A Word About the Project

I first went to Madagascar in the summer of 1992. I was traveling on a fellowship, studying the effects of family planning in the developing world. This large island off the southeast coast of Africa was the most remote and exotic place I could think of to explore. Captivated by the extraordinary beauty of the landscape, and enthralled by the warmth and openness of the people, I returned four more times. I traveled extensively, photographing my impressions of the island and its people.

As the photographs emerged I became concerned with presenting the work in a way that would best capture the spirit of the Malagasy people. The idea of pairing proverbs with the photographs came to me during my fourth trip to the island. I had been taking pictures in the Ranomafana National Park (a conservation and development project) for an educational exhibition at the park's Cultural Interpretation Center. Each day, accompanied by a Malagasy interpreter, I hiked to the remote villages of the region. There, while sitting on the dirt floors of low-ceilinged huts, I spent hours listening to the tribal elders recount stories of their colorful pasts. The details of these accounts were elaborately woven together by proverbs.

For the Malagasy, proverbs are a form of poetry and literature. Through the use of this style of metaphor, they address ideas about all aspects of life. Being able to choose the appropriate proverb for a particular situation is an indication of great wisdom. The ability to construct a speech using proverbs is a skill that is much admired and respected. In fact, so important is this skill that when a young man wishes to ask for a woman's hand in marriage, he will prepare a proverb-laden appeal to the woman's family. If he demonstrates his wisdom through an illustrious command of the poetic language and the rich tradition of the Malagasy proverb, he is more likely to win the hand of the woman. Impressing one's elders in this particular situation is so critical that men who are not particularly gifted in the nuance of language, and cannot weave together a magnificent declaration, will hire someone else to do the job.

Listening to the elders was mesmerizing; the proverbs expressed intuitively and eloquently many essential aspects of the culture. A simple phrase conjured up complex and revealing images the likes of which I had been striving to capture in my photographs. The pairing of the two seemed logical. The photographs presented my vision of this multifaceted country, the proverbs contributed a distinctly Malagasy interpretation of that vision.

I showed several well-respected elders photographs from previous trips. I was often surprised by their perspectives on the images. One example: in the photograph entitled "Charcoal Delivery Truck," there is a truck brimming with bags of charcoal, each stuffed at the top with a wad of straw. One bag is on the ground and a small boy stands near it.

In this proverb, explained an elder, "the one who is full" refers literally to the bag of charcoal, yet metaphorically, it alludes to the person who has had enough to eat. If you have had enough to eat, then you have the strength to follow your friends. If not, you are left behind.

For several weeks, I spent many hours in consultation with the elders. These men, fueled by Coca-Cola and occasionally rum, would engage in lively debate about the meaning of a particular proverb and its relevance to the photograph they had before them. The discussions seemed endless. The elders contributed their own interpretations of the symbols used in the proverbs. Eventually, however, consensus was almost always reached.

Specific symbols appear in the proverbs with great frequency, but perhaps the most important focus of attention is the ancestors, who are revered and worshipped by the majority of Malagasy. Among several of the 18 tribes that inhabit the island, an elaborate custom called "Famadihana" or "turning of the bones," is performed to honor the ancestors. At this ceremony, dead relatives are exhumed and reinterred (usually in another tomb). The event is cause for great celebration. Hordes of living relatives are united for three days of raucous festivities, which include much drinking of locally produced wine and rum, eating of sacrificial beasts, and dancing -- with each other and with the corpse.

Not surprisingly, many Malagasy proverbs refer to food. Sayings about rice (the Malagasy consume more rice per capita than any other people in the world) are pervasive. No aspect of cultivating, harvesting, cooking, eating and storing rice is ignored. Other important symbols include the zebu -- Madagascar's unique breed of cattle, which is often used as a metaphor for wealth and well being -- and crickets, which are both food and playthings for children.

After the elders had decided on the proverbs, the task of translating them began. This proved to be extremely challenging, as it was important that the English version maintain the integrity of the structure of the Malagasy language. Often we were using French, the colonial language, as an intermediary to English, and this compounded the difficulty. In the end, although some small liberties were taken, the translations follow relatively closely the sentiments of the proverbs as they are expressed in the native language.

This project represents a collaboration between myself and the people of Madagascar. During all my time there they fed and sheltered me, and generously shared the most important parts of themselves and their culture. I am forever indebted to them.

-- Janice Levy