Malagasy people

Last updated
Malagasy
Kakapizon and chips food vendor in Antananarivo Madagascar.jpg
Orchestre Hova1.jpg
Top: A Malagasy street vendor; Bottom: A traditional Malagasy Valiha orchestra
Total population
c. 26.8 million
Regions with significant populations
Madagascar, Comoros, Mayotte, Réunion, Mauritius, France, United Kingdom, United States, South Africa, Australia, Canada, New Zealand
Languages
Malagasy (L1)
French (L2)
Religion
Christianity, Traditional Faiths, Islam
Related ethnic groups
Distribution of Malagasy ethnic groups. Ethnic groups of Madagascar Map.png
Distribution of Malagasy ethnic groups.

The Malagasy (French : Malgache) are an Austronesian-speaking ethnic group indigenous to the island country of Madagascar. Traditionally, the population have been divided by subgroups (tribes or ethnicities). Examples include "Highlander" (ethnically Austronesian/Indonesian/Polynesian/Micronesian with less Bantu and Melanesian) groups such as the Merina and Betsileo of the central highlands around Antananarivo, Alaotra (Ambatondrazaka) and Fianarantsoa, and the "coastal dwellers" (ethnically Bantu and Melanesian with less Austronesian/Indonesian/Polynesian/Micronesian) with tribes like the Sakalava, Bara, Vezo, Betsimisaraka, Mahafaly, etc. The Merina are also further divided into two subgroups. The “Merina A” are the Hova and Andriana, and have an average of 30–40% Bantu ancestry. The second subgroup is the “Merina B”, the Andevo, who have an average of 40–50% Bantu ancestry. They make up less than 1/3 of Merina society. [1] The Malagasy population was 2,242,000 in the first census in 1900. Their population experienced a massive growth in the next hundred years, especially under French Madagascar.

Contents

Genetics and origins of the populations

Merina children Malagasy girls Madagascar Merina.jpg
Merina children
Sakalava children Sakalava 19.JPG
Sakalava children

The genetics element about the dual origin of the Malagasy can be traced to the mid-20th century with results regarding blood group distribution. An expansive island-wide survey of the genetic diversity was performed from 2008 to 2018. This project was called "MAGE" (for Madagascar, Anthropology Genetics Ethno-linguistic [2] ). Around 3000 inhabitants of Madagascar participated in this study and provided their saliva for a genetic study. Three hundred villages across Madagascar were sampled in terms of genetic, linguistic and cultural diversity. This research was led and performed by Malagasy and European researchers and academics. This study demonstrated that all Malagasy people have mixed African and Asian ancestry. [3]

But the proportion of ancestral genes differs. Coastal Malagasy populations, including the Temoro, Vezo, and Mikea, etc. have approximately 70% African ancestry and 30% Asian ancestry, [4] while highlander tribes tend to have lower African ancestry at around 45%. [3] In a recent island-wide survey the male-only Y chromosomes of African origin are more common than those of East Asian origin, but it varies depending on the study (70.7 vs. 20.7 or 51% vs 34%). [5] However the mtDNA lineages, passed down from mother to child, are the opposite (42.4% African origin vs. 50.1% East Asian origin). [6] [7]

Due to the proximity to Africa, the connection with Asian populations exhibited the most curiosity. Around 1996, a study was launched in an attempt to identify the presence of the Polynesian motif in the Malagasy population (mtDNA haplotype B4a1a1a). A more recent study to identify two additional mutations (1473 and 3423A) found in all Polynesian motif carriers of Madagascar, hence named the Malagasy motif. [8] The frequency varied among three ethnic groups: 50% in Merina, 22% in Vezo, and 13% in Mikea. Based on this result, a study suggested that Madagascar was settled approximately 2,200 years ago by a very small group, which consisted of approximately 30 women, where 28 (93%) of them have maritime Southeast Asian descent and 2 (7%) of them have African descent. The Malagasy population existed through the intermixing of the first small founding population. The closest Asian parental population of the Malagasy are the Banjar and other South Kalimantan Dayak people of south east Borneo. [9] [10] Language footprints of their ancestors from Southeastern Asia can presently be witnessed by many shared basic vocabulary with Ma'anyan, a language from the region of the Barito River in southern Borneo.

Historical subdivisions

The difference in origins remains somewhat evident between the highland and coastal regions [ citation needed ]. In addition to the distinction in term of ancestral proportion between highland and coastal Malagasy, one may speak of a political distinction as well. Merina monarchs in the late 18th and early 19th century, united the Merina principalities and brought the neighbouring Betsileo people under their administration first. They later extended Merina control over the majority of the coastal areas. The neighbouring island of Moheli was also ruled by a Muslim Merina dynasty founded by Abderremane, Sultan of Mohéli, who was a brother-in-law of King Radama I. The military resistance and eventual defeat of most of the coastal communities assured their subordinate position vis-à-vis the Merina-Betsileo alliance. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the French colonial administration capitalized on and further exacerbated these political inequities by appropriating existing Merina governmental infrastructure to run their colony. This legacy of political inequity dogged the people of Madagascar after gaining independence in 1960; candidates' ethnic and regional identities have often served to help or hinder their success in democratic elections.

