Quiz: Hale halele: tales and legends

1 How do tales traditionally begin in Mayotte?

“Hale!” – “Halele!” “Once upon a time” “Kwaheri!” “Good night!”

2 According to myth, who were the first inhabitants of the islands?

Djinns Giants Turtles Portuguese sailors

3 According to legend, what dug the crater of Karthala?

The ring of the Queen of Sheba A magic lamp A pirate's treasure A shooting star

4 Why was the village of Lac Salé swallowed up?

It had refused water to a stranger It had cut down a sacred tree It had forgotten to pray It had robbed a sultan

5 How long is the Bangoi-Kouni mosque said to have taken to build?

One night Seven years A hundred days One moon

6 What did the rice from the royal wedding turn into, off Saziley?

White sand Coral Pearls Salt

7 What burst out of Lake Dziani when the princess was thrown into it?

A swarm of frogs A dragon A hot spring Golden fish

8 What is the name of the sunken “fifth island” between Mayotte and Madagascar?

Mjombi Mwali Nosy Be Mtsamboro

9 According to the Kilwa Chronicle, where did the seventh ship from Shiraz land?

At Hanzuan (Anjouan) At Mombasa At Zanzibar At Mogadishu

10 Which cunning hero claims that a cooking pot has “given birth”?

Ibnasya Madi Mtswa Mwindza Andriantsoly

11 According to tradition, who founded Malé, in Mbadjini?

Djinns led by their chief Mdjonga Portuguese fishermen The sultan of Bambao The turtles of Mohéli

12 Who helps the fisherman shut the monster back in its bottle?

Boinawassi The village chief King Souleymane Mwalimu Boro

13 Where does the name of Mtsamboro, in Mayotte, come from?

From “Boro's beach”, the last fani From a lagoon fish From a Portuguese ship From a volcano

14 What becomes of the wooden woman when the talisman is taken from her?

An orange tree A turtle A star A djinn

15 During the nkoma festival in Ouani (Anjouan), what do people play with?

Unripe coconuts Lava pebbles Oranges Shells

16 How is the Trimba who leads the Nyumakele procession dressed?

In banana leaves, with horns and a tail In a gold-embroidered djoho In a zebu hide In a red saluva

17 According to tradition, where did the people of Mohéli take refuge in times of great danger?

In the hidden fortified town of Bandamale On the white-sand islet In the crater of Karthala At Zanzibar

18 Which prince from Madagascar became master of Mohéli around 1830?

Ramanetaka Andriantsoly Radama I Saïd Ali

19 How old was Djoumbé Fatima when she became queen of Mohéli?

Five or six Fifteen Twenty Thirty

20 Why did Djoumbé Fatima go to Paris in 1868?

To ask Napoleon III to arbitrate her dispute with Joseph Lambert To study there To marry a prince there To sell vanilla there

21 What do the ruins on Ouénéfou islet, off Nioumachoua, recall?

The isolation of people with leprosy A palace built by djinns A Portuguese fort A colonial lighthouse

22 Where did Salima Machamba, the last queen of Mohéli, end her days?

In Pesmes, in Haute-Saône At Zanzibar In Fomboni In Antananarivo

23 What did the people of Singani find when they returned home after the eruption of Karthala in April 1977?

Their mosque had remained intact The village had been entirely spared A lake had formed where the village had been The lava had stopped at the edge of the village

24 What nickname is given to Mbaé Trambwé, whose memory is honoured at Koimbani?

The poet king The warrior sultan The navigator prince The fisher king

25 Where is the Dragon's Back, the ridge of black lava that juts out into the sea?

At Ivoini, in north-east Grande Comore At Mutsamudu, on Anjouan At Nioumachoua, on Mohéli On Petite-Terre, in Mayotte

26 In “The fool and the trickster”, what does the fool do with the cassava leaves that come back to him?

He cooks mataba in coconut milk and sells them at the market He throws them to the goats He makes a roof for his hut with them He gives them back to the trickster