Lords and Lemurs: Mad Scientists, Kings with Spears, and the Survival of Diversity in Madagascar Book

In southern Madagascar is a place called Berenty, where Tandroy tribesmen, French lords, mad scientists, and two or three species of lemurs may be found gathered peacefully under a single tamarind tree. The owner of Berenty, Jean de Heaulme, arrived there in 1928 as a six-month-old baby, in the sidecar of his father"s Harley-Davidson. He and his family lived through war and revolution, Madagascar"s independence (which they supported) and imprisonment. Through it all they devoted themselves to preserving the natural diversity of Berenty and to helping the Tandroy maintain their culture.The Tandroy originally lived by cattle-raiding, clan warfare, and slavery. Now, although they have given up slavery and many of them work on plantations, they still live in traditional villages surrounded by walls of thorns. They have kept their cult of cattle and other customs, including their exuberant funerals, with gunfire, dancing, sex, and sacrifices to the Ancestor. Forty years ago scientist Alison Jolly was the first outsider to attend a Tandroy funeral. She went to Berenty to study lemurs and has been enthralled by the place ever since. In Lords and Lemurs she tells the story of Berenty, its people, and its other animals. Poignant and colorful, tragic and funny, it is a remarkable tale of one of the last great places on earth.Read More