One of the greatest and most complex relationships with the sharks comes from the Solomon Islands. These islands possess a great knowledge of the shark and tell stories of shark worshippers, shark curses, shark battles and the woman who gave birth to a shark. They appreciate and respect the shark, and even tell stories of the children riding the sharks around the lagoon. One village on Langalanga Lagoon still practices the art of shark calling and has rejected the ideas of the Church. .This is unusual for the Solomon Islands, which are particularly religious and has resulted in these shark callers being described by their neighbours as ‘hidden people’.
Sitting around with my local family I was told about the procedure the shark callers of Langalanga Lagoon use for ‘shark calling’ – the art of attracting sharks and feeding them sacrificed pigs. They told me of magical stories often supported with modern day incidents, and examples. All told with great enthusiasm and wisdom by the now Christian villagers who still respect the beliefs of their ancestors.
Calling the sharks…
Unable to afford the prices demanded by the true shark callers my new friend Grace, came up with an alternative solution. It was during the preparations for a huge church feast that Grace offered me an unusual gift – a bag of pig skin. It was given to me so that I could try my own version of ‘shark calling’. The children were eager to show me the sharks and so Grace’s daughter Ellen and her two friends were to be my guides. The following day we made our way across the lagoon armed with a camera and the bag of pigskin. We each had a job to do, the boys paddled and the girls baled the water out of the leaking canoe. Eventually we made it to the reef and excitedly we attempted to ‘call the sharks’. The pigs tail was attached to the bottom of our anchor and we took it in turns to hold the bag over the side to let the smell leave a trail in the current. We waited, and waited and with no sharks in sight David offered to jump in and have a look. We made sure we put all the bits of pig back in the canoe and David went off, swimming towards the reef. It wasn’t long before he started yelling “shark! shark!” and before I knew what was happening all the pieces of pig skin came flying over my head aimed straight at David! Ellen and her friend had decided to help bring the shark closer to the canoe but in all the confusion they had only succeeded in scaring the little white tip shark away! I jumped in the water to have a look but the shark had vanished, much more afraid of us than we were of it.
Children in the islands interact with sharks almost every time they go fishing. They understand that they are only visitors to the sharks world and treat them with respect. Ask children in the UK what they would do if they saw a shark in the wild and the response is likely to be, “scream!”. The island children sit and listen to shark stories that have been passed down through the generations. They hear real accounts of shark attacks but they understand these attacks are rare and some justification can always be found. The pagan ideas still practice by some Solomon Islanders today may not be based on science however, they have learnt to appreciated the shark and possess an understanding that has been refined over the generations. It has taken us a lot longer, while we were caught up in the fear and hype of shark attacks, and watching movies such as Jaws, they were worshipping their sharks like gods. I have had the opportunity to learn about sharks from these ‘experts’ and with it I have come away with endearing memories of life in the Solomon Islands
Published in the Shark Trust, Shark Focus magazine July 2003
