Beachcomber Magazine 02

I tisalostcontinent,amagicalworld saidtohavesunkbeneaththewaves, ofwhichMauritius,Rodrigues,Reu- nion,Madagascar,theSeychellesand ahandfuloftinyislandsintheIndian Oceanaretheonlyremainingves- tigesabovewater. Legendsaboundofalostparadise, anotherAtlantis,agoldenagewhen menstilllivedinperfectharmonywith beastsandplants. Butmythsareoftenfoundedinreality. Inanycase,theyaresufficientlyrooted inthemindsofmenforsometoseekto findoutmore.InthecaseofLemuria, thehypothesisofitsactualexistence wasfirstsuggestedbyPhilipLutley Sclater,aBritishzoologist,whosaidit explainedthepresenceoflemurson continentsasfarafieldasMadagascar andMalaysia.THE CENTRE OF THE WORLD Thishypothesiswastakenupbythe ReunionwriterJulesHermanninhisLes Révélations du Grand Océan (“Reve- lationsoftheGreatOcean”),published in1927,basedongeologicalobserva- tions.Thisnotarypublicandamateur historian,whowasalsothemayorof SaintPierreandchairmanoftheGene- ralCouncilinReunionisland,evenput forwardtheideathatthemountains inReunionandMauritiuswerecarved outbyprotohistoricgiants.Hebelieved thatLemuriawasthetruecradleof humanity.Thisreversalofthewesternview,which putthesouthernhemisphereinthe centreoftheworld,founditsechoin twogreattwentiethcenturyFrench- speakingMauritianpoets,Robert EdwardHartandMalcolmdeChazal.Thetwofriendsoftenusedtomeet in“LaNef”,Hart’slittlecoralhousenear Souillac.Theysharedatasteformystery, thesupernaturalandorientalphiloso- phies.HartintroducedChazaltothe insularmysticismofJulesHermann, whichwasforChazalsomethingofa powerfulrevelation.Thewholeisland became,forhim,a“greatcosmicalle- gory”,whichheidealisedinPetrus- mok ,publishedin1950.Frompoeticvisionstodazzlingillumi- nations,Chazalsaw“people”sculpted inthemountainsofMauritius:Le Pouce,LesTroisMamelles,LeCorps deGarde…Anthropomorphicshapes thatimpresstouristsandexplainthe placenames.InMauritius,themoun- tainsseemtospeak:“Everywhere,” wroteChazal,“ontheslopesand ridgesyoucanseerecumbentsta- tues,sketchesofsphinx,clearlycar- vedinitials,hieroglyphics,signsand actsofman.”Chazaltoowasconvin- cedthattheseextraordinaryshapes weretheworkofthemenofthe “GreatLemurianContinent,which spreaditscrescentshapefromthe southofCeylontoPatagonia.” FROM MYTH TO REALITY Atlantis:itwasPlatowhofirstspoke ofthefateofthislegendaryisland thrownintothewatersbyanangry Zeus,amyththathasbeenpassed downthroughtheagesandcivilisa- tions.Itsymbolisesworldsswallowed up,paradiseslost,nostalgiaforagolden age,whenmanandnaturewerejoined asone.TheMauritianpoetsarenottheonly onestohavedreamtofthelost continent.Italsofascinatedscientists. Inthelate19thcentury,theAustrian geologistEduardSuessclaimedthata hugecontinent,Gondwana,encom- passingAfrica,India,theAntarctic, andOceaniaallegedlybrokeupand 