Cultural history

From Mgias

Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Brief History of Madagascar 1.2 Indonesian Influence 1.3 African Influence 1.4 Arab Influence 2 The Sacred World 2.1 The Central Region 2.2 The Northern Region 2.3 The Southern Region 2.4 The Western Region 2.5 The Eastern Region

Introduction

My mother had grown up with her grandmother and learnt a good deal about Malagasy cultural history and traditions through the old people with whom she lived. I’ve never forgetten the “tso-drano” a kind of blessing, where she threw water with a piece of green leaf on my head after praying to the god creator and ancestor to protect me and bless me.

Brief History of Madagascar

The first people to inhabit Madagascar were Indonesian immigrants who arrived around the 6th century. The people who followed the Indonesians came from south-eastern Africa and the Middle East.

Malagasy people are composed of 18 ethnic groups of mixed ancestry. They have various cultural heritages derived from a blend of African, Arabic and Indonesian traditions, civilization, languages and architecture.

Indonesian Influence

The Indonesian influence is seen throughout the country in the following ways:

1. Irrigated and terraced rice paddies of the central highlands,
2. The iron forge with a pair of bellows,
3. Basket work and weaving,
4. The houses built in stilts with sharp pointed rooves,
5. The outrigger canoes of the south-west,
6. The funeral ceremonies (Famadihana or exhumation),
7. The funerary arts of the southern Madagascar,
8. The zebu cattle sacrifices
9. Ancestoral worship

African Influence

The Bantou-swahili civilization was intoduced in the coastal regions and later spread inland. It is typified by

1. The African main crop sorghum,
2. The role of the livestock in the society,
3. The zebu cattle earmarks representing wealth and kinship ties in the south and west of the island # The practice of “Tromba” or spirit possession.

Arab Influence

The Arab people had strong influence in the north-west, north-east and south-east. They introduced

1. Cattle breeding,
2. Boy's circumcision,
3. Astrology and divination,
4. The islamic religion
5. Printing and Arabic wriiting called “Sorabe”.

Before the 19th century, the only Malagasy with a written language are the Antaimoro tribe of the south-east, keepers of the Sorabe. According the rule of Koranic laws tenrecs, turtles, tortoises and pork are forbidden for consumption by Muslims and by some Malagasy clans.

Despite the diversity of Malagasy people, they share an attachment to family life, and similar cultural roots and language even if each tribe handles its own customs and dialect.

Malagasy people are social people, their civilization being based on “Fihavanana” or solidarity. Family life and friendship have an important role. They are firmly attached to traditions, and like the chameleon’s eyes they look after their present but at the same time preserve and take care of their past.

An important decision is always made by the elders or keepers of the traditions. These are called “Tso-drano”, a prayer accompanied by a throwing water on the head of the person who asks for a blessing. This protects that person against difficulties that person may encounter whilst attempting milestones in their lives, whether that milestone be passing exams, or building a house or tomb. The former kings and some of their descendants were the keepers of the oral traditions. Ancient royal tombs became a place of pilgrimage like the Ambohimanga‘s royal palace or Rovan’.

The Sacred World

Malagasy people attach extraordinary importance to their burial places and tombs, and several zebu catlle, sheeps, goats or pigs are sacrificed during funerals. Like most civilizations, Malagasy people grieve the death of their relatives. But afterwards the death is accepted and passes to the world of ancestors. Funeral ceremonies occurs to respect the deceased, and the last honor is given to him featured by a feast, dancing, and building of the tomb.

The Burial tomb is the primary link between the living and the dead among the Malagasy. It is built with great care and expense, reflecting the standing and position of the deceased in his society. The tombs of various people around the island differ. In Imerina or in Antananarivo province, collective tombs are built on the hilltops or hillsides, with huge flat stones and slabs with underground chambers in which the corps of the ancestors are wrapped in silk shrouds are kept on shelves. The most impressive individual tombs are those of Antandroy and Mahafaly tribes of the south-west.

The Central Region

The Central Region is not only a center for crafts, but it is also a route to some workshops of many talented craft people like woodcarvers, weavers, and painters. It has also a number of historical churches and sites like the Ambohimanga palace in the capital city, Antananarivo. This is an ancient royal palace dating back at least two centuries.

Famadihana or exhumation ceremony is the most important religious event for the Merina people and other Highlander ethnic groups, it is a heritage from the Indonesian tradition.

Malagasy people attach extraordinary importance to their death and rituals and funeral ceremonies, because they beleive in the power of the dead ancestor to continue to look after the family. The spirit of the dead is considered as the transition between the living people and god creator. So they worship their dead and rejoice in ritual ceremonies such as exhumation. It is a kind of honor ceremony that the living people devote to the deceased person. It occurs few years after the burial. It consists of taking the corps of deceased out of the family tomb and rewrapping it with a new shroud. During the ceremony there is a big feast, dancing and traditional music. The whole family, friends and neighbors are invited to attend and worship the dead ancestors.

