A tarpaulin size poster with approximately 20 color pictures of sharks is cool in any language! It was quite a bit of time and effort to create it in Sinama. What’s the purpose?
It is another addition to the educational posters that can be downloaded here at Sinama.org. Education must be both exciting and familiar. My son loves sharks. So do other Sama children. I see them playing games where they chase each other shouting, “Kaitan aku!”
Sama adults love sharks too…to eat. No this isn’t a joke. Shark has long been on the Sama menu. I have heard more than one Sama professional tell me ballul when we’ve asked if there is anything special we could prepare for them (and sorry we can’t prepare it – read ahead). Catching shark has also been an economic windfall for many. Now I know that environmentalists are already sharpening their axes, but please wait before you judge.
Fishing for shark in the Philippines is now illegal. This is only a recent law and so the voyages from Sama villages out to the deeper parts of the ocean to bring in as many sharks as their boats could carry have ceased. These laws which will certainly benefit shark populations will also have their impact on the cultural knowledge system of the Sama.
There is a lot of indigenous knowledge that Sama fishermen have to share, especially concerning sharks. Identifying which shark belongs to which species was not easy, but when pictures failed me, often Sama men could tell me something unique about the shark that would corroborate with what I would go home and read on wikipedia. For instance, I was unaware that the mako shark (kallang-kallang pipi) is often found preying on the large ocean marlins (manumbuk). The Sama knew this very well. They could also tell me that bull sharks (lalu’u) are often found in freshwater, that different hammerheads have different color meat and that the hammerhead species with what they call red has red meat that can make you very sick. They knew very well that baby bamboo sharks (mangkesol) look nothing like an adult. They could identify them as the same species.
The nature, habitats, quirks, & even identity of the various types of sharks are well known to the older generation of fishermen, but I’ve found that the young professionals lack this knowledge. It isn’t something that every teacher in a public school can teach them. The reason I believe that sharks should be taught in Sama classrooms is because it encourages Sama children to go home and learn something from their parents and elders. The best education starts at home. Talking about sharks in school and at home allows parents who may not have reached higher levels of education feel that they have something they can teach their kids too. This in turn will hopefully help nurture the partnership between parent, child, school and teacher.
Permission to Print & Reuse this Poster
By the way all pictures used have licenses that allow the pictures to be reused and modified. You are welcome to use or remake our poster in any way as long as it is used non-commercially. Here is a download for a white background version of the poster as well:
Sharks not yet identified:
Kulambuwan, salimbūng, kaitan-kamansiyan (mela’), kaitan-pinanaw, kaitan-ulagu, kaitan bussu, bussu’, talumbadji, karuhung, dumalos
More information on the sharks pictured & copyright:
Mbo’ T’kke’ [Whale shark – Rhincodus typus]
T’kke’ [Coral catshark – Atelomycterus marmoratus]
Photo source: Randall, J.E., 1997. Randall’s underwater photos. Collection of almost 2,000 underwater photos (slides). Unpublished.
Kaitan-mangali [Tiger shark – Galeocerdo cuvier]
Picture source: By Albert kok (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://
Kallang-kallang pipi [Shortfin mako – Isurus oxyrinchus]
Picture source: By Patrick Doll (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://
Kallang-kallang ero’ (pepel) [Blue shark – Prionace glauca]
Photo source: By Mark Conlin/NMFS [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Bagambul [Oceanic whitetip shark – Carcharhinus longimanus]
Photo source: Johanlantz at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/
Belas [Largetooth sawfish – Pristis microdon]
(Pristis pectinata pictured)
By Diliff (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/
Kaitan-kehe [Whitetip reef shark – Triaenodon obesus]
Mangkesol [Brownbanded bambooshark – Chiloscyllium punctatum]
Mangkesol is the Sinama name for several species of bamboo sharks.
Sosop [Tawny nurse shark – Nebrius ferrugineus]
Pictured here is Ginglymostoma cirratum, species similar to Nebrius ferrugineus.
Tutungan-s’llang [Blacktip shark – Carcharhinus limbatus]
Tutungan t’bba [Blacktip reef shark – Carcharhinus Melanopterus]
Kaitan kuting [Wobbegong – Orectolobidae]
Photo source: By K McLean (Wobbi) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://
*Pamingkungan is the generic name for all hammerhead sharks.
Photo source: By Barry Peters` (637943300305) [CC BY 2.0 (http://
By Chaloklum Diving (http://eol.org/
Photo source: By Peter Giger () [CC BY 2.0 (http://
Photo source: By Rhina_ancylostoma.jpg: OpenCage derivative work: Yzx (This file was derived from Rhina ancylostoma.jpg:) [CC BY-SA 2.5 (http://
By Thomas Alexander (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://