The spider crab and other sea crabs
The spider crab is undoubtedly the largest of all West Indian crabs. It has long claws and a granular shell. Another sea crab is the zagaya(Grapsus grapsus), a dark gray crab that lives on rocks and cayes (coral reefs). The beaches are also home to tiny yellow crabs used in the local pharmacopoeia to treat ear infections, hence one of their Creole names: krab mal zowey(Ocypode quadrata). The seashore is also home to the touloulou(Gecarcinus rubicola), a small red and black crab that was widely consumed in past centuries, as was the soldat de mer(souda in Guadeloupean Creole, Bernard-l'hermite in popular French): chroniclers (Du Tertre, Labat) tell us that it was a much-appreciated delicacy. An oil with medicinal properties was also extracted. In and around the mangroves, we find the tiny crab known as sémafot ("it's my fault"), also known in Guadeloupe as serman, because of the gesture it repeats tirelessly with its biggest bite, giving the impression that it is beating its drums or taking an oath. It is also known as a fiddler crab. Other inhabitants of mangroves and their surroundings include the mantou (Ucides cordatus), known as babet in Guadeloupe, and the cirique, known as étrille in French.
There are 2 types of cirique: the seaside cirique(Callinectes bocourti or Portunes sebae), and, one might say, the country cirique, sirik lariviè(Guinotia dentata), still called krab koutja or koutja in Martinican Creole - the term has come to designate a clumsy lump not well versed in the elements of urban "modernity".
Nowadays, when we speak of crabs in the West Indies, we're practically always talking about land crabs(Cardisoma guanhumi), even if there is, at certain times, a marginal hunt for mantous. The land crab, in fact, never lives far from the sea, but in areas known as "pre-salin", such as the marshy plain of Rivière-Salée in Martinique or the Morne-à-l'Eau region in Guadeloupe, marked by crab culture to the point that it has become proverbial(Man sé jan Mòn-a-Lo: man an krab la), which can be translated as: "I'm from the town of Morne-à-l'Eau, I live among the crabs".
The different methods of catching land crabs
The most basic method is to use a crowbar or a cutlass to search the hole until the crab is at the bottom (after making sure there's an occupant: the presence of fresh excrement - kaka fré - is a clue). This time-consuming method is virtually never used today. Another fishing method is "hunting with torches", practised at night, particularly after rainy days, or during the mariyaj-krab (crab wedding) period in May-June, when they reproduce in large numbers, especially by the sea (Creole: krab ka kouri, literally "the crabs are running"). The torch (in sèbi Creole) can be replaced by an electric lamp: shone on the eyes at night, it blinds the beast.
The dobby concept. "We didn't invent light, but we did create the dobby", as some people like to say, just to mock the most hardened crab hunters. The most common means of catching crabs is the dobby, known in both Guadeloupe and Martinique. It is said to be inspired by the Normandy belettière (according to Guy Cornely, in an article by D. Colat-Jolivière and R. Fontès, in Mofwazno. 3/1980). As its name suggests, it must have been used to catch rats. It's an assembly of 6 boards, with a movable part (the tonbant) that closes on the crab. The tonbant is held open by a system consisting of a string at the end of which is a stick held in place by a fixed nail, and a thick wire running through a hole in the back of the dobby, to which a bait is attached for the crab (this bait is often a sugarcane "knot": an zoko kann).
The trap can be kept closed with a stone placed on top when the dobby is "tightened", or with more sophisticated systems such as the sigré ("secret"): a flexible metal strip is attached to one side of the dobby "entrance", and a notch is made in the lower part of the strip: the flexible strip does not prevent the trap from falling, but the notch prevents it from opening. At the lift, the hunter moves the lamella to open the dobby.
In the 1950s and 1960s, in the lower town of Le François, wealso used a method known as " vidé ba krab ", i.e., filling the hole with mud to induce the crab to emerge and be captured. There was even an evolution (not specific to the Le François region) that was not very "eco-friendly" and dubious from a health point of view, which consisted in using an insecticide spray to asphyxiate the animal and make it come out of its hole...
Creole names for crabs
They can give rise to a reflection on the processes of language in general. We have seen this, for example, in the case of the semafot crab ("it's my fault"), which is imagined as making an act of perpetual contrition, also called a violinist because it has the attitude of a player. Another metaphor is the zikak crab, an earth crab whose shell is reminiscent of the color of the icaque (fruit of the icaquier tree). Some Creole expressions have their origin in the habits and behaviors of crabs: fè krab (to go backwards, to lack daring - in reference to the way the animal moves). The Creole term zo, which we have already heard to designate the crab, can be considered as a metonymy: the most important part to designate the whole (a crab being made up of many more bones than flesh - and paradoxically the biggest ones, the sokan, are not always the ones with the most). The regional name of zonbi (Petite-Anse, Martinique, according to S. Harpin), for the land crab with nocturnal habits, is easily interpretable.
The magical beliefs around the crab
The crab is associated with certain magical beliefs: when one is seen in some unusual place, where it is not expected, such as on the roof of a house, or at noon in the middle of the street, it is referred to as krab voyé - sent, with who knows what mission of a supernatural nature. Colat-Jolivière and Fontès refer to krab maré in front of the Palais de Justice as tjenbwa, the aim of which is to win the case by "tying up" the opposing party (note the ingenious Guadeloupean technique of crab bundles, which enable several intertwined animals to be transported with ease. We've already heard the expression maré kon an patjé krab Gwadloup! in Martinique Creole, which means: "Noué comme un paquet de crabes guadeloupéen").
Persistence of the Amerindian civilization
Georges-Henri Léotin emphasizes the influence of Amerindian civilization on the Creole language and culture, especially in terms of cuisine and eating habits (this Amerindian culture has also left its mark on Europe, even though Europe has had a destructive role to play: chocolate, tomatoes, avocados, peppers, potatoes... all came to the Old Continent from America).
R.P. du Tertre saw in the existence of crabs an effect of Divine Providence: to always make abundant terrestrial food available, even to the most destitute. Nowadays, crabs are no longer eaten in abundance, but only occasionally. It is reserved for Easter and Whitsun Mondays.
What's more, due to the pollution of certain habitat areas (which have been contaminated, notably by the molecule chlordecone) and the species' reproductive difficulties, imports are tending to supplant local production, with no gain in flavor whatsoever! The situation of our crabs and matoutou can (and should) prompt us to reflect on the notion of progress , without systematically falling into the litany of "it was better before"..
