Salazie

Salazie is a common French, located in the department and the area of the Réunion.

Its inhabitants is called Salaziens.

Geography

Salazie is located at the center of the island, in the North-East of the Piton of Snows, in the natural Cirque of the same name. The whole of the communal territory is in the Tops. This explains the currency of Salazie: “ In the middle of the island radiates ”.

The communes bordering are Arm-Panon, Cilaos, the Possession, Saint-Andrew, Saint-Benoît, Saint-Denis, Holy-Suzanne Sainte-Marie and .

The circus is overhung in the North-West by the Written Roche.

History

The etymology of the word Salazie is controversée.
For some, it would result from the “Salazes”, these three rocks characteristic planted between the circuses of Cilaos and Salazie. Salazes would come from the Madagascan salazhon who means “tripod for pot”.
For others, it would come from Saolozy , name given by Annette Robinet of the Serf and who would mean “good camping”.
The name of Salazie was recognized officially only in 1835.

First precarious occupations

As of the 17th century, the circus was used as refuge, like the circuses of Cilaos and Mafate, with the maroon Blacks fleeing the properties of the coast. The fight of the owners against these runaway slaves, in the form of punitive forwardings, will have for principal consequence the discovery of the circus of Salazie. Certain figures of maroon Blacks left their name to lieudits: piton of Anchaing, Cimandef, Sisahaye plate, Lélesse Piton, etc toponymy in the circus is in addition full with words of Malagasy origin: Be-Mahot, Be-Pooch, Bélouve, Piton Be-Massoune, piton Bénoune ( “large” Be meaning).

In addition to the maroon Blacks, the White learn how to know the circus, ideal refuge of bet and of assoiffés of freedom. Thus, one makes state in 1810, following the occupation of the island by the England, of a pioneer (certain Louvet) who was installed with two slaves on the edges of the pond with Water Poule. This first establishment was destroyed by the cyclone of 1929.

1830: genesis of the colonization of the circus

The beginning of the 18th century is marked by the arrival again colonists with the Réunion (some fleeing the Révolution and political instabilities of the time in metropolis) and by an important demographic pressure. The lack of grounds was made sentir.
cruelly

Dispossessed, some of these “Small White” emigrated towards the tops of the island, with the limit of the cultivated grounds, living of hunting, fishing, of gathering, but also of plunders on the dwellings. They were particularly numerous in the tops of Saint-Andrew and Saint-Benoît where they carried out a life similar to that of the maroon Blacks.

Pioneers of Salazie

For the majority, the pioneers of Salazie were average owners of the coast to the Wind (in the surroundings of Saint-Andrew), trustworthy of the company of the Franc-Creoles (whose emblematic figure remains surely Nicole Robinet of the Serf), obstructed by the damage caused with their cultures by the cyclones of 1825 and 1829 and worried by the probable abolition of slavery.

The first concessions known as “primitive” were encouraged by the decree of December 1st 1830, date on which grounds of the island located beyond the” top of the mountains “were for the first time conceded with, to encourage the first dealers, an exemption of right of capitation for the Blacks assigned to the exploitation of these grounds. These first concessions were located at the Pond with Hen of Eau.

The very first dealer was called Theodore Cazeau. In Salazie are still told its difficult beginnings in the circus and the anecdote of its providential pumpkins of the Pond with Hen of Eau.

The families lately installed live initially in autarky thanks to the resources offered by a new ground. The new cleared grounds are at the beginning very fertile and allow the setting in culture of tropical but so moderate species such as: coffee, tobacco, vanilla, fruits, vegetables (grains, brèdes).

It is the “pet” imported Mexico by Sully Brunet in 1840, which made and makes still the fame of the circus of Salazie. This vegetable was then cultivated for its fruit, its sheets, its root as well as the stems whose straw was a required raw material of very pecuniary positive ratio at the beginning of the century. The latter was used for the clothes industry of “leghorn hats”, that the European ones of the time were torn off. These products were exported towards the outside of the circus in spite of the difficulties of transport of the époque.

End 19th century: the development

The policy gubernatoriale wanting to install the White in the Tops is encouraged so much that the population increases much: according to the censuses, one passes in the Tops of 36 inhabitants in 1834 to 600 inhabitants in 1844 to 2500 inhabitants in 1848.

The regulations concerning the concessions are of a long tradition in the island and directly resulting from the French Compagnie of the Eastern Indies. In Salazie, the dealers were left a little with themselves. And it was through requests with governor, that at the end of 5 years, one decided to apply the decree of finally 1830 which defined the concessions more or less, to measure and delimit the parts of each property. More especially as the colonists of the circus became increasingly numerous, and especially those which did not have any property right and which had settled where good had seemed to them. This irrefutable fact, running in addition in the island, will continue a long time in the circus, threatening the stability of the grounds by an undue and intensive grubbing of the slopes.

The thermal activity with Hell-Borough

The discovery of the thermal springs in 1831 with Bras-Sec and in 1832 with the locality Be-Mahot allows the growth of the village of Hell-Borough towards one appogée around 1875. The Hotel of the Thermal baths (old military hospital) was the appointment “with the mode” of the weakened curists then, following financial problems, the sources are closed then destroyed by the successive cyclones. The cyclone of 1948 absorbs the source and Cilaos, also equipped with thermal baths, is preferred in Salazie…

Natural disasters

The circus of Salazie being exposed to strong precipitations in particular at the time of the passages of the cyclones, of many crumblings and landslide took place. Most fatal was that which buries the peaceful village of the “Large Sand” to the feet of Large Dull in 1875. One gives before a report on a large fire in 1868.
The instability of the buttresses of the Pond with Water Hen solicited the roadmenders periodically because the road was carried with each important avalaison. The most important crumbling which one knows is consecutive with the Hyacinthe cyclone of 1979. Today, the tormented relief is nothing any more but one constraint. It is also a unique opportunity to practice the Canyoning.

Administration

Infrastructures

One finds on the communal territory a public college, the college Auguste Lacaussade. There is no college.

Economy

The Economy of the Circus is primarily centered towards the food crop.

An omnipresent culture is that of the Chayote, called pet with the Meeting and in the circus. It is cultivated in treillised vineyards but pushes almost in a wild state, being given the very wet ambient climate. One finds breedings porcine in great number concentrated with the locality of Large-Islet and some poultry breedings.

The cane is present in low altitudes of the circus and around the locality Pond-with-Old woman-Place and of Pond-with-Lemon.

Tourism developed especially with Hell-Borough where boxes of a great financial asset are found, as well as a trout breeding. A project of Bambouseraie has been being studied for a few years and should be born around Pond-with-Hen-in Eau. In addition, Salazie is the required passage of the hikers who to go in the Circus of Mafate by the Ox collar.

Famous characters

Tourist monuments and places

has Hell-borough, the " three cascades" is a beautiful walk, rather easy.
has Salazie, the wedding veil is impossible to circumvent. One reaches it while crossing a suspended footbridge, then while crossing fields of cress and pet.

Twinnings

References

External bonds

Site of the CIREST
Official site of the commune

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