Customer Reviews

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

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Author Alison Jolly, an expert in the study of primate behavior, poses the following question with her remarkable new book: "Where can you find scientists from all over the world, a family of French aristocrats who never quite noticed the French Revolution, a pastoralist tribe who still think of themselves as spear-carrying warriors, six species of lemurs, and usually a TV team underfoot?"

The answer is Berenty, Madagascar.

Some 40 years ago Jolly went to Madagascar for the first time to study lemurs. The perfect research site was found at Berenty, a private wildlife refuge located on a plantation owned by a French family, the de Heaulmes.

As the family developed their plantation they also cultivated a congenial relationship with the native tribespeople, the Tandroy. The Tandroy, the "King with Spears are as proud a people as the French family that came to share their land. In this remarkable book Jolly tells the story of how the tribe lives today, retaining much of their original culture while availing themselves of beneficial modernities, such as health care and education.

Credit is due, Jolly notes, not only to the Tandroy but to the French aristocrats who feel and exhibit both respect and responsibility for the land, the people, and the animals with whom they live.

For instance, when the people of Madagascar sought freedom from France, the de Heaulmes stood with them, and when one of the de Heaulmes was jailed during a civil war, the Tandroy stormed the prison demanding his release.

Jolly is a gifted writer with an acute perception of people and places. It's a pleasure to visit Berenty with her as guide.

- Gail Cooke

It never ceases to amaze me that people often think that history only happens to their cultures and possibly related ones. We, with good reason, teach American history in schools (although sometimes not well enough when you see polls showing that a unusually high number of our citizens cannot tell the Constitution well enough to distinguish it from the Communist Manifesto!) and to a lesser extent European and sometimes Asian histories. However when we were dealing with the two World Wars, others on the so-called fringes of the civilized world were doing the same. We tend to often ignore parts of the world that do not immediately impinge on us, but we may do so at our peril (as was graphically shown on September 11, 2001!)

It is one of the far-flung parts of the once huge French empire that is the subject of a very unusual book by the well-known primatologist Alison Jolly. "Lords and Lemurs" is mostly set in southern Madagascar in an area dominated by mimosa thorn scrub and populated by the native Tandroy, the French settlers and by several species of Madagascar's unique lemurs. Jolly writes a somewhat eccentric book about a very eccentric (from our view!) land. You find it difficult to dislike most of the people, even though some had to fight for the puppet government of Vichy during World War II and you find the fauna and flora fascinating.

Jolly does not spoon feed us. We are shown the horrors as well as the joys. Lemurs, we find, are not quite the cuddly creatures of Disney cartoons (they fight and sometimes kill even their own species), but they are for all that enchanting creatures (and who are we to throw stones anyway?) The people have not always had admirable intentions and are sometimes quite flawed. The French colonial government included some sadistic types who used their power to torture and rape and some natives staged somewhat brutal (if often also somewhat muted by today's standards) uprisings and sometimes threw their best friends in jail. On the other hand you see people go to extremes to help others in times of need in ways that make you admire their moral strength. You even understand the French fighting the British on Madagascar, despite the fact that the British forces are acting against Hitler and Tojo. Local conditions alter realities and "friends" may become bitter enemies. You are also to some extent shown the environmental successes as well as the stupidities. However, the book is mostly about very different peoples facing the often grim realities of life and often surviving.

If you would like to broaden your understanding of our world, both human and "natural" (a false dichotomy in any case!) read this book!

I had the great pleasure (and fortune) to meet Alison Jolly during my visit to Berenty in September 2003.

She graciously and eloquently addressed our small tour group and gave us a rare insight into her understanding of lemur behaviour.

The book is an absolute must for anybody with even a passing interest in Madagascar, anthropology and lemurs.

Most importantly, it documents this remarkable family (the de Heaulmes) and sheds light on the complex and mysterious history of Berenty and its part in the modern history of Madagascar.

This rich, unusual book is hard to categorize -- It is a fascinating combination of history and memoir by renowned naturalist Alison Jolly, who has been working in Madagascar since 1963. She uses her own experiences in primate research and environmental protection in Madagascar, as well as the reminiscences of her friends the de Heaulme family, proprietors of the Berenty Reserve and numerous holdings in and around Fort Dauphin in extreme southeast Madagascar, to comment on a wide range of issues such as colonization, Malagasy politics, ethnic groups of southern Madagascar, donor environment, food security, and so on. While this very readable volume focuses on the southern zone from Fort Dauphin to Berenty Reserve and Amboasary, it provides a wealth of contextual information about Madagascar in general.

Alison Jolly is a wonderful story-teller and makes Malagasy Madagascar and old French Madagascar come to life. The reader learns about a particular corner in southern Madagascar and the lives of its native tribes and French colonialists.

Lemurs brought Alison Joly to Madagascar but the fascination for this reader was her evocative portraits of people. Zebus and sisal rather than lemurs seem more relevant to her tale, until Prince Philip arrives and appears to shock an uncaring government that the country is committing ecological suicide. There is now a new government and it may be taking the environment more seriously. That would be a change in Madagascar!

As a former resident of Madagascar, I loved the book and the way Alison Jolly brings the place to life.

It's hard to neatly peg primate behavioralist Alison Jolly's wonderful Lords & Lemurs: somewhere between a autobiography, travelogue, geography exploration and social issue examination still doesn't aptly describe the magic of Jolly's encounter. Her focus on Madagascar's people, animals, and society brings to life the rugged individuals and colorful personalities - and issues - of the island, making Lords & Lemurs a testimony to Madagascar's past and future in the modern world.

A lot of what is happening in Madagascar in term of conservation policy- and even politics in general, are deeply rooted in history of Madagascar, many of which are written in this book. This is mostly a political ecology book so if that is not your interest at all then ...
I thought I knew a lot about Madagascar before, but when I read this book, I was questioning many of the stories I was told to believe when I grew up.
I wish there is a french or Malagasy version of this book so that I can make some Malagasy kids read it. This is an amazing book.

During my years as a resident of Madagascar I had the great opportunity to meet and spend time with Allison Jolly, and also Helen Crowley and others and I get to know people who truly understand Madagascar and all that makes this land one of the most unique and wonderful places on earth. Indeed much of my own book was written while living there and the cover shot will there.

This book provides an insight into Madagascar that many may miss along the way, but is almost a must read for anyone who plans to sojourn there at some point in time.

Thanks Allison.

Full Title: Lords and Lemurs : Mad Scientists, Kings With Spears, and the Survival of Diversity in Madagascar. Madagascar seems to be one of those places where time has simply passed by without having any effect. A home of Lemurs - possibly the ancestors to both apes and humans - and a wild collection of people.

Dr. Jolly, whose more serious work includes Lucy's Legacy, has written this book as a relaxation from her normal studies. She is a great writer, and here is writing about something she loves. The love comes through.==The book is a biography, autobiography, history of the people and places. More than that it's a homage to a place and a time that you wouldn't think exists any more.

As a biologist, I was hoping for more Lemur biology than what I got. This book is an excellent history of Madagasacar, without a doubt, and includes detail I am sure is found nowhere else. If one were planning a trip to Madagascar, this would be a perfect primer.

However, I was hoping for more of a biological approach regarding the Lemurs, their society, behavior, etc. While I did get a taste, it wasn't enough.

Sorry to admit, I got just over half way through the book before I lost interest.