Several cultures in southeastern Tanzania use the pangolin, or scaly anteater, in oracles to help people in the community predict the success or failure of the harvest in the coming agricultural year. Various groups in West, Central, and southern Africa consider the pangolin to be an especially strong animal that is both feared and respected. In the literature, we fi nd scattered references to the various ideas associated with it. In this article we will survey a number of the varied traditions that involve the pangolin, starting with the Tanzanian divination traditions, which are unusually well documented, and then moving on to a variety of other practices spanning sub-Saharan Africa. ABOUT THE PANGOLIN Pangolins (order Pholidota, genus Manis) are the only extant mammals whose body and tail are covered with hard scales (distinct from the armadillo, which is covered 92 with a leathery armored shell). Four species are found in Africa and three in Southeast Asia. They have short legs and an overall body length of 63−160 cm, depending on the species. The head has a long, pointed shape and is relatively small. They have a short neck, no teeth, and an extremely long tongue, up to 40 cm in the case of the giant pangolin. The word pangolin is believed to derive from a Malay dialect word (penggoling, panguling), referring to the animal’s ability to roll up into a ball when threatened. Another common name for the pangolin is scaly anteater.1 It has been referred to in more than one published source as an “animated fi r-cone” (Grzimek 1970/79, XI: 572; Maberly 1954: 280; Yule & Burnell 1968: 668; Champion 1933: 33). In Tanzania it is commonly called kakakuona, “brother who sees.” Of the four African species, those believed to carry supernatural powers are the tree-dwelling white-bellied pangolin (Manis tricuspis), body length 63−94 cm; the ground pangolin (Manis temminckii), 69−100 cm; and the giant pangolin (Manis gigantea), 118−160 cm. The white-bellied pangolin in particular has become well known to Africanists through Mary Douglas’ research. The white-bellied and long-tailed (Manis tetradactyla) pangolins are native to West and Central Africa; the giant pangolin is found mainly in Central Africa; and the ground pangolin is common in eastern and southern Africa. All pangolins are nocturnal animals, but while the small white-bellied pangolin and the long-tailed pangolin sleep hanging in trees during the day (fi g. 1), the other two African species sleep in holes in the ground. Pangolins feed only on ants or termites, which they draw into their mouths at lightning speed with their long, sticky tongues (fi g. 2). Since these insects are available in large quantities wherever they live, pangolins tend to stay in FEATURE Pangolin Oracles in Southern Tanzania With Notes on Other Roles Played by the Scaly Anteater in Africa By Maria Kecskési FIG. 1 (top left): Tree-dwelling white-bellied pangolin, Manis tricuspis. From A. Brehm, Brehms Tierleben, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig and Vienna, 1912, vol. 10, p. 494. Photo: Boris Roessler. FIG. 2 (left): Ground pangolin, Manis temmincki. From A. Brehm, Brehms Tierleben, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig and Vienna, 1912, vol. 10, p. 496. Photo: J. Vosseler, Amani. FIG. 3 (right): Gelede society mask, igi, with a superstructure depicting a captured pangolin. By Fagbite Asamu (active late 19th/mid-20th century) or Falola Edun (active early/mid-20th century). Yoruba, Ketu region, Nigeria. Early–mid- 20th century. Wood. L: 48.9 cm. Art Institute of Chicago, Department of African and American Art, inv. 2008.176, gift of Neal Ball.
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