People of Velondriake

"In order to be Vezo, a person must act in the present, for it is only in the present that one performs one's identity." -- Rita Astuti, People of the Sea: Identity and Descent among the Vezo of Madagascar.

The southwest of Madagascar is home to the sea-faring Vezo people, known as “people of the sea”.  Linked to the sea through culture, spirituality, and economy, the Vezo believe their children only “become” Vezo when they learn how to fish, paddle a canoe, and swim.  In this sense, Vezo identity is not determined by birth or descent, but is created in the present by what people do and where they live.

Vezo communities, such as those in Velondriake, rely on healthy ocean ecosystems for survival, using marine resources for food, transport and trade. Fishers sail daily out to sea in handmade wooden pirogues - canoes hollowed out from a single tree trunk and fitted with an outrigger pole and rectangular sail.

These coastal communities are rapidly changing, however, and the Vezo way of life is in jeopardy. As the number of fishers grows and gear becomes more efficient, the populations of fish and other important resources have suffered. In addition, the relatively recent arrival of collectors linked to the international export market has commercialized many marine resources. What was once a subsistence market for octopus, for example, has now become the most economically important trade commodity. Sea cucumbers, a delicacy on the Asian market, have rapidly declined in the open ocean as locals unsustainably collect this lucrative product.