occasions (cf. Abdurahman 1939).
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Martin T. Walsh 89
Craster (1913) describes a troop of vervets being driven into an isolated tree
Vervet monkey, and then chased down and killed with dogs. Ingrams (1931) illustrates a
Chlorocebus aethiops wicker cage monkey-trap. Also known to have been hunted opportunistically
during pig-hunts; and shot and poisoned by farmers with government help.
Vervets are a serious crop pest on Pemba but are not eaten by Muslims.
Formerly domesticated for the commercial value of its civet or perineal gland
Small Indian civet, secretion,2 which was sold as an ingredient in perfume and is still used in
Viverricula indica traditional medicines. Clubs that hunted feral civets as a competitive sport
were still active in the 1990s.
East African tree hyrax, Only common in the northwest of Pemba and on the offshore islets of Fundo
Dendrohyrax validus and Njao, where it is reported to be hunted for its meat.
The Pemba flying fox (Pteropus voeltzkowi) and straw-coloured fruit bat
(Eidolon helvum) are hunted by boys and men, as are some of the smaller
insectivorous bats on the island.3 In addition to the use of shotguns, a variety
of means are employed to hunt bats (Entwistle and Corp 1995, 1997). The
most common method is to shoot them with a catapult; they can also be
Bat spp. hunted with throwing-sticks or trapped by baiting tangles of thorn branches
(from Scutia myrtina or Uncaria africana) with ripe fruit and hoisting these
up into the trees in which they are feeding. On the east coast groups of men
sometimes chop down a whole borassus palm (Borassus aethiopum) in order
to get at a roosting colony of straw-coloured fruit bats (Walsh 1995).
Wild birds are hunted and trapped by children and youths, but the most
important East African game bird, the helmeted guineafowl (Numida
Bird spp. meleagris, Swahili kanga), is only known on the island as a domesticate,
presumably introduced from Unguja or the mainland.
Yellow-bellied The island’s only terrestrial chelonian, common in the small freshwater lakes
hinged terrapin, and ponds of eastern Pemba (Pakenham 1983, Spawls et al. 2002), where it is
Pelusios castanoides caught and eaten.
Perhaps the most unusual items in the traditional Pemban diet are bats and terrapins.
Despite sometimes classifying bats as birds (Heine and Legère 1995), Swahili speakers
generally consider bat meat to be haramu or taboo on religious grounds. But many
Pembans have no such qualms. The cultural significance of bats and bat hunting on
Pemba is mirrored in the large number of local names for the edible fruit bats and other
species. The brown or yellow-bellied hinged terrapin is far less culturally salient and
its consumption not as widespread. Pembans call the terrapin kobe, the generic Swahili
2
The Swahili term for the musk, zabadi, is a loanword from Arabic, likewise the common Malagasy
name for the rasse, jabady or jaboady (Garbutt 1999).
3
Some colonies of bats are protected by traditional beliefs in guardian spirits (Pakenham 1984).
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name for tortoises and terrapins. Like bats, these reptiles are not usually consumed by
Swahili speakers because their meat is considered haramu by religious authorities. The
same prohibition is often extended to marine turtles, though this is more widely ignored
on Pemba and in other Swahili fishing communities. But the Pemban taste for terrapin
meat is a marked anomaly.
In an earlier article (1995) I outlined a number of historical hypotheses to account
for the consumption of bats and terrapins on Pemba. The principal hypotheses can be
restated as follows:
1. Consumption of bats and/or terrapins are inherited Swahili or Sabaki practices
which have been abandoned elsewhere, perhaps under pressure of religious
conformity.
2. These are local innovations, prompted perhaps by the lack of other sources of meat
on Pemba. The same zoological fact also encouraged the deliberate translocation
of game animals to the island.
3. They are practices that have been borrowed from other communities in the
past. Candidates include: (a) a hunter-gatherer substratum; (b) earlier Northeast
Coast Bantu settlers on the island; and (c) proto-Malagasy or other Austronesian
settlers on Pemba.
The different possibilities outlined above are not necessarily mutually exclusive,
and need not apply equally to bats and terrapins. Unlike some hunting and foraging
groups, Sabaki and other East African Bantu farmers are not known for the catholicity
of their diets, and the inclusion of unusual items like reptile meat can sometimes be
interpreted as a consequence of their incorporation of earlier non-agricultural populations
(cf. Walsh 2003).
Bats and terrapins are also widely hunted and eaten in Madagascar, though in
some places their flesh is taboo. The consumption of bats and terrapins on both Pemba
and Madagascar might be no more than a coincidence. There are, however, linguistic
and other grounds for assuming a past Austronesian presence in Zanzibar and on the
mainland coast opposite the archipelago (Simon 1988, Blench in press). One of the
most striking pieces of evidence is the presence of a wild banana (Musa acuminata) on
Pemba that must have originated on the other side of the Indian Ocean (Simmonds and
Shepherd 1952). It is a possibility – but only one of many – that Pemban consumption
of bats and/or terrapins is another legacy of the same set of contacts.
Unguja Island
Unguja is a low-lying island with a surface area of approximately 1,600 km2, located about
50 km south of Pemba and 30-40 km off the coast of mainland Tanzania (Pakenham
1979). A number of smaller islets are associated with Unguja, the most significant
historically being Tumbatu. Unguja is a recent continental island: the Zanzibar channel
is relatively shallow (35-50 m) and formed a bridge to the mainland until sea levels rose
at the end of the last Ice Age, 10,000 or more years ago (Kingdon 1989). This recent
connection to the African continent is reflected in Unguja’s possession of a relatively rich
terrestrial fauna (Moreau and Pakenham 1940, 1942; Pakenham 1979, 1983, 1984).
The pattern of endemism on Unguja is consistent with this history: the island hosts a
number of species and subspecies which are evidently the descendants of animals stranded
on the island when its link to the mainland was broken. These include the endemic
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Martin T. Walsh 91
Zanzibar red colobus (Colobus kirkii), Zanzibar leopard (Panthera pardus adersi) and
Zanzibar servaline genet (Genetta servalina archeri), and the near-endemic Ader’s duiker
(Cephalophus adersi) (Goldman and Walsh 2002, 2003; Goldman and Winther-Hansen
2003; Goldman et al. 2004; Struhsaker and Siex 1998b; Williams et al. 1996). The list
of known introductions is proportionally smaller, and includes shrews and rodents that
have been introduced accidentally and other mammal species that have been brought
by people as domestic animals or pets. New archaeological and osteological evidence,
however, also suggests that a number of indigenous mammal species have been lost on
the island since its isolation from the mainland (Ekman 2007).
Until recently our archaeological knowledge of the pre-Swahili past of Unguja was
on a par with that of Pemba. This has changed with the discovery and preliminary
excavation of two cave sites on the island, Machaga and Kuumbi (Chami and Wafula
1999, Chami 2001, 2006, Sinclair et al. 2006). Initial claims about the presence of
Neolithic faunal and other material at both sites have been questioned (Sinclair 2006),
but careful research at Kuumbi has provided good evidence of intermittent occupation
by hunter-gatherers dating back more than 22,000 years, to a time when Unguja was
part of the African continent and supported a fauna typical of a savannah environment.
The most recent series of occupations by foragers has so far yielded dates of between
c.5300 and 1800 BP, in the period following Unguja’s last post-glacial separation from
the mainland (Sinclair et al. 2006). It remains to be established whether these were
people stranded on Unguja by rising sea levels, or whether they had settled later by
crossing the Zanzibar channel. It is possible, of course, that different populations were
involved, and that sea travel was no great obstacle to any of them.
We can only guess at the identity of these early foragers, and whether they spoke
a language or languages related to one of the East African click languages (Sandawe,
Hadza, or the unknown source of the click substratum in Dahalo). The latest date
(c.200 AD) suggests that they interacted with the first Bantu speaking settlers on the
island, whether these were Northeast Coast Bantu or members of another group. The
linguistic evidence for such contacts, if any, has yet to be teased out. Most of the local
mammal names have transparent Bantu etymologies.
The only local practice which hints at a hunting (as well as a fishing and shell-
fish collecting) past is the occasional consumption of Nile monitor lizards (Varanus
niloticus) in some parts of northern Unguja. Again, there are different possible sources
for this apparent anomaly. Monitors are not otherwise known to be eaten by Swahili
or Sabaki speakers, though Pokomo in the Tana valley were once expert hunters of the
Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) and keen consumers of its meat (Werner 1913), an
equally unusual practice that may have been learned from Dahalo hunter-gatherers or
their antecedents (cf. Nurse 1986). Crocodiles are not normally found on Unguja, but
have been recorded as vagrants on the island (Pakenham 1983). Bats and terrapins are
not known to be eaten on Unguja; there are fruit bats but no flying foxes on the island,
and the yellow-bellied hinged terrapin (Pelusios castanoides) is uncommon. The only
African tortoise for which there are records on Unguja is Bell’s hinged tortoise (Kinixys
belliana) (Pakenham 1983; Spawls et al. 2002). Moreau and Pakenham (1940) thought
that both chelonians were introduced. The lack of indigenous terrapins and tortoises on
the island is puzzling, and raises the possibility that past populations of these reptiles
have been hunted out.
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Table 3: Hunting and trapping on Unguja Island
Suid spp. Bush pigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) and feral domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus)
are hunted, usually at night, with dogs, hunting knives, spears, and (now)
shotguns. Pig-hunting is a collective activity (Abdurahman 1939; Ingrams
1931; Martin 1978) and has developed from the colonial period as an organised
sport that targets ‘vermin’. Ingrams (1931) also mentions the use of pitfalls and
provides an illustrated description of a traditional spring trap for pigs.
Antelope spp. The principal game animals on Unguja are the three species of small
antelope: Ader’s duiker (Cephalophus adersi), blue duiker (Cephalophus
monticola), and suni (Neotragus moschatus). A wide variety of hunting
methods have been recorded, including the use of snares, traps and pitfalls
(Ingrams 1931; Williams et al. 1996). The most common methods now in
use are shooting and netting.
Monkey spp. Monkeys, especially blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis), are also killed
during pig-hunts. Ingrams (1931) illustrates a monkey trap from Tumbatu
island that comprises a baited noose inside a wicker funnel; when sprung
the noose tightens on the monkey’s hand. This is similar in design and
construction to a kind of small mammal trap made by the Giryama of coastal
Kenya (Champion 1967; Mogaka 1991, 1992). Monkeys are not eaten by
indigenous Zanzibaris and the meat of the Zanzibar red colobus (Colobus
kirkii) is said to be unpalatable even to dogs. Captive vervets (Chlorocebus
aethiops) can sometimes be seen in Zanzibar town.
Leopard, Wooden cage traps, made with stakes, were once used for catching the endemic
Panthera pardus Zanzibar leopard (P. p. adersi) (Pakenham 1947). Traps sometimes had a small
separate compartment at the end in which live bait such as a rooster or monkey
was placed; others were equipped with a gin-trap rather than a drop door. Once
caught inside the cage a leopard was traditionally dispatched by the trapper
with a spear (Burton 1872) or by searing its eyes and other vulnerable parts of
the head and body with a red-hot crowbar (Aders 1920). When shotguns were
available captured leopards were shot in the head. Leopards are also reported
to have been hunted with spears and many have been killed during pig- and
antelope-hunts. The belief that some leopards are controlled by witches fuelled
a series of moral panics during the colonial period, culminating in a national
witch-finding and leopard-killing campaign after the Zanzibar Revolution
(Goldman and Walsh 1997, 2002, 2003; Walsh and Goldman 2003, in press).
Civet spp. Unguja has two civets, the African civet (Civettictis civetta) and the introduced
small Indian civet (Viverricula indica). Burton (1872) reported that both
species were kept in captivity and scraped once a week for their valuable
secretion. Civets are no longer kept in captivity, but small quantities of musk
are harvested from known civetries and trails and used as an ingredient in local
medicines, including perfumed ointments that are sold in the town.
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Martin T. Walsh 93
Small carnivore None of the local carnivores is considered edible, though they are killed as
spp. potential predators of poultry and other stock. Ingrams (1931) illustrates a
‘genet and lemur’ trap, a wooden cage trap with a suspended door that drops
shut when it is released by an animal taking the bait at the far end of the
cage. Different species of mongoose are known to have been kept as pets,
and past records of the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) in Zanzibar are
thought to be of escaped individuals originally brought from the mainland
(Aders 1920; Pakenham 1984).
Galago spp. Galagos or bushbabies are also readily captured and tamed. According to
Aders (1920) galagos in Zanzibar town were tempted to the ground by bowls
of coconut palm-wine and captured once intoxicated. Younghusband (1910)
was brought galagos and captive animals can still be found.
East African tree Ingrams (1931) reported that the flesh of these small animals, which were
hyrax, Dendrohyrax abundant on Tumbatu island, was much sought after by men who wanted to
validus have children. Pakenham (1984) notes that they are also found in the south
of Unguja, and that only some villagers like the meat, which is said to be
tough and strong-tasting (cf. Rolleston 1939).
Rodent spp. Rats and other small mammals are trapped as pests but not normally eaten
on Unguja (Ingrams 1931).
Bird spp. Simple bird traps are often made by children, who also prepare birdlime
using the sap of the jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllusi), an introduced tree
(Abdurahman 1939; Ingrams 1931; Johnson 1939; Williams 1949). The
most important game bird is the helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris),
which is wild on Unguja. The less common Kenya crested guineafowl
(Guttera pucherani) is also hunted (Ingrams 1931; Pakenham 1979). A
number of exotic bird species have become naturalised in Zanzibar, some
of them introduced deliberately but others probably escaped from captivity
(Aders 1920; Pakenham 1979). Caged birds still hang outside houses in both
the town and countryside (cf. Abdurahman 1939; Ingrams 1931).
Nile monitor lizard, Occasionally killed and eaten in the north of Unguja island.
Varanus niloticus
Snake spp. Captive rock pythons (Python sebae) and other snakes are sometimes seen,
especially in the hands of traditional doctors/diviners and other performers,
both Zanzibari and from the mainland.
In many other respects hunting and trapping on Unguja follow a pattern that is
recognisably similar to that found along the East African coast and on other continental
and Swahili-speaking islands. Most village hunters are also farmers (and sometimes
fishermen) and do not hunt full-time. Villagers are much exercised by the need to control
animals that are perceived to threaten their livelihoods. As on Pemba, the principal
target of this activity is a suid; in this case the bush pig, Potamochoerus larvatus, a species
walsh.indd 93 03/12/2007 11:23:36

indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa (Kingdon 1997). Bush pigs are also found on Mafia
island and, more surprisingly, Madagascar, where they must have been introduced from
Africa or one of the continental islands. The precise taxonomic status of the bush pigs on
Madagascar is unclear (two subspecies have been recognised), likewise their geographical
origin and other circumstances of their translocation (Andrianjakarivelo 2003; Garbutt
1999, 2007). The existence of a Malagasy name (antsanga) that may be related to the
Unguja dialect term for a solitary male bush pig (kitanga) and derive from an earlier
Swahili or Sabaki form (*ncanga), suggests the possibility of a historical connection with
the bush pigs of the East African coast and islands.
The Mafia Archipelago
The Mafia archipelago lies more than 130 km south of Unguja. The main island, Mafia,
is low-lying like Unguja and has a surface area of about 600 km2. It is adjoined by a
number of smaller islands and reefs, including Chole, Juani, and Jibondo islands on its
southern side. Other islets lie in the channel between Mafia and the Rufiji delta on the
mainland coast of Tanzania The Mafia channel is only about 20 km wide and 30 m or
less deep, suggesting that Mafia is a recent continental island with a similar history to
Unguja, perhaps separated from the mainland later. The sea-crossing to Mafia is made
easier by the presence of a series of island stepping stones and the flow of the current from
the Rufiji. This may have facilitated the colonisation of Mafia by some species after the
post-glacial rise in sea level (Moreau and Pakenham 1940). However, the contemporary
mammalian fauna of Mafia is much poorer than that of Unguja and notably lacking
in endemics. This might be explained in part by the comparatively small size of Mafia.
It is also possible that greater faunal diversity in the past has been reduced by human
activity, including hunting and the clearing of most of Mafia’s original forest cover.
The early occupation of Mafia and other islands in the archipelago by hunter-
gatherers / fisher-foragers seems very likely. Chami (2000, 2004, 2006) reports Late
Stone Age microliths and other material from Ukunju cave on Juani island, dated 800-
400 BC, though some of the claims about this site have been doubted because of its
confused stratigraphy (Sinclair 2006). Evidence for Early Iron Age settlement (c.first-
sixth centuries AD) has been found in relative abundance on Mafia and other islands,
but there is a puzzling absence of Tana Tradition / Triangular Incised Ware and related
material dating from the period before the eleventh century (Chami 1999, 2000). This
gap in the record suggests desertion of the island and/or the late arrival (or minimal
influence of ) Sabaki / Swahili speakers. However, much of Mafia is unsurveyed, and it
is equally likely that this evidential gap will be filled by further survey and excavation.
The later occupation of Mafia from the eleventh century onwards by (presumed) Swahili
speakers is rather better known from excavations at Kisimani Mafia (Chittick 1961).
Recent research by Kipacha (2004) has clarified the geography of the Swahili dialects
spoken in the Mafia archipelago, though a lot of work remains to be done. In the south
of Mafia island the predominant dialect is a variety of Standard Swahili influenced by the
Rufiji-Ruvuma languages of the nearby mainland. The older Mafia dialects of Swahili
are still spoken in villages in the north of Mafia island and on Chole, Juani, Bwejuu and
Jibondo islets. Kipacha’s (2004, 2005) work has focused on the dialect of northern Mafia,
variously called Ngome (Kingome), Pokomo (Kipokomo), and Mbwera (Kimbwera) in
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Martin T. Walsh 95
some of the older literature (e.g. Moreau 1940, 1941). Some of the mammal names are
not inherited Swahili terms but derive from Bantu languages spoken on the mainland,
including at least one Rufiji-Ruvuma idiom. At present it is not possible to say whether
this is as a result of early interactions (leaving loanwords or a pre-Swahili substratum
in Ngome) or whether it reflects more recent movements of people across the Mafia
channel from Kilwa and/or the Rufiji delta.
Relatively little has been written about hunting and trapping in the Mafia archipelago;
available information suggests a range of practices broadly comparable to those found
elsewhere on the Tanzanian coast and islands.4 In the 1940s and 1950s British colonial
officials debated whether the hippos of Mafia should be classified as ‘game’ or ‘vermin’,
and whether the hunting of blue duiker and suni should be restricted by game regulations
(Walley 2004). In the end the economic needs of local farmers were given priority by
the district administration and the hunting of ‘vermin’ was allowed to continue without
restriction. Farmers still devote considerable energy to ensuring that their rice and other
crops are not destroyed by wild animals during the growing season (cf. Caplan 1975,
1997). There is little information in the published sources on the methods used to hunt
and trap animals on Mafia, though Kipacha (2004) records some related vocabulary in
the Ngome dialect. Few of the vertebrate animals on Mafia are treated as edible by the
Muslim majority, whose diet includes none of the unusual items reported from Pemba
and Unguja.
Table 4: Hunting and trapping on Mafia and nearby islands
Hippopotamus, Guns are now used to kill hippos on Mafia: traditional hunting methods
Hippopotamus are not recorded. Hippopotamus meat is spurned by Muslims, though it
amphibious might be eaten by non-Muslims in the south of the island.
Suid spp. Bush pigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) and feral domestic pigs (Sus scrofa
domesticus) are serious crop pests on Mafia and to prevent their
depredations fields are often protected with wooden hedges. As well as
being shot, bush pigs are caught in traps and hunted with dogs and nets.
Barbour (2002) was told that on Juani island there was a professional pig
hunter who hunted there with a bow and arrow and several dogs. The
non-Muslim Makonde who live in some of the northern villages will eat
the meat of bush pigs as well as wild rats.
Antelope spp. The principal game animals are the two species of small antelope found
on Mafia, the blue duiker (Cephalophus monticola) and suni (Neotragus
moschatus). Like bush pigs, they are caught in traps and hunted with
dogs and nets, as well as shot. Walley (2004) noted that the blue duiker
of Juani were hunted during the 1997 drought on the island, when the
dehydrated animals were easier to catch.
4
I am very grateful to Pat Caplan, Chris Walley and Ahmad Kipacha for providing additional data from
their notes and other unpublished sources on wildlife and its utilisation in the archipelago (e.g. Iles
and Walley 2003).
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Feral cattle There is a population of feral cattle in the north of Mafia island (cf.
Baumann 1896). Kipacha (pers. comm.) reports that special traps are
made to catch them, and they are also sometimes hunted at night.
Forest pouched rat, Kipacha (pers. comm.) reports that some people on Mafia eat the meat
Cricetomys gambianus of this large rodent.
Bat spp. Like Pemba, Mafia has a flying fox, in this case a subspecies of the
Seychelles flying fox, the Comorian flying fox (Pteropus seychellensis
comorensis). These have been targeted in the past as agricultural vermin
(Clark 1994). They are also reported to have been eaten by visiting
Pembans (Walsh 1995), though the local inhabitants consider the meat
of bats to be unclean (haramu).
Bird spp. As Baumann (1896) noted, guineafowl (the helmeted guineafowl,

