Jul 11 2008
The story of Dodo bird and Le Morne
Today we continue the wonderful story of the island of Mauritius. In this issue we talk about Dodo bird, considered the symbol of the island, and about the region Le Morne, the symbol of the slaves’ sufferings.
Dodo bird…
As I mentioned, Dodo bird is considered to be the official symbol of the country. However, very few things are known about this bird, although it has spread only 300 years ago. The irony of faith is that although the bird lived in a period of written history, we know more about the dinosaurs themselves, than we know about this relative of the pigeon. The development and even extending of this bird remain a mystery. All that is known about this symbol of the island was found in the writings and drawings of the sailor who visited the island in the 17th century. The birds have a huge size and have only lived in the island of Mauritius. Due to the size of the wings (they were very small) and due to their body shape, the birds could not fly or run to escape from danger. The story of Dodo bird is tragic indeed. First of all visitors, especially the Dutch, were hunting the bird for food. The ones which survived became very soon food for rats, pigs, or even monkeys, which were brought on the island by sailors. By the year 1681 died the last Dodo bird. Tough later scientists discovered a Dodo bird grave in the island, and they suggested that the bird might have died of natural death. But this is a fact we will never know…
Le Morne…
Le Morne Brabant is a Peninsula in the southwestern part of the island. The Peninsula is surrounded by a very beautiful lagoon. Two very rare plants grow in the region ,the Mandrinette and Trochetia boutoniana. The hill became very famous in the 19th century when the slaves used Le Morne as a mean of escape. After banning the slavery in 1835, an expedition of police in the region went to say that the slaves are free people. However, many of them misunderstood, and they jumped into the ocean from the top of the mountain. This episode is reported in Cassiya’s song, Le Morne . Since then this day is the day celebrated by all the inhabitants of the island as Annual Commemoration of the Abolition of Slavery.
Today, Le Morne is a small village known for surfing, paragliding, and kite surf. It is quite windy on this side of the island. The lagoon of Le Morne is known to be one of the largest, with its blue turquoise water. From the beach there is a beautiful view of the Le Morne mountain.