Today, typical house structures have a strong European influence, particularly those of the Merina. The two storied brick houses have carved wooden balconies, pillars and tiled rooves. These are spread throughout the central highlands.

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SITES

Around Antananarivo, the Ambohimanga royal compound, Ambohidratrimo and Antsahadinta royal tombs The Archeology of Isoraka. The Museum of the Tsimbazaza zoo.

The Northern Region

Some caves in the "Tsingy" Ankarana in the Northern Region are rich in cultural history because they are considered sacred, sheltering the old burial places of the local Antankarana kings. In the Northern Region, for cultural history, Tsangantsaina is the most important traditional event for Antankarana people.

HISTORICAL SITES The sacred Anivorano lake south of Diego-Suarez where crocodiles inhabiting the lake are considered sacred because they reincarnate the spirits of the ancestors of Antankarana people.

The Southern Region

The cultural history of the people of the Southern Region is extremely interesting. There are three distinctly different cultures:

1. The Vezo people living in the coast-dwelling tribe are called the Sakalava of the south
2. The Mahafaly people of the south
3. The Antandroy people of the south

The Vezo people occupy the main city port of Toliara. They sail up and down the coast in their outrigger canoe which is is a remnant of their Indonesian heritage. The Vezo are skilled fishermen and excellent boatmen. Their colorfull outrigger canoes differ from the ordinary canoes in that they are related to the Malayo-Polynesian canoe.

Vezo people bury their dead on the sand in a hidden place that is sacred. So, permission from a chief of village and small ceremony is required for those who want to visit Vezo tombs. These are similar to those of the Sakalava people with wooden fence erected round the grave, with 4 posts being decorated with carved wooden figures of human men or women, flamingo, heron, guinea-fowl birds, houses, canoes or other things.

For the Mahafaly and Antandroy people of the south, the funeral ceremony has great significance and these tribes don’t conduct a second burial. The building of the individual tombs is very important and require great care. Antandroy and Mahafaly tombs are reputed to be the most impressive of all Malagasy tombs. The Antandroy tombs are large and brightly painted which relate to life story and wishes of deceased, and it are topped with several zebu skulls sacrified during the long funeral.

The Mahafaly tombs are characterised by the worthy carved wooden posts called "Aloalo” which relate the life of the deceased and his rank in the clan. They can be observed in the south near Toliara on road number 7 and particularly in the far south on the game drive of the southern off-beaten track between Toliara and Fort-dauphin.

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SITES The Antandroy and Mahafaly tombs are built along the road to the south, and from Toliara to Ambovombe on the way to Fort-Dauphin Antandroy museum at Berenty private reserve.

The Arabs converted the local people to the Moslem religion by introducing

1. Astrology,
2. The earliest recorded writings in Malagasy language, dating back to the 15 century.
3. The printing of religious Arabic writings called "Sorabe" ,

The "Sambatra" or collective boys circumcision is the most important ceremony in this region. It happens in Mananjary every seven years.

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SITES Visitors are invited to attend Sambatra in Mananjary every seven years.

The Western Region

The cultural history of the Sakalava people of the Western Region is a blend of Bantou-Swahili and Arab tradition and language. Islamized Africans and Arabs settled in the north-west coast in the early 9th century. There is a high concentration of moslem Malagasy people in this area and their language contains more Swahili and Arab words than the central and eatern regions. Zebu cattle play a key role in the Sakalava society with zebu ownership representing wealth and high standing. “Tromba” or spirit possession characterises the African root in Sakalava culture. Fitampoha" or the royal bathing relic ceremony is very important for the Sakalava people of the western region. During this ritual, the former Sakalava kings are washed and worshipped.

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SITES Sakalava tombs near Marovoay (Morondava). Local people and visitors are also welcome to attend and participate in the big festivity of Fitampoha which occurs on the river bank of Tsiribihina river every 7 years ( 96km north of Morondava ). Some caves in the "Tsingy" of Bemaraha National Park shelter the old burial places of the Vazimba first settlers.

The Eastern Region

Like the highlander people, the Betsimisaraka ethnic group practise Famadihana or exhumation, but their ceremony is traditionally different in that their individual tombs differ from the rest of the Malagasy people. They bury their dead inside hollow tree-trunk like a canoe, almost on the surface of the ground. This is surrounded by a wooden fence, and there is a small shelter like a roof 2 to 3 meters above the ground. Then, after few years the dried skeleton is exhumed and put inside a wooden or concrete coffin.