Numida meleagris) and wild pigeon (various species) are found on Mafia
(Moreau and Pakenham 1940) and are presumably trapped and eaten
together with smaller birds. Barbour (2002) mentions the presence
of domesticated guineafowl on Chole island. Baumann also observed
that feral domestic chickens were to be found on a number of the
smaller islets in the archipelago, where they were protected from harm
by their association with local spirits. Moreau (1939) found evidence
to suggest that yellowbills (Ceuthmochares aereus) and white-browed
coucals (Centropus superciliosus) were protected on islets that no longer
supported feral poultry. On Bwejuu island, in the Mafia channel, a wild
population of Hildebrandt’s francolin (Francolinus hildebrandti) is said to
derive from a pair of these birds brought from Kilwa by an early settler
who also introduced a pair of guineafowl that did not survive (cf. Britton
1980).
Nile monitor lizard, Barbour (2002) reports that on Chole island monitor lizards are chased
Varanus niloticus and killed with rocks and sticks. They are disliked because they prey on
the eggs of domesticated birds and sometimes chicks. Their meat is not
eaten, but the dead animals are just left to rot.
The literature on Mafia is also largely silent on the keeping of wild animals in
captivity. Two of the small carnivores present on Mafia, the Javan mongoose (Herpestes
javanicus) and the small Indian civet (Viverricula indica), are evidently introduced, but
we can only speculate as to how this might have happened. The Javan mongoose, found
in the wild throughout South and South-East Asia, has been introduced to many tropical
islands in the belief that it will help to control rat populations. It listed as present on
Mafia by Moreau and Pakenham (1940), and is also found on Grand Comore, where it
is said to have been deliberately introduced during the colonial period (Louette 2004b).
The small Indian civet is found on islands throughout the region, and was presumably
originally introduced for its valuable secretion.
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Martin T. Walsh 97
The Comoro Archipelago
The Comoros are oceanic islands located in the Mozambique channel, about 300 km
from the African continent and a similar distance from the northern tip of Madagascar.
There are four main islands in the archipelago, which is volcanic in origin. Grand
Comore is the largest (1,148 km2), roughly comparable in size to Pemba, but rising to
an altitude of 2,361 m at the summit of Mount Karthala, which is the highest peak in
the archipelago. Moheli (211 km2), Anjouan (424 km2) and Mayotte (374 km2) are all
smaller than Mafia, though with peaks of 790 m, 1,595 m, and 660 m respectively. The
four islands are separated by deep sea (c. 400 m in depth) and the distance between them
varies between 50 km and 90 km (Louette 2004a). The archipelago has a depauperate
terrestrial fauna consistent with its oceanic characteristics and distance from both Africa
and Madagascar (Louette 1988, 1999; Louette et al. 2004). Only 18 wild or feral
mammal species are confirmed as present in the archipelago (see Tables A5-A7), and
only the seven recorded bat species colonised the island unaided (Louette 2004b).
At present there is no firm archaeological evidence for the settlement of the Comoros
prior to the second half of the first millennium AD (Allibert and Vérin 1996), though
Early Iron Age dates have been claimed (Chami 2006). Dembeni phase sites of the
ninth and tenth centuries AD are found throughout the archipelago and provide the
most reliable early dates (Sinclair 2006; Wright 1984, 1992). These are consistent
with the linguistic hypothesis that Comorian, the Bantu language that is spoken on
all of the islands, is a Sabaki language that evolved separately from Swahili but was
subsequently influenced by its northern and then southern dialects (Nurse 1989; Nurse
and Hinnebusch 1993). The available evidence implies that immediately before leaving
for the Comoros the proto-Comorian community was settled somewhere between
the south Kenya coast and central Tanzania – a location that is also supported by oral
traditions of origin on the Mrima coast. When Comorian speakers settled on different
islands their language diversified into separate dialects (see Table 5 below). Recent
research suggests that the primary branches were Ngazidja, Mwali, Kombani, and the
common ancestor of both Ndzuwani and Maore (Full 2006).
On Mayotte two dialects of the Austronesian language Malagasy are spoken in
addition to Comorian. These two dialects appear to been brought to Mayotte at
different times from different areas in northern Madagascar. The Antalaotsy dialect,
which is only spoken in a few villages and seems to be the older of the two, is close to
the speech of the Majunga region in northwest Madagascar (Gueunier 1986), where
the Antalaotse, ‘People of the Sea’, are Muslim coastal traders (Wright et al. 1996). The
common Malagasy of Mayotte (kiboshy kimaore) is closer to the dialect of Nosy Be and
Sambirano, and acknowledged to have been brought to the island in recent centuries
(Gueunier 1986). The Malagasy speakers of Mayotte have since established close relations
and intermarried with their Comorian-speaking hosts and other immigrants. As Lambek
(1981, 1993) emphasises, the island communities share a common religion and more
cultural practices than a simple statement of dialect geography reveals.
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Table 5: Languages and dialects of the Comoro islands
Island
Languages Dialects
Grand Comore /
Ngazidja Comorian (shikomoro) Ngazidja (shingazidja)
Moheli / Mwali
Mwali (shimwali)
Anjouan /
Ndzuani Ndzuani (shindzuani)
Mayotte / Maore
Maore (shimaore)
Kombani (shikombani)
Malagasy (kiboshy) Maore (kiboshy kimaore)
Antalaotsy (kiantalaotsy, kiboshy kiantalaotsy)
The arrival of the Malagasy on Madagascar is dated to the middle of the first
millennium AD, and linguists have argued that the proto-Malagasy must have had close
contact with Sabaki speakers on the East African coast and/or in the Comoros before
settling there (Adelaar 1991; Allibert and Vérin 1996; Simon 1988).
The first visitors to the Comoros encountered a limited terrestrial vertebrate fauna that
offered them relatively little in the way of supplementary food resources apart from bats
and birds. A vagrant Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) has been recorded, but there is no
indication of the past presence of other large reptiles apart from the marine turtles (Meirte
2004). There are now no wild tortoises or terrapins in the archipelago, though the first
specimen of the ploughshare tortoise (Geochelone yniphora), endemic to Madagascar, was
recorded in the Comoros. According to historical sources these now-endangered tortoises
were once collected in the Soalala area of Madagascar using trained dogs; they were then
exported in large numbers by ‘Arab’ traders to the Comoros, where they were used as a
source of food (UICN/PNUE/WWF 1990). This trade is known to have been conducted
from at least the seventeenth century, and extended into the nineteenth, though there seems
to be no trace of it now. There are, however, older traces of it in the archaeological record:
G. yniphora bones have been identified in human middens dating from the eleventh to
the fourteenth centuries in both north-west Madagascar and the Comoros (Allibert 1989;
Rakotozafy 1996; both cited in Pedrono and Smith 2003).
The helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris) has been recorded on three of the
islands: Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mayotte. It was presumably introduced as a
domesticated bird but has since also become feral and is now hunted as a game bird
(Louette 2004c). It is not known whether these birds were brought directly from East
Africa or via Madagascar, where both domestic and feral birds are also found (Hawkins
and Goodman 2003). Another possibility is that they were originally taken to Madagascar
via the Comoros: one of the Malagasy names for guineafowl, akanga, is probably an
early borrowing from a Sabaki language (Blench in press).
A number of wild mammals in the Comoros have certainly been translocated from
Madagascar. One of these is the common tenrec (Tenrec ecaudatus), a hedgehog-like
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Martin T. Walsh 99
animal which is present on all of the islands and naturally endemic to Madagascar,
where different genera of tenrecs fill many of the niches that small mammals occupy
elsewhere (Garbutt 2007). Tenrecs are eaten by a number of ethnic groups in Madagascar,
including hunters and foragers among the Tanala (Linton 1933) and Mikea (Stiles
1991), and it was probably for this reason that the common tenrec was first carried to
the Comoros. In recent times the common tenrec has also been introduced to other
islands in the western Indian Ocean: it was taken to Réunion and Mauritius to provide
food for plantation workers, and carried from Réunion to the Seychelles around 1880
for the same reason (Nicoll 2003). Tenrecs remain a significant source of protein for
some people in the Mascarene islands, and they are even farmed in Réunion (Tatayah
and Driver 2000).
There are indications that the tenrec was an early introduction to the Comoros.
Common tenrec remains have been recovered from archaeological sites in the archipelago
(Allibert and Vérin 1996), including a tenth-twelfth century midden at Sima and a
thirteenth century one at Domoni, both on Anjouan (Redding 1992; Redding and
Goodman 1984). The Comorian name for the tenrec, land(r)a, is much closer to the
generic Malay term for porcupines, landak (Winstedt undated), than the Malagasy reflex
(t(r)andraka) of the same Austronesian root, suggesting that it may have been borrowed
directly from Malay, or perhaps from a very early form of Malagasy.
Table 6: Hunting and Trapping on the Comoro islands
Wild boar The pigs of Grand Comore are said to have been decimated by hunters; while
(feral domestic those of Mayotte, which are also hunted, have been observed more recently
pig), Sus scrofa (Louette 2004b).
domesticus
Lemur spp. Despite legal protection, the two kinds of lemur found in the archipelago
(the mongoose lemur, Eulemur mongoz, and the common brown lemur,
Eulemur fulvus) are now targeted by farmers for the alleged damage they
cause to fruit crops. Their young are sought as pets, sometimes for sale to
tourists (Louette 2004b), a trade reported to be conducted by boys who use
catapults to kill the adult lemurs in a troop (Thorpe 1990).
Common tenrec, Tenrecs are occasionally hunted and killed with sticks and spears or other
Tenrec ecaudatus weapons. Lambek (1992) reports that although tenrec meat is taboo (fady)
among the Malagasy speakers of Mayotte, it is accepted that young men hunt
and eat tenrecs in the bush (cf. Gueunier 1986). Recipes for cooking tenrec
can be found on the internet, together with an interview with a tenrec hunter
in the Malagasy-speaking village of M’tsangamouji, describing in detail how
he hunts at night with dogs and prepares the flesh with a large knife (Collège
de M’tsangamouji 2006).
Small Indian civet, These introduced animals are no longer kept in captivity but their musk is
Viverricula indica still harvested and used in traditional pharmacy (Louette 2004b).
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Bat spp. The two largest fruit bats in the archipelago are eaten by some people,
especially by Malagasy speakers and others willing to ignore the orthodox
Muslim prohibition on eating clawed creatures (Action Comores 2003).
The Comorian subspecies of the Seychelles flying fox (Pteropus seychellensis
comorensis), found throughout the archipelago, is also hunted because of its
reputation for damaging fruit crops (Louette 2004b). The largest bat in the
Comoros, Livingstone’s flying fox (Pteropus livingstonii), is reported to be
catapulted by young boys for sport and food. This fruit bat is endemic to
Moheli and Anjouan islands, and at one former roost on Anjouan it is said to
have been protected by local beliefs (Mickleburgh et al. 1992). Recent reports
do not record whether other bats are eaten and the literature is also silent on
the range of methods used to hunt bats.
Two species of true lemur (Eulemur) have also been imported from Madagascar.
The mongoose lemur, Eulemur mongoz, has a restricted distribution in north-west
Madagascar (Garbutt 2007), but is found wild on two of the Comoro islands: Moheli
and Anjouan. A feral population has also been reported from Grand Comore, close to a
village (Hambou) in which mongoose lemurs are kept in captivity, but its current status
is uncertain (Louette 2004b). The common brown lemur, Eulemur fulvus, is indigenous
to northern Madagascar including the north-western region facing Mayotte, where it
has been introduced (Garbutt 2007). The Mayotte lemur is more varied in colour than
its closest relatives in north-west Madagascar (E. f. fulvus) and is sometimes described
as a distinct subspecies, E. f. mayottensis (Harpet 2002, Louette 2004b). The apparent
divergence of the Mayotte form may reflect the relative antiquity of its introduction to the
island and/or descent of the modern population from a small number of individuals.
Archaeological evidence from Dembeni suggests that in the 9th century AD one or
more unidentified species of lemur was being carried as food on ships from Madagascar
and/or being kept or hunted on Mayotte itself (Harpet 2002). A widespread Malagasy
name for this and other species (akomba, ankomba) (Garbutt 1999, Harpet 2000)
is related to the Comorian dialect names for lemurs (komba, nkomba), and both are
ultimately derived from an earlier Sabaki name (reconstructed *nkomba) for galagos on
the East African coast (see Tables A2-A7). It is unlikely that the Malagasy term is the
source of the Comorian (cf. Harpet 2002), but probable that early Malagasy borrowed
this from proto-Comorian or another early Sabaki language, together with other names
for wild and domesticated animals (Blench in press).
The ubiquitous rasse or small Indian civet (Viverricula indica) is present throughout
the archipelago. The immediate origin of these island populations is not known. The
use of two inherited Sabaki names for this animal in Comorian implies an unbroken
knowledge of civets and the secretion for which they are famous. These linguistic
observations argue against the translocation of civets from Madagascar to the Comoros,
and suggest that they may well have been brought from one of the East African islands,
where they had been taken by earlier transoceanic traders.
The terrestrial list of the Comoros also includes small mammals that were probably
