This article is about the ethnic groups of Madagascar. For their language, see Malagasy language. For the residents or citizens of Madagascar, see Demographics of Madagascar.
Ethnic group
Malagasy
Top: A Malagasy street vendor; Bottom: A traditional Malagasy valiha orchestra
The Merina are broadly divided into two subgroups that differ in their ancestral composition. The first, often referred to as the "Merina A," includes the Hova and Andriana classes, who possess approximately 77 percent Asian ancestry (mainly from Borneo and other Austronesian peoples, with around 7 percent Han-related), 20 percent African ancestry (largely Bantu and Yoruba-related), and about 3 percent from other origins. The second subgroup, known as the "Merina B" or Andevo, have roughly 50 percent African ancestry, 46 percent Asian (primarily Austronesian with minor Han-related ancestry), and 4 percent from other sources.[2] The Malagasy population was 2,242,000 in the first census in 1900. Their population had a massive growth in the next hundred years, especially under the French colonial period as French Madagascar.
An island-wide survey of the genetic diversity was performed from 2008 to 2018. This project was called "MAGE" (for Madagascar, Anthropology Genetics Ethno-linguistic[3]). 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.[4]
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,[5] while highlander tribes tend to have lower African ancestry at around 45%.[4] 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%).[6] However the mtDNA lineages, passed down from mother to child, are the opposite (42.4% African origin vs. 50.1% East Asian origin).[7][8] Male-only Y chromosome of East/Southeast Asian paternal frequencies such as Haplogroup O-M175 varies from 45% in Antalaotra, 16% in the Ampanabaka, 5% Anteony. In contrast, African male haplogroup such as E1b1a1 constituted 76% of the Ampanabaka genetic diversity, but only 7% in the Antalaotra and 12% in the Anteony.[9]
Due to the proximity to Africa, the connection with Asian populations aroused the most curiosity. Around 1996, a study was launched in an attempt to identify the presence of the Polynesian motif in the Malagasy population (mtDNAhaplotype B4a1a1a). A more recent study identified two additional mutations (1473 and 3423A) found in all Polynesian motif carriers of Madagascar, hence was named the Malagasy motif.[10] 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 1,200 years ago by a very small group, which consisted of approximately 30 women; 28 (93%) of them had maritime Southeast Asian descent and 2 (7%) of them were of African descent.[10] The Malagasy population developed through the intermixing of the first small founding population with African males. The closest Asian parental population of the Malagasy are found in what is now Indonesia, among the Banjar and other South Kalimantan Dayak people of south east Borneo.[11][12] Language footprints of their ancestors from Southeastern Asia can be traced by the many shared words of basic vocabulary with Ma'anyan, a language from the region of the Barito River in southern Borneo.
Historical subdivisions
Physical difference had been always noticed by early European travellers. In early 1600s, Portuguese distinguished already "Malagasy" or "Bouki" from mainland Africans who they called as "Caffres". French traveller Dubois described Malagasy people as mixed with some looking like Indians or Mulattoes after he visited the Lahifotsy realm in Menabe. Term "Highlanders" and "Coastal dwellers" was coined by the English missionaries in the 19th century. In addition to the distinction in term of ancestral proportion between highland and coastal Malagasy, one may speak of a political distinction as well. 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. 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.
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