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Traditional
consumption of turtles was for survival and celebration times.
'The older people of the community passed on the knowledge and
traditions of fishing'. Mr Rocky Nai of Yorke Island in the Torres
Straits explains:
'Once, the uncle on the maternal side would teach the young man
turtle hunting skills. They would use Wap (wood of the spear),
Kuiur (sharp tip or the barb of the spear) or amu (rope). This
equipment was only touched by men. After the turtle was caught
the Garzigarz (yellow fat), the Siza and the Kagi were given to
the Maidhalaig (spirit man). He would place the fat into the clamshell
with the thi thi stone. The stone would eat up (absorb) the special
strength from this fat, this gave the spirit man special powers.
All the men formed the Kod (school); they sat in a circle with
their heads bowed around the clamshell. The only one to talk was
the Maidhalaig man. If the turtle was kept alive overnight it
was left belly up and covered with coconut leaves and a rock placed
on top. This was so the Moon did not suck all the goodness out
of the turtle. When the turtle was ready to for cut-up the wife's
mother broke a coconut over the breast of the turtle and a blessing
took place by a priest. The turtle is cut up by the men and not
the hunter. All the turtle is used, so the flippers are cut off
one at a time and the blood is caught. After eating the shell
is placed belly-side down facing the water and fins put back in
place. The turtle's spirit can now go back to the water and live
for another day. The turtle is then burnt to ensure there is no
smell, no sharp and dangerous pieces lying around. The smoke chases
the puri puri (evil spirits) away. The ash is then taken to the
garden sites and used for planting by the women.'
Modern fishing practices
In Indonesia illegal fishing methods have impacted greatly on
turtle populations and reef systems. Bombing and cyanide poisoning
are common practices amongst poorer itinerant fishermen. Haji
Damsiah of Gili Air describes the changes to the seabeds around
his island:
'My grandfather was one of the first Bugis to come to this island
from South Sulawesi. They made a living from fishing, planting
coconut trees, sweet potato and corn. When I was small, I loved
looking at the many fish and beautiful blue coral… the fish
were so tame and there were dugongs, with flippers like human
hands….Compared to nowadays, we were very happy because
it felt like our own island, there weren’t people everywhere…
The destruction of the coral was mainly caused by people dropping
their anchors carelessly also bombing for fish with dynamite,
and using potassium to capture tropical fish. The greatest destruction
was the global warming that affected all the coral and sea grass.
It began in about 1989 and lasted until 1995, the temperature
rose continuously, and the coral was dying. I get really sad when
I remember how beautiful it was before… When I was a boy,
there were many turtles. There were people who hunted them with
spears but they weren’t wiped out because there were so
many. The hunters weren’t from this island – we were
not allowed to disturb the turtles, it was partly a religious
thing, but also a tradition it was always people from other islands
came to hunt our turtles.'
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