brought to the island accidentally (the Madagascar pygmy shrew and at least two species
of Eurasian rats and mice), together with a mongoose (the Javan mongoose) that was
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Martin T. Walsh 101
introduced in the colonial period in the mistaken belief that it would help to control
(introduced) rodents and other small vermin (Louette 2004b). The islands also host
feral populations of domesticated cats and dogs, as do most of the islands in the western
Indian Ocean (see Tables A2-A7). Feral domestic pigs (wild boar) have been reported
on two of the islands, Grand Comore and Mayotte (Louette 2004b). As in Zanzibar,
these pigs were presumably introduced by the Portuguese, hence the common Comorian
name for them (puruku), a Portuguese loanword (Blench in press).
Bush pigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) have also been listed as introduced on Mayotte
(Andrianjakarivelo 2003; Haltenorth and Diller 1984), though Louette (2004b) and
other members of recent Belgian zoological expeditions have not found any evidence of
their presence. Louette suggests that at least one report (from 1958) may have confused
feral pig signs for bush pig. There is also no unequivocal archaeological evidence for the
presence of suids on Mayotte and other islands before the appearance of the Portuguese
(cf. Redding and Goodman 1984). Nonetheless, it is possible that bush pigs were taken
to Mayotte before they were carried to Madagascar, or as part of the same process.
Discussion and conclusions
In this final and concluding section I will (a) explore in more detail different historical
hypotheses about island settlement and wildlife use, and (b) make some general and
comparative observations about the relationship between island biogeography and
human impacts on their sometimes fragile environments. Given the many gaps in our
knowledge that this survey has highlighted, I should emphasise that my conclusions
are no more than provisional, but are presented here in the hope that they will help to
stimulate further research and debate, with particular reference to the history of the
East African coast and islands of the Western Indian Ocean.
Untangling island settlement and wildlife use
There is ample evidence in this survey to show that many aspects of island wildlife use
by Swahili and Comorian speakers are practices dating back to the time when their
linguistic ancestors lived on the East African coast. The shift to the exploitation of
marine resources and development of a maritime culture by these two Sabaki groups
were remarkable innovations, but did not entail their abandoning the Eastern Bantu
heritage of mixed farming combined with the strategic exploitation of wild plant and
animal resources. The archaeological evidence from Shanga and other sites indicates
that hunting and other forms of natural resource use can fluctuate over time, but
there is little to suggest that the meat of wild game has ever dominated the diet of
Sabaki-speaking island communities for more than limited periods of plenty and/or
when other food resources have been in short supply. Still, like coastal history itself,
this is not a conclusion written in stone, and the archaeological record may one day
prove otherwise. Polynesian seafarers are thought to have eaten their way through the
flightless bird populations of more than one newly settled oceanic home, helped by the
rodents and other alien invasive species that they brought with them. It is an intriguing
possibility that something like this could have happened on one or more of the small
islands occupied by Sabaki speakers or their predecessors.
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In this paper I have focused on possible historical explanations for some dietary
anomalies. I have already outlined different hypotheses that might account for the
consumption of bats and terrapins on Pemba, and monitor lizards on Unguja. The
source of each of these practices, if not inherited or innovated, might be any one of a
number of peoples that could have settled in the archipelago before the advent of Swahili
speakers in the second half of the first millennium AD. Unfortunately we only have a
hazy idea of who these different peoples might have been.
Linguistic and bio-cultural data currently also provide the best evidence that people
from southeast Asia were visiting the East African coast from an early date. They also
indicate that the proto-Malagasy interacted intensively with Sabaki speakers before
they settled on Madagascar, a finding that is not contradicted by recent human genetic
research. Given these and other clues to the history of Austronesian settlement and
migration in the Western Indian Ocean, we might wonder whether we can discern
their ecological footprint on all or most of the islands in the region. Can some of the
empirical facts about wildlife distribution and use noted in this paper, including various
hints of South-East Asian influence, be integrated into a more comprehensive account of
Austronesian impacts on island culture and biodiversity in the Western Indian Ocean?
If so, the following observations are all candidates for inclusion:
Reptiles:
(1) The consumption of terrapins on Pemba and the (past) consumption of tortoises in
the Comoro archipelago. Tortoises and terrapins are also eaten on Madagascar, and the
African species found on Pemba, the yellow-bellied hinged terrapin (Pelusios castanoides),
is one of them (Kuchling and Garcia 2003).
(2) The absence of terrestrial chelonians on Unguja, apart from occasional records of
the yellow-bellied hinged terrapin (P. castanoides) and Bell’s hinged tortoise (Kinixys
belliana), both thought to be introductions. P. castanoides is also found on Madagascar
(see above) and K. belliana is believed to have been taken there from Africa during the
second half of the first millennium AD (Raselimanana and Vences 2003).
Birds:
(3) The distribution of the helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris) throughout
the Western Indian Ocean and its domestication or semi-domestication on some of
the islands (e.g. Pemba, Chole, Madagascar). Archaeological and linguistic evidence
indicate that guineafowl were probably taken from Africa to Madagascar by the earliest
Malagasy settlers, together with other domesticated animals (Blench, in press; Hawkins
and Goodman 2003).
Mammals:
(4) The presence of the Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus) on (at least) Pemba and
Unguja.5 This south and south-east Asian species is also reported from the Arabian
peninsula, north-east Africa and the East African coast, as well as Madagascar, the
Mascarene islands, and the Maldives. Hutterer and Tranier (1990) speculate that this
5
Specimens are said to have been collected in the Comoros in the nineteenth century but there is no
reliable recent evidence of its presence (Louette 2004b).
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Martin T. Walsh 103
shrew could have been spread around the Western Indian Ocean by the dhow trade.
Earlier introduction by Austronesian seafarers is another possibility that remains to be
tested by genetic research.
(5) The consumption of bats on Pemba and in the Comoros. Fruit bats are also eaten
and hunted on Madagascar, a practice that is widespread among Austronesian speakers
in South-East Asia, including the Barito-speaking Ma’anyan of Indonesian Borneo
(Hudson 1972). This might be a relatively recent introduction to the Comoros by
Malagasy speakers – the evidence is equivocal – but bat-eating on Pemba cannot be
similarly explained away.
(6) The presence of the mongoose lemur (Eulemur mongoz) on Moheli and Anjouan, and
the common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus) on Mayotte, together with archaeological
evidence for the consumption of lemurs in the past. As is well known, lemurs are
endemic to Madagascar, and hunted by some Malagasy for their meat. They are also
kept as pets in both Madagascar and the Comoros, much as bushbabies and some
monkey species are in Zanzibar and elsewhere in East Africa. One of the common
Malagasy names for various lemur species is taken from the coastal Bantu term for
galagos, suggesting that the proto-Malagasy knew the latter (which are present in East
Africa and the continental archipelagos, but not the Comoros) before they encountered
similar animals in Madagascar. This linguistic observation supports the thesis that the
early Malagasy lived on the East African coast and/or nearby islands before they settled
on Madagascar.
(7) The presence of the small Indian or Javan mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) on Mafia
and Grand Comore. This is a widely distributed species (also found on Mauritius) that
is said to have been introduced to Grand Comore sometime between 1958 and 1981,
in the mistaken belief that it would eat troublesome rats and snakes (Louette 2004b). It
has been present on Mafia for longer, though it is not known for how long. Moreau and
Pakenham (1940) guessed that it was deliberately introduced to the island to control
vermin. When and by whom are open questions.
(8) The presence of the small Indian civet or rasse (Viverricula indica) on all of the
larger islands covered in this survey: Unguja, Pemba, Mafia, Grand Comore, Moheli,
Anjouan and Mayotte. It is also found in the wild in Madagascar, as well as on the island
of Socotra between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula (Garbutt 2007). On
Unguja this small civet coexists with the larger African civet (Civettictis civetta), and in
the nineteenth century both species were caught and kept in cages so that their valuable
secretion could be harvested and sold. This is an ancient ingredient in perfumes (cf. Von
Endt 1978), and it is possible that the small Indian civet, a South and South-East Asian
species, was taken to the Western Indian Ocean at an early date. The Zanzibar form, V.
i. rasse, has been described as identical to specimens from Madagascar and Java.
(9) The presence of bush pigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) on Madagascar, and their possible
past presence on Mayotte. Bush pigs are also found on Unguja and Mafia, where they
are generally assumed to form part of the natural fauna, though introduction from
the nearby mainland cannot be ruled out. The bush pigs of Madagascar are certainly
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Martin T. Walsh 104
introduced, and must have been at least semi-domesticated or captured and released
for this to have happened. Although it is generally assumed that they were transported
direct to Madagascar across the Mozambique channel, it is also possible that they were
brought from the East African coast by the proto-Malagasy and/or early Comorians via
one or more island stepping-stones, including the Comoros.
I have already discussed the possibility (see above) that all of the four-legged mammals
of Pemba have been introduced. It would be rash to claim that these or other possible
translocations were all the work of Austronesians – or indeed of any single group of
people. The zoological and ethnozoological evidence does, however, implicate the proto-
Malagasy (at least) in a number of historical changes to the island fauna of the region
and its exploitation by island-dwelling Bantu speakers. Combined with other cultural
and biological evidence, including evidence for the translocation of domesticated plants
and animals (Blench 1996, in press), a new picture of intensive interaction in the past
between East Africans and Austronesians is beginning to emerge. Needless to say, a full
account and assessment of the Austronesian hypothesis is beyond the scope of this paper,
and must await the outcome and publication of further research.
Island biogeography and human interventions
The data presented in this paper also invite comment from a more general and
comparative perspective. Debate about human impacts on island environments has
focused on both (1) the role and significance of ‘transported landscapes’, including
the translocation of domesticated and other animals (Kirch 1982, 1984; Nunn 2003;
Rainbird 2004; Spriggs 1997), and (2) the reasons for the loss of island biodiversity,
including the possible role of hunting in driving indigenous animal species into extinction
(Goodman and Patterson 1997; MacPhee 1999; Martin and Klein 1984, Steadman
1995). Simple versions of the ‘overkill hypothesis’ have been challenged, and it is now
widely accepted that the intended and unintended consequences of modifying the
existing landscape and importing alien plants, animals, and pathogens can also have
drastic effects on local animal populations. Although Madagascar has been drawn into
this debate, little attempt has been made to consider its relevance to other islands in
the Western Indian Ocean, in particular the island archipelagos examined in this paper.
There is clearly plenty of scope to do so, including the possibility of drawing direct
comparisons between the impacts of Austronesian settlement in the Pacific and the
parallel phenomenon in the Indian Ocean.
Here I will make no more than a few preliminary observations about the links
between island biogeography and human interventions. Table 7 shows the number of wild
mammal species (excluding bats and feral populations of contemporary domesticates)
known to occur on each of the main islands included in this study, together with estimates
of the number and proportion of these that have been introduced with human assistance.
As is well known, the number of mammal species on islands (bats included) decreases
with distance from continental land masses and larger islands – taking into account other
factors including surface area. In the case of remote oceanic islands natural colonisation
rarely occurs except by flying animals (like bats and birds), semi-aquatic animals (like
hippos and crocodiles), and small creatures (like lizards and some invertebrates) that can
float on vegetation and survive a long journey at sea. This generalisation also appears
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Martin T. Walsh 105
to apply to the islands in our study, with perhaps one exception that has already been
noted. The number of species known to occur on Mafia seems to be relatively small,
even when the size of the island and probable gaps in our knowledge of the island’s
fauna are taken into account. The loss of species through hunting and other human
activities may be one explanation for this, and it will be interesting to see what future
archaeological research tells us about the history of Mafia’s mammalian fauna.
Table 7: Island biogeography and the translocation of mammals
Island Approx. No. of wild No. of % of four-