Within these two broad ethnic and political groupings, the Malagasy were historically subdivided into specifically named ethnic groups, who were primarily distinguished from one another on the basis of cultural practices. These were namely agricultural, hunting, or fishing practices; construction style of dwellings; music; hair and clothing styles; and local customs or taboos, the latter was known in the Malagasy language as fady .[ citation needed ] The number of such ethnic groups in Madagascar has been debated. The practices that distinguished many of these groups are less prevalent in the 21st century than they were in the past. But, many Malagasy are proud to proclaim their association with one or several of these groups as part of their own cultural identity.

Malagasy diaspora

Countries with a significant Malagasy diaspora include France (specifically the overseas departments of Mayotte and Réunion), [11] Comoros (specifically the island of Moheli), South Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and the United States.

The Malagasy diaspora in the United States includes those descended from people who, slave or free, came during the 18th and 19th centuries. [12] Other Americans of Malagasy ancestry are recent immigrants from Madagascar. Some notable Americans who have Malagasy ancestry include Andy Razaf, Katherine Dunham, Regina M. Anderson, William H. Hastie, George Schuyler and Philippa Schuyler, Muhammad Ali, [13] Robert Reed Church and Mary Church Terrell, Frederick D. Gregory, [14] Thomas P. Mahammitt, [15] Paschal Beverly Randolph, Maya Rudolph, [16] Claude McKay, Jess Tom, Ben Jealous, [17] and Keenan Ivory Wayans. [18]

The first recorded African slave in Canada, Olivier Le Jeune, was taken from Madagascar to New France in 1628.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madagascar</span> Island country in the Indian Ocean

Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa. It is the world's fourth largest island, the second-largest island country and the 46th largest country in the world. Its capital and largest city is Antananarivo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Madagascar</span> Aspect of history

The history of Madagascar is distinguished clearly by the early isolation of the landmass from the ancient supercontinent of Pangaea, containing amongst others the African continent and the Indian subcontinent, and by the island's late colonization by human settlers from the Sunda islands and from East Africa. These two factors facilitated the evolution and survival of thousands of endemic plant and animal species, some of which have gone extinct or are currently threatened with extinction. Trade in the Indian Ocean at the time of first colonization of Madagascar was dominated by Indonesian ships, probably of Borobudur ship and K'un-lun po types.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Madagascar</span>

Demographic features of the population of Madagascar include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Madagascar</span> Music and musical traditions of Madagascar

The highly diverse and distinctive music of Madagascar has been shaped by the musical traditions of Southeast Asia, Africa, Oceania, Arabia, England, France and the United States over time as indigenous people, immigrants, and colonists have made the island their home. Traditional instruments reflect these widespread origins: the mandoliny and kabosy owe their existence to the introduction of the guitar by early Arab or European seafarers, the ubiquitous djembe originated in mainland Africa and the valiha—the bamboo tube zither considered the national instrument of Madagascar—directly evolved from an earlier form of zither carried with the first Austronesian settlers on their outrigger canoes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merina people</span> Largest ethnic group in Madagascar

The Merina people are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar. They are the "highlander" Malagasy ethnic group of the African island and one of the country's eighteen official ethnic groups. Their origins are mixed, predominantly with Austronesians arriving before the 5th century AD, then many centuries later with mostly Bantu Africans, but also some other ethnic groups. They speak the Merina dialect of the official Malagasy language of Madagascar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betsileo people</span> Ethnic group in Madagascar

The Betsileo are a highland ethnic group of Madagascar, the third largest in terms of population. They chose their name, meaning "The Many Invincible Ones", after a failed invasion by King Ramitraho of the Menabe kingdom in the early 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sakalava people</span> Ethnic group in Madagascar

The Sakalava are an ethnic group of Madagascar. They are found on the western and northwest region of the island, in a band along the coast. The Sakalava are one of the smallest ethnic groups, constituting about 6.2 percent of the total population, that is about 2,079,000 in 2018. Their name means "people of the long valleys." They occupy the western edge of the island from Toliara in the south to the Sambirano River in the north.

The Mikea are a group of Malagasy-speaking horticulturalists and foragers who are often described as the lowland hunter-gatherers of Madagascar. They inhabit the Mikea Forest, a patch of mixed spiny forest and dry deciduous forest along the coast of southwestern Madagascar. The Mikea are predominantly of Sakalava origin, although the term describes a lifestyle rather than an ethnic group per se, and individuals from a variety of Malagasy ethnic groups are found among the Mikea. The family encampments of the Mikea shift from prime corn planting territory at the edge of the forest in the rainy season to the interior forest rich with tenrecs and other game in the dry season, when the community becomes highly dependent on spongy tubers to meet their daily demand for water. Their lifestyle is interdependent with that of their neighboring Vezo fishermen and the Masikoro farmers and herders, with whom they trade products caught, foraged or cultivated in the forest. Many Mikea also occasionally engage in paid work such as guarding the zebu herds or tending the corn fields of others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vezo people</span>

