Remembering traditional wooden pirogues in Seychelles, now rare

Victor said he used any type of wood to build these boats as there were high demands for pirogues long ago. (Mandy Bertin)

(Seychelles News Agency) - Since the time of the first French colonial settlers in the islands of Seychelles, the pirogue - a traditional vessel used with oars - was the key to the livelihood of many generations of fishermen and a means of transportation for some, but this is now almost extinct.

Many of the Seychellois youngsters have either never seen one or do not know these boats' importance.

Jonas Albert Victor, from Praslin, the second most populated island of Seychelles, used to earn his living by making pirogues for many years.

SNA met Victor at his house to learn more about this part of Seychellois heritage, which is disappearing.

The resident of St Joseph, a small community in the Grand Anse Praslin district, who celebrated his 85th birthday on August 3, recalled how growing up, life was very difficult so he pushed himself to acquire skills that could help him make a living at an early age.

He is the eldest from a family of four but Victor did not live with his parents. Since he was three months old, he lived with his grandmother and her husband.

"My adopted grandfather was a pirogue maker and since I grew up with him, I admired his skills and was fascinated by his work, thus I decided to try it.  I started making fish traps at the age of nine and accompanied him when he went fishing. It was fun and since we lived by the sea, I loved the sea," Victor said.

Aside from being a carpenter, Victor is also a mason and has done most of the work on his house himself. He has worked on a number of housing projects on the island.

Victor, from Praslin, used to earn his living by making pirogues for many years. (Mandy Bertin) Photo License: All Rights Reserved

Building the pirogues

Victor said he used any type of wood to build these boats as there were high demands for pirogues long ago.

"At that time, it took me around one month or two to make a pirogue. I was employed at that time so I had to make these boats after my working hours. But after things in the country evolved and we started getting electrical tools, then it took me only around 11 days to make one on my own," he explained.

The size of a pirogue depended on the client and some wanted those of 15ft pirogues while others 12ft. It all depended on what they were going to use their pirogues for, some only for fishing and others for transportation only.

Victor said that at the time day, a pirogue used to cost SCR100-SCR150 but then with much development and the introduction of fiberglass, the demand for pirogues reduced.

"For raw materials needed to construct these boats, I did not find it difficult to get them compared to nowadays. There were special nails that we used and as for the wood, I preferred to use the Takamaka wood because it was found to be more durable," he added.

The last pirogue he made was almost 10 years ago, and it is now at Juan Pillay's residence at Grand Anse.

Most pirogues were painted using a special black paint and at times white paint would be used to paint a thin layer on the upper part of the boat.

Inside, there were two small decks at each end where people could sit and there were also two bench-like seats as well. Underneath them, people used to store their fish or other items.

There were two holes in which the long paddles were inserted when they rowed their boats.

"If we are at sea during a storm and you are in a fibreglass boat and I am in my pirogue, the pirogue will save your life. It is because the fibreglass boat will sink to the bottom while our good old pirogue even if it capsizes, it will not go down," Victor said.

Asked whether he was willing to make the pirogues today, he said, "Even if I could still be making these boats, I know I would have to face a few challenges such as finding a person to assist and availability of resources. Long ago, you could go and cut a tree at a neighbour's place and you did not have to pay for it or maybe for a very cheap price, but nowadays it will cost you quite a bit."

He added that materials "such as the nails we used back then are not readily available as there are no demands for them nowadays. But the truth is, I do miss making these boats. They were special to us and it is sad that along the way, we have forgotten about them. Pirogues were not just the boats we used to go fishing but they were also a helpful means of transportation for us islanders."

He said when larger vessels brought merchandise from Mahe to Praslin, pirogues were used to unload the goods to shore and they were used to transport people from Praslin to nearby islands such as Cousin, Cousine and Aride.

"We have allowed it to fade away and it is sad that we have forgotten the useful and important position that these small boats played in our past," Victor remarked.

Many people who have visited the popular cultural site Domaine de Val des Pres on Mahe, the main island, might have seen a long black pirogue there built by the Praslinois himself.

Victor still has many of his tools which he used over many decades to construct these pirogues.