(listed by biogeographical area mammal species introduced legged mammal
category and increasing (km2) known species (based on species
distance from the East (excluding bats) published introduced
African coast) sources)
Recent continental
islands
Mafia 600 21 3 14%
Unguja 1,600 29 7 24%
Older continental
islands
Pemba 1,000 11 6 55%
Oceanic islands
Grand Comore 1,150 6 6 100%
Moheli 210 5 5 100%
Anjouan 425 5 5 100%
Mayotte 375 7 7 100%
The relationship between island biogeography and translocation is clearer. All of

the four-legged mammals in the Comoro archipelago have been introduced, whether
by accident or design. There are proportionately fewer translocated mammal species
on the recent continental islands, though the absolute numbers of introduced species
are not much different. Pemba, the only older continental island in the sample, is in an
intermediate position. However, if it is the case that even species thought to indigenous
are in fact introduced, then the situation on this island will more closely resemble that
of the Comoros. The translocation of mammals to remote oceanic islands has greater
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Martin T. Walsh 106
potential biological and cultural impacts than it does on continental islands with a
more robust indigenous fauna, though it can also have significant impacts on the latter.
The deliberate introduction of edible domesticated and semi-domesticated animals to
small islands with few alternative sources of meat serves an obvious purpose, whatever
other social and economic significance it may have. This may, for example, help us to
understand the apparent significance of African livestock in the economy of the early
Malagasy, especially if they had settled in the species-poor Comoros before moving on
to the richer pickings of Madagascar. Recent history suggests that translocations are not
usually undertaken with the intention of releasing animals into the wild and hunting
them. A variety of circumstances can lead to the establishment of feral populations, which
may then require control and/or offer opportunities for hunting for other reasons. The
changing fortunes of the feral pigs of Pemba is a particularly well-documented historical
example, only sketched briefly in this paper. Transported landscapes do not always
develop as expected, and the people and animals in them can behave in unanticipated
ways. This has no doubt happened many times in the Western Indian Ocean, especially
on islands which have experienced multiple episodes of settlement and translocation.
Acknowledgements
This paper is an expanded version of a presentation about hunting in Zanzibar that

was given to the conference on The Maritime Heritage and Cultures of the Western
Indian Ocean in Comparative Perspective, held in Zanzibar in July 2006. I am grateful
to Stephanie Wynne-Jones for inviting me to write this paper, and to everyone who has
contributed to the research on which it is based, including Bill Adams, Sander Adelaar,
Claude Allibert, Tony Archer, Tom Butynski, Pat Caplan, Felix Chami, Axel Ducourneau,
Abigail Entwistle, John Fanshawe, Derek Finnie, Mark Horton, Asha Fakhi Khamis,
Ahmad Kipacha, Tuula Kurikka, Peter Mitchell, Derek Nurse, Abdallah Shamte Omari,
Paul Sinclair, Salim Abdallah Subeit, Christine Walley, and Andrew Williams. Special
thanks are due to Roger Blench and Helle Goldman for their multiple inputs to this
and related research, and to all of the East African islanders who have also freely shared
their knowledge and ideas.
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walsh.indd 113 03/12/2007 11:23:39