The Vezo is the term the semi-nomadic coastal people of southern Madagascar use to refer to people that have become accustomed to live from sea fishing. The Vezo speak a dialect of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language group derived from the Barito languages, spoken in southern Borneo. They currently populate most of the littoral zone along Madagascar's west coast between Toliara and Mahajanga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andriana</span> Historical noble class and title in Madagascar

Andriana was both the noble class and a title of nobility in Madagascar. Historically, many Malagasy ethnic groups lived in highly stratified caste-based social orders in which the andriana were the highest strata. They were above the Hova and Andevo (slaves). The Andriana and the Hova were a part of Fotsy, while the Andevo were Mainty in local terminology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malagasy language</span> Austronesian language of Madagascar

Malagasy is an Austronesian language and the national language of Madagascar. Malagasy is the westernmost Malayo-Polynesian language, brought to Madagascar by the settlement of Austronesian peoples from the Sunda islands around the 5th century AD. The Malagasy language is one of the Barito languages and is most closely related to the Ma'anyan language, still spoken on Borneo to this day. Malagasy also includes numerous Malay loanwords, from the time of the early Austronesian settlement and trading between Madagascar and the Sunda Islands. After c. 1000 AD, Malagasy incorporated numerous Bantu and Arabic loanwords, brought over by traders and new settlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antaisaka people</span> Ethnic group in Madagascar

The Antesaka, also known as Tesaka, or Tesaki, are an ethnic group of Madagascar traditionally concentrated south of Farafangana along the south-eastern coast. They have since spread more widely throughout the island. The Antesaka form about 5% of the population of Madagascar. They have mixed African, Arab and Malayo-Indonesian ancestry, like the western coastal Sakalava people of Madagascar from whom the clan derives. They traditionally have strong marriage taboos and complex funeral rites. The Antesaka typically cultivate coffee, bananas and rice, and those along the coast engage in fishing. A large portion of the population has emigrated to other parts of the island for work, with an estimated 40% of emigrants between 1948 and 1958 permanently settling outside the Antesaka homeland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vazimba</span> First inhabitants of Madagascar

The Vazimba, according to popular belief, were the first inhabitants of Madagascar. While beliefs about the physical appearance of the Vazimba reflect regional variation, they are generally described as smaller in stature than the average person, leading some scientists to speculate that they may have been a pygmy people who migrated from the islands that constitute modern-day Indonesia and settled in Madagascar over the course of the period between 350 BCE–500 CE. Scientific evidence confirms the first arrival and subsequent increase of human settlers on the island during this period, but the pygmy theory has not been proven.

The Antaifasy are an ethnic group of Madagascar inhabiting the southeast coastal region around Farafangana. Historically a fishing and farming people, many Antaifasy were heavily conscripted into forced labor (fanampoana) and brought to Antananarivo as slaves under the 19th century authority of the Kingdom of Imerina. Antaifasy society was historically divided into three groups, each ruled by a king and strongly concentrated around the constraints of traditional moral codes. Approximately 150,000 Antaifasy inhabit Madagascar as of 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makoa</span> Ethnic group in Madagascar

The Makoa are an ethnic group in Madagascar descended from enslaved people from mainland Africa that were traded through the major slave trading ports of northern Mozambique in an area mainly populated by the Makua people. They are among the last African diaspora communities in the world to issue from the slave trade. They are sometimes classified as a subgroup of the fishing peoples known as the Vezo, although the Makoa maintain a distinct identity, one reinforced by their larger physical stature and historic employment as police officers by the French colonial administration.

Listed here are notable ethnic groups and native populations from the Oceania and East Indonesia by human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups based on relevant studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indonesia–Madagascar relations</span> Bilateral relations

Indonesia–Madagascar relations spans for over a millennium, since the ancestors of the people of Madagascar sailed across the Indian Ocean from the Nusantara Archipelago back in 8th or 9th century AD. Indonesia has an embassy in Antananarivo, while Madagascar does not have an accreditation to Indonesia. It was announced in December 2017 that Madagascar would be opening an embassy in Jakarta in 2018, however, the embassy was never opened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masikoro</span>

The Masikoro are a group of farmers and herders who inhabit areas surrounding the Mikea Forest, a patch of mixed spiny forest and dry deciduous forest along the coast of southwestern Madagascar in Toliara Province. Along with Vezo and Mikea, the Masikoro are Sakalava people, the difference being that Masikoro are of the land, Vezo are of the sea, and Mikea are of the forest.

Malagasy weaving flourished until around 1950. Due to varied ecology in Madagascar, many different materials were used to weave with and formed various styles of mainly striped cloth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austronesian vessels</span>

The Austronesian vessels, are those devised or used by the Austronesian peoples of Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austronesian languages. They also include indigenous ethnic minorities in Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Hainan, the Comoros, and the Torres Strait Islands. The vessels have carried trade and migration across long distances in the region. They include monohulls, catamarans, outriggers, and proas. Sail types include a variety of crab-claw and tanja configurations.

References

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Further reading