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- handle: 10670/1.agcqxu
- hal: hal-02050817
Mots-clés
Pacific Ocean cultures Tuamotu archipelago Polynesian religion Oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) Zoomorphism Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK)Sujets proches
Pterolamiops budkeri Whitetip shark, Oceanic Pterolamiops magnipinnis Carcharhinus longimanus Carcharhinus maou Carcharias obtusus Carcharias insularum Squalus longimanusCiter ce document
Frédéric Torrente et al., « Sea Swallowers and Land Devourers: Can Shark Lore Facilitate Conservation? », HAL-SHS : histoire des religions, ID : 10670/1.agcqxu
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Polynesians’ detailed observations of shark behaviour encompass the notion of a divinity, the fleeting image of a sky god, as well as potential source of food and valued tools. Due to prevailing cosmogony, sharks benefited from being a taboo species, historically limiting their exploitation. We examine how the reputedly fierce warriors of ‘Anaa (an atoll in Tuamotu archipelago, French Polynesia) came to be symbolically identified with a marine predator, being called “Parata,” the vernacular name of the oceanic whitetip shark Carcharinus longimanus. Both sharks and indigenous cultures are currently under threat in the East Pacific and we propose that an understanding of these sacred relationships could be used to help protect them.