Island subsistence: hunting, trapping and the
translocation of wildlife in the western Indian Ocean
Appendix: Island mammal lists and local names
Martin T. Walsh
Contents
Introductory note
Mammal lists and local names
Key to mammal lists
Table A1. Principal sources for island mammal lists and linguistics
Table A2. Pemba island mammals
Table A3. Unguja island mammals
Table A4. Mafia island mammals
Table A5. Grand Comore island mammals
Table A6. Anjouan island mammals
Table A7. Mayotte island mammals
References
Introductory note
This online appendix accompanies the paper ‘Island subsistence: hunting, trapping and the
translocation of wildlife’, published in Azania XLII (2007), pp. 83-113. It comprises lists
of mammals and known local names for them on six of the Indian Ocean islands that are
considered in the paper. I have also provided a list of principal sources and full references
for these.
Mammal lists and local names
Key to mammal lists
Column headings:
I = Introduced or not (+/-)
E = Eaten or not (+/-)
Etymologies:
< = derived from
?< = possibly derived from
lit. = literally
SW = Swahili
COM = Comorian
NEC = Northeast Coast Bantu
EB = Eastern Bantu
Table A1. Principal sources for island mammal lists and linguistics
ISLAND PRINCIPAL SOURCES
ZANZIBAR ARCHIPELAGO Fauna: Pakenham (1984), Burgess and Clarke (2000),

references in text
Pemba Swahili / Pemba dialects: Pakenham (1959; 1984), Entwistle

and Corp (1995), own field notes (1994-96)
Unguja Swahili / Unguja dialects: Pakenham (1959; 1984), Goldman

and Walsh (1997), Helle Goldman field notes (1996, 2003),
own field notes (1994-)
MAFIA ARCHIPELAGO Fauna: Moreau and Pakenham (1940), Cockle et al. (1998),
Burgess and Clarke (2000)
Mafia Swahili / Mafia dialects: Kipacha (2004), Pat Caplan pers

comm. (2007), Ahmad Kipacha pers. comm. (2007)
COMORO ARCHIPELAGO Fauna: Louette et al. (2004)
Grand Comore Comorian / Ngazidja dialect: Ahmed-Chamanga and

Gueunier (1979), Lafon (1991)
Anjouan Comorian / Ndzuwani dialect: Ahmed-Chamanga (1992,

1997)
Mayotte Comorian / Maore dialect: Blanchy (1996)
Malagasy / Kiboshy dialect: Gueunier (1986)
GENERAL Etymologies: Nurse and Hinnebusch (1993), Goldman and

Walsh (1997), own field notes (1980-) and library research
Table A2. Pemba island mammals
PEMBA MAMMAL SPECIES I E LOCAL NAMES

(Swahili dialects)
Order INSECTIVORA
Family SORICIDAE - Shrews panya-(m)nyunga < Sabaki
Tiny musk shrew, Crocidura fuscomurina - - kiruka-njia lit. ‘path-jumper’
Asian house shrew, Suncus murinus + -
Order CHIROPTERA popo < Sabaki
Suborder MACROCHIROPTERA
Family PTEROPODIDAE - Fruit bats
Straw-coloured fruit-bat, Eidolon helvum - + popo-mvumo lit. ‘borassus-palm bat’
sp. often treated as an immature form of the
Pemba flying fox (see names below)
Wahlberg’s epauletted fruit-bat, - ?
Epomophorus wahlbergi
(Swahili dialects)
Pemba flying fox, Pteropus voeltzkowi - + popo-maembe lit. ‘mango-fruit bat’
popo-mava lit. ‘burial grove bat’
popo-minazi lit. ‘coconut-palm bat’
popo-mnyama lit. ‘meat bat’
popo-mkubwa lit. ‘large bat’
donondo < Sabaki
geuka ‘infant flying fox’, lit. ‘changer’
kizingo lit. ‘twister’
mbagu ?< NEC, EB
nangwa ?< EB
nyungo < ? cf. panya (m)nyunga ‘shrew
sp.’ (see above)
(ma)zondo < ? cf. nyonda ‘small bat sp.’
(see below)
Egyptian rousette, Rousettus aegyptiacus - ? popo-mgomba lit. ‘banana-palm bat’
Suborder MICROCHIROPTERA popo-mgomba ‘small bat sp.’ (generic)
Family EMBALLONURIDAE - Sheath-
tailed bats
African sheath-tailed bat, Coleura afra - ?
Family NYCTERIDAE - Slit-faced bats
Large slit-faced bat, Nycteris grandis - ?
Family RHINOLOPHIDAE - Horseshoe
& Leaf-nosed bats
Sundevall’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros - ?
caffer
Giant African leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros - ?
commersoni
Decken’s horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus - ?
deckenii
Family VESPERTILIONIDAE - Vesper
bats
Banana pipistrelle, Pipistrellus nanus - ? popo-mgomba lit. ‘banana-palm bat’
? African giant house bat, Scotophilus
nigrita
Family MOLOSSIDAE - Free-tailed
bats
?Mozambique free-tailed bat, Mops - ?
brachypterus
Little free-tailed bat, Tadarida - ?
(Chaerephon) pumila
- + dosari ~ kidosari ~ popo kidosari ‘small
bat sp.’ lit. ‘blemish(ed bat)’ [slit-faced
bat?]
- - donya ~ kidonya ~ ndonya ~ popo-
ndonya ‘small bat sp.’ lit. ‘lip-plug bat’
[horseshoe / leaf-nosed bat?]
- + ndorinya ‘small bat sp.’ lit. ‘lip-plug (bat)’
- ? nyonda ‘small bat sp.’ ?< ndonya
(metathesis) or ?< Sabaki, EB
- + twira ‘small bat sp.’ = ndorinya’ ?< EB
- ? putiputi ‘small bat sp.’ < EB
(Swahili dialects)
Order PRIMATES
Family GALAGONIDAE - Bushbabies
Small-eared greater galago, Otolemur - - komba < Sabaki
garnetti
Family CERCOPITHECIDAE - Cheek-
pouch monkeys
Vervet monkey, Chlorocebus aethiops - - tumbili < Sabaki
ko(o)gwe ‘mature male’ ?<
Zanzibar red colobus, Colobus kirkii + - (recent introduction)
Order CARNIVORA
Family HERPESTIDAE
Marsh mongoose, Atilax paludinosus - - chonjwe ?< Sabaki
?Slender mongoose, Herpestes sanguineus - -
?Banded mongoose, Mungos mungo + -
Family VIVERRIDAE - Genets & civets
Small Indian civet, Viverricula indica + - ngawa < Sabaki
? - ramb(w)e ‘unidentified carnivore sp.’ ?<
Sabaki or EB
Order HYRACOIDEA
Family PROCAVIIDAE - Hyraxes
East African tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax - + pelele < SW < NEC, EB
validus
Order ARTIODACTYLA
Family SUIDAE - Pigs
Domestic pig (feral), Sus scrofa domesticus + - nguruwe < Sabaki
Family BOVIDAE - Horned ungulates
Blue duiker, Cephalophus monticola - + paa < Sabaki
chesi < Sabaki
Order RODENTIA
Family MURIDAE - Murid rats & mice panya < Sabaki
Common house mouse, Mus musculus + -
?Norway Rat, Rattus norvegicus + -
Black rat, Rattus rattus + -
? - kocho ‘house rat’ ?< NEC, EB
? - buku ‘large house rat’ < Sabaki
Table A3. Unguja island mammals
UNGUJA MAMMAL SPECIES I E LOCAL NAMES

