Lemur Week
To celebrate the release of Imax movie Madagascar: Island of Lemurs the week running from March 30th through until April 5th, has been dubbed "Lemur Week".
Therefore, I thought I would share a little about Madagascar and why I am writing my "Lemur Saga".
I believe my fascination with lemurs began sometime in High School, when we learnt about prosimians. At first, I fell in love with the tarsier (which isn't a lemur) but then I began doing volunteer work at Orana Park, a local zoo park. There was something about these furry little mammals - not quite a monkey, with their bright, round eyes, pixie faces and beautiful scarf-like tails. One day they let me on the island to hand feed them. I was instantly besotted. And it's been lemurs ever since. They're fun, they're playful, they're smarter than your average bear, but not what one might call intellectually minded. And face it, they're beautiful.
My lemur obsession led me to making the long journey to Madagascar in 2007, accompanied by my husband. It was truly the trip of a lifetime. For someone who had never been further abroad than Australia, the culture shock was almost overwhelming. So many people, so much poverty. It was enough to break one's heart. Especially when you journey out of the cities and into the countryside – a mostly barren wasteland of dry grasslands and rice paddies, an island that was once a real jewel, a real lost eden and is now around 90% deforested. Once we were in the forests, however, I found the true beauty. There is nothing quite as amazing as staring into the face of the smallest primate in the world, the tiny mouse lemur, or standing beneath an indri (the largest lemur) as she sings her mournful dirge. I was entranced.
The Malagasy culture fascinated me and the people with their colourful clothing, big smiles and calls of “Salama vazaha” enchanted me and thus “Lemurs: A Saga” was born. The Lemur culture is loosely based on that of the Malagasy people – the reverence of their ancestors (called here Lemures), their Famadihana (the turning of the bones); their clothing and general zest for life. But I have also given back Madagascar her forests, given the farmers antelope instead of zebu cattle and goats and taken a great many liberties. Whilst some of the places – Morombe, Morondova, Belo-sur-Tsiribihana, the Tsiribihina river, and (Antana)Narivo actually exist, they bear little resemblance to their Madigaska counterparts.
Lastly, Queen Ranavalona IS real. Of course, in our world she wasn't a lemur, but other than that, most of her deeds in this novel are not entirely imagined.
For more information on how YOU can help the people, and lemurs, of Madagascar, plus further information on “Lemurs: A Saga” visit:
http://lemurkat.co.nz/lemursaga
Therefore, I thought I would share a little about Madagascar and why I am writing my "Lemur Saga".
I believe my fascination with lemurs began sometime in High School, when we learnt about prosimians. At first, I fell in love with the tarsier (which isn't a lemur) but then I began doing volunteer work at Orana Park, a local zoo park. There was something about these furry little mammals - not quite a monkey, with their bright, round eyes, pixie faces and beautiful scarf-like tails. One day they let me on the island to hand feed them. I was instantly besotted. And it's been lemurs ever since. They're fun, they're playful, they're smarter than your average bear, but not what one might call intellectually minded. And face it, they're beautiful.
My lemur obsession led me to making the long journey to Madagascar in 2007, accompanied by my husband. It was truly the trip of a lifetime. For someone who had never been further abroad than Australia, the culture shock was almost overwhelming. So many people, so much poverty. It was enough to break one's heart. Especially when you journey out of the cities and into the countryside – a mostly barren wasteland of dry grasslands and rice paddies, an island that was once a real jewel, a real lost eden and is now around 90% deforested. Once we were in the forests, however, I found the true beauty. There is nothing quite as amazing as staring into the face of the smallest primate in the world, the tiny mouse lemur, or standing beneath an indri (the largest lemur) as she sings her mournful dirge. I was entranced.
The Malagasy culture fascinated me and the people with their colourful clothing, big smiles and calls of “Salama vazaha” enchanted me and thus “Lemurs: A Saga” was born. The Lemur culture is loosely based on that of the Malagasy people – the reverence of their ancestors (called here Lemures), their Famadihana (the turning of the bones); their clothing and general zest for life. But I have also given back Madagascar her forests, given the farmers antelope instead of zebu cattle and goats and taken a great many liberties. Whilst some of the places – Morombe, Morondova, Belo-sur-Tsiribihana, the Tsiribihina river, and (Antana)Narivo actually exist, they bear little resemblance to their Madigaska counterparts.
Lastly, Queen Ranavalona IS real. Of course, in our world she wasn't a lemur, but other than that, most of her deeds in this novel are not entirely imagined.
For more information on how YOU can help the people, and lemurs, of Madagascar, plus further information on “Lemurs: A Saga” visit:
http://lemurkat.co.nz/lemursaga
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