In most years the end of April and the beginning of May are very busy times with the Malagasy; almost all other work must give way to the getting in of the harvest; the fields are everywhere dotted over with people reaping; most of the poorer people we meet are carrying loads of freshly cut grain on their heads, or baskets filled with the unhusked rice, and large quantities are spilt along the roads and paths. Some of the chief embankments swarm with rats and mice, which must pick up a very good living at this time of the year. Other creatures also take toll from the harvest, especially the Fòdy, or cardinal-bird, the bright scarlet plumage of the cock-bird making a very noticeable feature of the avi-fauna during the warmer months. This colour is not seen on the wings, which are sober brown, but is brilliant on head, breast and back; it fades away in the winter months, returning again as the breeding-time comes round. The white egret, which we saw on the coast, is equally in evidence in Imèrina, and sometimes flocks of two or three hundred of them may be seen in the rice-fields and marshes. When living at Ambòhimànga we used to notice that in the winter months a large number of the Vòrompòtsy were accustomed to assemble on the open down towards sunset; and on a signal apparently given by one of them the whole flock rose and flew slowly away to roost in the large trees to the north-west of the town. The white-necked crow is also plentiful, and is perhaps the most commonly seen bird in Imèrina. On one occasion when walking with a friend near Ambòhimànga, he had his gun and shot one of a small flock of crows near us. For a few seconds there was a dead silence, and then all the others filled the air with hoarse cries and came dashing round us so closely that I feared they would injure our eyes, so angry did they seem with those who had killed their companion. One of the most beautiful birds to be seen is the Vintsy, or kingfisher, of lovely purplish-blue, with yellow and buff breast and belly. With short blunt tail and long beak, it may be seen perched on the rushes or other aquatic plants, or darting over the streams and marshes, flying in a curious jerking manner, like a flash of purple light, pursuing the insects which form its food.
From what has been already said about rice-culture it may be easily understood that it occupies a large amount of the time and attention of the Malagasy. The digging and preparation of the ground; the sowing in the kètsa plots; the uprooting of the young plants; the planting, by the women, of these again in the soft mud of the rice-fields; the bringing of water, often from a long distance, to the fields, and the repairing of the water-courses; the weeding of the rice-fields; and, finally, the cutting, the threshing, the bringing home, and the drying and storing of the rice—all this bulks largely in their daily life through a good deal of the year. Rice is the staff of life to the Malagasy, and they cannot understand how Europeans can make a proper meal without it. Mihìnam-bàry, “to eat rice,” is the native equivalent for the Eastern phrase, “to eat bread”; they eat other things of course—manioc root, a little meat or fish, and various vegetables, but these are only laoka or accompaniments to the staple food.
The Malagasy have a saying, when speaking of things which are inseparable, that they are “like rice and water.” And when we remember that rice is sown on water, that it is transplanted in water, that it grows still in water, that it is reaped in water, that it is usually carried by water, in canoes, that it is boiled in water, and that water is generally the only beverage with which it is eaten, it will be seen that there is much force in the comparison.
ARTICLES OF FOOD
Besides the above-mentioned additions to rice, the people eat as a relish with it other things, many of them very repulsive to our European notions—for instance, snails, locusts, certain kinds of caterpillars, moths, and even, so it is said, some species of spiders! But I never realised so distinctly what queer things they will eat as when taking a ride one afternoon to the north of Ambòhimànga. Passing along one of the long rice-valleys, we saw some girls dredging for fish in the shallow water; and thinking we might perhaps buy some to take home, we called to them to bring the basket for us to see. They immediately complied, but, on inspecting the contents, we found no fish, but a heap of brown, crawling, wriggling, slimy creatures, really very disgusting in appearance, considered as possible articles of food. This mass of creeping animal life consisted of shrimps, water-beetles, tadpoles, and the larvæ of many kind of insects. It is needless to say that we did not make a purchase of these tempting delicacies; but I believe they would all go into the pot in some Malagasy house that evening and give a relish to the rice of some of our native friends.
On the Coast Lagoons
Fish traps. The way is blocked for fish with occasional openings for traps
The rivers of the interior are singularly deficient in fish of any size; but in the shallow water of the rice-fields numbers of minute shrimps are caught, as well as small fish of the kinds called Tòho and Tròndro, but they are very bony and poor in flavour: somewhat larger kinds, called Màrakèly and Tòhovòkoka, are, however, very good eating, but are not plentiful. Very large and fine eels are caught in the rivers, as well as crayfish, of a kind peculiar to Madagascar. On the water of the streams many kinds of water-beetles and water-boatmen may be seen darting about in mazy circles; one of these, called Tsingàla, causes death if swallowed by cattle or human beings, oxen dying in less than twenty-four hours, unless a remedy is promptly given. The Rev. H. T. Johnson wrote thus about this insect:
THE TSINGÀLA