(Swahili dialects)
Order INSECTIVORA
Family SORICIDAE - Shrews panya-nyunga
< Sabaki
Greater musk shrew, Crocidura flavescens - -
Tiny musk shrew, Crocidura fuscomurina - -
Jackson’s musk shrew, Crocidura jacksoni - -
Northern savanna musk shrew, Crocidura - -
viaria
Asian house shrew, Suncus murinus + -
(Swahili dialects)
Straw-coloured fruit-bat, Eidolon helvum - -
Little epauletted fruit-bat, Epomophorus - -
labiatus
Wahlberg’s epauletted fruit-bat, - - popo-uma lit. ‘biting-bat’
Epomophorus wahlbergi
Egyptian rousette, Rousettus aegyptiacus - -
Suborder MICROCHIROPTERA
Family EMBALLONURIDAE - Sheath-
tailed bats
Hildegarde’s tomb bat, Taphozous - -
hildegardeae
Mauritian tomb bat, Taphozous - -
mauritianus
Family NYCTERIDAE - Slit-faced bats
Large slit-faced bat, Nycteris grandis - -
Hairy slit-faced bat, Nycteris hispida - -
Large-eared slit-faced bat, Nycteris - -
macrotis
Egyptian slit-faced bat, Nycteris thebaica - -
Family MEGADERMATIDAE - Large-
winged bats
Heart-nosed bat, Cardioderma cor - -
Yellow-winged bat, Lavia frons - -
Family RHINOLOPHIDAE - Horseshoe
& Leaf-nosed bats
Sundevall’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros - -
caffer
Giant African leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros - -
commersoni
Noack’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros - -
ruber
Decken’s horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus - -
deckenii
Swinny’s horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus - -
swinnyi
Family VESPERTILIONIDAE - Vesper
bats
Cape serotine, Eptesicus capensis - -
Woolly bat sp., Kerivoula sp. - -
Banana pipistrelle, Pipistrellus nanus - - popo-mgomba
lit. ‘banana-palm bat’
African giant house bat, Scotophilus nigrita - - popo-mgomba
Southern lesser house bat, Scotophilus - -
viridis
Family MOLOSSIDAE - Free-tailed
bats
Mozambique free-tailed bat, Mops - -
brachypterus
Little free-tailed bat, Tadarida - -
(Chaerephon) pumila
Order PRIMATES
(Swahili dialects)
Family GALAGONIDAE - Bushbabies komba < Sabaki
Zanzibar galago, Galagoides zanzibaricus - - ndere < EB
Small-eared greater galago, Otolemur - -
garnetti
kihodi ‘unidentified sp.’ < SW
Family CERCOPITHECIDAE - Cheek-
pouch monkeys
Blue monkey, Cercopithecus mitis - - kima < Sabaki
kima mweusi lit. ‘black or dark-coloured
monkey’
korwa ~ kolwa ‘mature male’ < EB
?Vervet monkey, Chlorocebus aethiops + -
Zanzibar red colobus, Colobus kirkii - - punju ~ kima-punju ?lit. ‘poison-monkey’
or < EB
? - cheta ‘small monkey sp.’ (Makunduchi) <
EB. cf. Comorian / Ngazidja shita ‘monkey
sp.’
Order CARNIVORA
Family FELIDAE - Cats
Zanzibar leopard, Panthera pardus adersi - - chui < Sabaki
nyolopa < EB
chui-asili variety, lit. ‘original leopard’
bete ~ kibete variety, lit. ‘dwarf’
bungala variety, ?lit. ‘Bengali’ or ?< Malay
(also the name of varieties of banana, rice
and cassava)
futizi variety ?< SW
kariuki variety ?< SW
kichigi variety, lit. ‘mannikin’ (or a similar
small bird sp.)
koko variety, lit. ‘wild (leopard)’
konge ~ mkonge ~ konga variety, lit. ‘
mwanzi ~ chui-mwanzi variety, lit.
‘bamboo (leopard)’
ngawa variety, lit. ‘African civet’
sutu ~ kisutu variety ?< SW or EB
unyasi ~ chui unyasi variety, lit. ‘grass
(leopard)’
uwanda ~ chui uwanda variety, lit.
‘bushland (leopard)’
bange euphemism,
bwana mkubwa euphemism, lit. ‘big-man’
chuma euphemism, lit. ‘iron (i.e. strong)’
dume euphemism, lit. ‘male’
keke euphemism, ?lit. ‘alarm’
masharubu euphemism, lit. ‘whiskers’
(mi)rime euphemism, ?lit. ‘magicial power’
shambi-shambi ?< SW
shwambu euphemism < ?
twiga euphemism, lit. ‘giraffe’
Family HERPESTIDAE
Bushy-tailed mongoose, Bdeogale - - kitu < Sabaki
crassicauda
(Swahili dialects)
Slender mongoose, Herpestes (Galerella) - - cheche < SW < EB
sanguineus
Banded mongoose, Mungos mungo + - nguchiro < SW < Rufiji-Ruvuma, EB
? - ukwiri ‘mongoose sp.’ < Sabaki
African civet, Civettictis civetta - - ngawa < Sabaki
Servaline genet, Genetta servalina ushund(w)i < SW <EB
uchui lit. ‘slender leopard’
uchui-umwangu lit. ‘thin slender leopard’
uhange (identification uncertain) < ?
African palm civet, Nandinia binotata - -
Small Indian civet, Viverricula indica + - fungo < Sabaki
? - ramb(w)e ‘unidentified carnivore sp.’ ?<
EB
Order HYRACOIDEA
East African tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax - + pelele < SW < EB
validus
Order ARTIODACTYLA
Family SUIDAE - Pigs nguruwe < Sabaki
Bushpig, Potamochoerus larvatus kitanga ~ nguruwe-kitanga ‘solitary male’
< ? cf. Malagasy antsanga ‘bushpig’
jendaheka ‘solitary male’ ?lit. ‘roams
alone’
mkonge ‘large male or female bushpig’
bungala ‘large male or female bushpigs’
?lit. ‘Bengali’ (also the name of crop
varieties)
kichigi ‘small bushpig’ lit. ‘mannikin’ (or a
similar small bird sp.)
masuruali ‘hairy bushpig’ lit. ‘trousers’
Domestic pig (feral), Sus scrofa domesticus + -
Family BOVIDAE - Horned ungulates paa ‘mini-antelope, duiker & suni’ < Sabaki
Ader’s duiker, Cephalophus adersi - + paa-nunga < Sabaki
Blue duiker, Cephalophus monticola - + paa-chesi < Sabaki
Suni, Neotragus moschatus - + paa-mwekundu lit. ‘red mini-antelope’
paa-kazi ‘female suni’ (sometimes used for
both sexes) lit. ‘female mini-antelope’
chongoume ~ paa-chongome ‘male suni’
lit. ‘horned male (mini-antelope)’
Order RODENTIA
Family SCIURIDAE - Squirrels
Red-legged sun squirrel, Heliosciurus - - furuma < Sabaki
rufobrachium
furuma-mweupe ‘light form’ lit. ‘light-
coloured sun squirrel’
furuma-mweusi ‘dark form’ lit. ‘dark-
coloured sun squirrel’
Red bush squirrel, Paraxerus palliatus - - chindi ~ kindi < Sabaki
? - chindi-mweupe lit. ‘light-coloured (red
bush) squirrel’
? chindi-mwekundu lit. ‘reddish-coloured
(red bush) squirrel’
(Swahili dialects)
Forest pouched rat, Cricetomys gambianus - - buku < Sabaki
Norway Rat, Rattus norvegicus + -
Order MACROSCELIDAE
Family MACROSCELIDIDAE - kigombo ~ ngombo ~ njombo < EB
Elephant-shrews
Four-toed elephant shrew, Petrodomus - - ngombo-panya lit. ‘rat-like elephant shrew’
tetradactylus
Black-and-rufous elephant shrew, - - ngombo-nunga lit. ‘shrew-like elephant
Rhynchocyon petersi shrew’
kirodo ?< Rufiji-Ruvuma
Table A4. Mafia island mammals
MAFIA MAMMAL SPECIES I E LOCAL NAMES

(Swahili dialects)
Order INSECTIVORA
Family SORICIDAE - Shrews
Jackson’s musk shrew, Crocidura jacksoni - -
Family PTEROPODIDAE - Fruit bats popo-kubwa lit. ‘large bat’
Little epauletted fruit bat, Epomophorus labiatus - -
Wahlberg’s epauletted fruit-bat, Epomophorus - -
wahlbergi
Seychelles flying fox, Pteropus seychellensis - -
Egyptian rousette, Rousettus aegyptiacus - -
Family RHINOLOPHIDAE - Horseshoe &
Leaf-nosed bats
Short-eared trident bat, Cloeotis percivali - -
Commerson’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros - -
commersoni
Noack’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros ruber - -
Family VESPERTILIONIDAE - Vesper bats
Southern lesser house bat, Scotophilus viridis - -
Order PRIMATES
Family GALAGONIDAE - Bushbabies
Large-eared greater galago, Otolemur - - komba < Sabaki
crassicaudatus
Family CERCOPITHECIDAE - Cheek-pouch kima < Sabaki
monkeys
Blue monkey, Cercopithecus mitis - -
Vervet monkey, Chlorocebus aethiops - -
Order CARNIVORA
Family HERPESTIDAE
Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon - -
Javan mongoose, Herpestes javanicus + -
MAFIA MAMMAL SPECIES I E LOCAL NAMES
(Swahili dialects)
Small Indian civet, Viverricula indica + -
Order HYRACOIDEA
East African tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax validus - -
Order ARTIODACTYLA
Family SUIDAE - Pigs nguruwe < Sabaki
Bush pig, Potamochoerus larvatus - - tunbi < East Ruvu, NEC
Domestic pig (feral), Sus scrofa domesticus - -
Family HIPPOPOTAMIDAE -
Hipppopotamuses
Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus amphibious - + bonko ~ kiboko < SW < NEC
Family BOVIDAE - Horned ungulates
Blue duiker, Cephalophus monticola - + chesi < Sabaki
Suni, Neotragus moschatus - + nbara < Rufiji-Ruvuma
Order RODENTIA
Family SCIURIDAE - Squirrels kichindi < Sabaki
Red-legged sun squirrel, Heliosciurus - -
rufobrachium
?Southern sun squirrel, Heliosciurus mutabilis - -
Red bush squirrel, Paraxerus palliatus - -
Natal multimammate rat, Mastomys natalensis - -
Forest pouched rat, Cricetomys gambianus - - kupe < Sabaki
Black rat, Rattus rattus + - buku< SW ?< Sabaki, NEC
Family HYSTRICIDAE - Porcupines
Porcupine sp., Hystrix sp. (not identified) ? -
Order MACROSCELIDAE
Family MACROSCELIDIDAE - Elephant-
shrews
Four-toed elephant shrew, Petrodomus - -
tetradactylus
Black-and-rufous elephant shrew, Rhynchocyon - - ntoro < Rufiji-Ruvuma
petersi
Table A5. Grand Comore island mammals
GRAND COMORE MAMMAL SPECIES I E LOCAL NAMES

(Comorian / Ngazidja dialect)
Order INSECTIVORA
Family TENRECIDAE - Tenrecs and Otter-
shrews
Common tenrec, Tenrec ecaudatus + + landa < Malay
Order CHIROPTERA ndema < Sabaki
Seychelles flying fox, Pteropus seychellensis -
Comoro rousette, Rousettus obliviosus -
GRAND COMORE MAMMAL SPECIES I E LOCAL NAMES
(Comorian / Ngazidja dialect)
Malagasy mouse-eared bat, Myotis goudoti -
Least long-fingered bat, Miniopterus minor -
Family MOLOSSIDAE - Free-tailed bats
Little free-tailed bat, Tadarida (Chaerephon) -
pumila
- ndrara-susu ~ ngara-susu ‘small
bat sp.’ ?< Corridor, EB
- na(n)tutu ‘unidentified sp.’
< Makua, Nyanja
Order PRIMATES
Family LEMURIDAE - ‘True’ Lemurs
?Lemur sp. (domesticated and possibly feral?) + komba < Sabaki
Family CERCOPITHECIDAE - Cheek-pouch
monkeys
?Monkey sp. (imported pets or referring to + - (n)kima < Sabaki
monkeys elsewhere?)
shita cf. SW / Kae cheta ‘small
monkey sp.’ < EB
Order CARNIVORA
Family HERPESTIDAE
Javan mongoose, Herpestes javanicus + - mtulu < Makua cf. COM /
auropunctatus Ndzuwani mtuli ‘mongoose sp.’
Small Indian civet, Viverricula indica + -
Order ARTIODACTYLA
Domestic pig (feral), Sus scrofa domesticus + - purunku ?< Malagasy dialect ?<
Portuguese
Order RODENTIA
puhu < Sabaki
? - mtsentse-mtsentse ~ mtsentsentse
‘unidentified sp.’ ?< Sabaki
Table A6. Anjouan island mammals
ANJOUAN MAMMAL SPECIES I E LOCAL NAMES

(Comorian / Ndzuwani dialect)
Order INSECTIVORA
shrews
Common tenrec, Tenrec ecaudatus + + landra < Malay
Order CHIROPTERA ndrema < Sabaki
Family PTEROPODIDAE - Fruit bats mla-manga lit. ‘mango-eater’
Seychelles flying fox, Pteropus seychellensis -
Livingstone’s flying fox, Pteropus livingstonii -
Comoro rousette, Rousettus obliviosus -
ANJOUAN MAMMAL SPECIES I E LOCAL NAMES
(Comorian / Ndzuwani dialect)
Malagasy mouse-eared bat, Myotis goudoti -
Least long-fingered bat, Miniopterus minor -
pumila
- shivwirivwiri ‘small bat sp.’ <
Sabaki
Order PRIMATES
Mongoose lemur, Eulemur mongoz + nkomba < Sabaki
Order CARNIVORA
Family HERPESTIDAE
?Mongoose sp. (imported pets or referring to + - mtuli < Makua cf. Ngazidja mtulu
monkeys elsewhere?) ‘Javan mongoose’
Small Indian civet, Viverricula indica + - funga ~ mpaha-funga < Sabaki
Order RODENTIA
Family MURIDAE - Murid rats & mice puhu ~ mpuhu ?< Sabaki, NEC
Common house mouse, Mus musculus + - shikwetse ‘mouse sp.’ ?< Makua
Black rat, Rattus rattus + - pukuli ‘large rat’ ?< *mpuhu-kuli
?< Makua
? - pu-mtsutsu ‘unidentified sp. with
thin and pointed snout’ < *mpuhu-
mtsutsu ?lit. ‘tiny mouse’
Table A7. Mayotte island mammals
MAYOTTE MAMMAL SPECIES I E LOCAL NAMES

(Comorian / Maore dialect &
Malagasy / Kiboshy dialect)
Order INSECTIVORA
Family SORICIDAE - Shrews
Madagascar pygmy shrew, Suncus + -
madagascariensis
shrews
Common tenrec, Tenrec ecaudatus + + Maore: landra < Malay
Kiboshy: trandraka <
Austronesian
Order CHIROPTERA Maore: nd(r)ema ~ dema ~
dremela < Sabaki
Maore: fani < Malagasy
Seychelles flying fox, Pteropus seychellensis - Maore: mla-manga lit. ‘mango-
eater’
Maore: dema-katsa ?lit. ‘turtle-bat’
Kiboshy: fanihy < Austronesian
MAYOTTE MAMMAL SPECIES I E LOCAL NAMES
(Comorian / Maore dialect &
Malagasy / Kiboshy dialect)
Kiboshy: voromalahèlo lit. ‘sad-
bird’
Suborder MICROCHIROPTERA Maore: ndremawili < Sabaki. cf.
Ndzuwani shivwirivwiri ‘small bat
sp.’
Family EMBALLONURIDAE - Sheath-tailed
bats
Mauritian tomb bat, Taphozous mauritianus -
pumila
Order PRIMATES
Common brown lemur, Eulemur fulvus fulvus + Maore: komba < Sabaki
Kiboshy: ankomba ~ akomba <
Sabaki
Order CARNIVORA
Small Indian civet, Viverricula indica + - Maore: funga < Sabaki
Maore: ngava < Sabaki
Order ARTIODACTYLA
Domestic pig (feral), Sus scrofa domesticus + - Maore: puruku nyeha lit. ‘wild
pig’ (puruku ?< Malagasy dialect
?< Portuguese)
Order RODENTIA
Family MURIDAE - Murid rats & mice Maore: puhu ?< Sabaki, NEC
Kiboshy: voalàvo ~ valàvo <
Austronesian
Common house mouse, Mus musculus + - Maore: shikwetse < ? also
Ndzuwani
Black rat, Rattus rattus + - Maore: trutri < ?
References
Ahmed-Chamanga, M. 1992. Lexique comorien-(shindzuwani)-français. Paris: Editions

l’Harmattan.
Ahmed-Chamanga, M. 1997. Dictionnaire français-comorien (dialecte shindzuwani).
Paris: CEROI-INALCO / L’Harmattan.
Ahmed-Chamanga, M. and N.-J. Gueunier 1979. Le dictionnaire comorien-français et
français-comorien du R. P. Sacleux (2 vols.). Paris: SELAF.
Blanchy, S. 1996. Dictionnaire mahorais-français, français-mahorais. Paris: L’Harmattan.
Burgess, N. D. and G. P. Clarke (eds.) 2000. Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa.
Cambridge: IUCN - The World Conservation Union.
Cockle, A., D. Kock, L. Stublefield, K. M. Howell and N. D. Burgess 1998. ‘Bat
Assemblages in Tanzanian Coastal Forests’, Mammalia 62 (1), 53-68.
Entwistle, A. and N. Corp 1995. Status and Conservation of the Pemba Flying Fox: report
of a project carried out June/July 1995. Department of Zoology, University of
Aberdeen.
Goldman, H. V. and M. T. Walsh 1997. A Leopard in Jeopardy: An Anthropological
Survey of Practices and Beliefs which Threaten the Survival of the Zanzibar Leopard
(Panthera pardus adersi). Zanzibar Forestry Technical Paper 63, Jozani-Chwaka Bay
Conservation Project, Commission for Natural Resources, Zanzibar.
Gueunier, N. J. 1986. Lexique du dialecte malgache de Mayotte (Comores) (Etudes Océan
Indien special no. 7). Paris: INALCO.
Kipacha, A. 2004. ‘Kingome-English Lexicon’, Swahili Forum 11: 179-209.
Louette, M., D. Meirte and R. Jocqué (eds.) 2004. La faune terrestre de l’archipel des
Comores (Studies in Afrotropical Zoology 293). Tervuren: Musée Royal de l‘Afrique
Centrale.
Moreau, R. E. and R. H. W. Pakenham 1940. ‘The Land Vertebrates of Pemba, Zanzibar,
and Mafia: A Zoogeographical Study’, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of
London 110 (Series A): 97-128.
Nurse, D. and T. J. Hinnebusch 1993. Swahili and Sabaki: A Linguistic History. Berkeley:
University of California Press.
Pakenham, R. H. W. 1959. ‘Kiswahili Names of Birds and Beasts in the Zanzibar
Protectorate’, Swahili: Journal of the East African Swahili Committee 29 (1): 34-54.
Pakenham, R. H. W. 1984. The Mammals of Zanzibar and Pemba Islands. Harpenden:
privately printed.

Island Subsistence: Hunting, Trapping and The Translocation of Wildlife in The Western Indian Ocean

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Island Subsistence: Hunting, Trapping and The Translocation of Wildlife in The Western Indian Ocean

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Azania XLII 2007

Island subsistence: hunting, trapping and

Old histories and new histories

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Archaeological investigations by Chami and colleagues in Tanzania indicate that at

Hunting and the exploitation of island wildlife: a survey

The following survey is based on a combination of different kinds of evidence from a

The Zanzibar Archipelago

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the 1990s, most of it undertaken for agricultural development and community-based

Table 1: Evidence for the introduction of mammals on Pemba island

Mammal species Evidence for introduction / translocation

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Mammal species Evidence for introduction / translocation

Common house mouse, A known ship-borne introduction, widespread in the region.

Black rat, Rattus rattus Another ship-borne introduction, also widespread.

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Table 2: Hunting and trapping on Pemba Island

Species Known hunting and other practices

Formerly hunted by groups of men using hunting dogs and

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Species Known hunting and other practices

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Table 3: Hunting and trapping on Unguja Island

Species Known hunting and other practices

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Species Known hunting and other practices

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The Mafia Archipelago

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Table 4: Hunting and trapping on Mafia and nearby islands

Species Known hunting and other practices

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Species Known hunting and other practices

Bird spp. As Baumann (1896) noted, guineafowl (the helmeted guineafowl,

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The Comoro Archipelago

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Table 5: Languages and dialects of the Comoro islands

Malagasy (kiboshy) Maore (kiboshy kimaore)

Antalaotsy (kiantalaotsy, kiboshy kiantalaotsy)

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Table 6: Hunting and Trapping on the Comoro islands

Species Known hunting and other practices

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Species Known hunting and other practices

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Discussion and conclusions

Untangling island settlement and wildlife use

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Island biogeography and human interventions

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Table 7: Island biogeography and the translocation of mammals

Island Approx. No. of wild No. of % of four-

Mafia 600 21 3 14%

Unguja 1,600 29 7 24%

Pemba 1,000 11 6 55%

Grand Comore 1,150 6 6 100%