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Razia | |
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Birth name | Razia Said |
Born | December 1, 1959 |
Origin | Antalaha, Madagascar |
Genres | World music |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocal, guitar |
Labels | Cumbancha |
Website | www |
Razia Said (born December 1, 1959) is a singer, songwriter and an environmental activist from Antalaha, Madagascar.
Razia's music draws elements from Malagasy music and Afrobeats. She began incorporating features of jazz and R&B to her music after visiting New York in 1987. [1]
In 2006, Razia recorded her album Magical after relocating to New York. During her subsequent visits to Madagascar, she met Njava, one of the country's prominent musical groups. Inspired by her experiences in Madagascar, Razia began writing and recording songs in the Malagasy language,incorporating traditional sounds and melodies from her childhood. [2]
Razia's music often focuses on environmental issues, particularly the protection and preservation of Madagascar's natural environment. [3] She addresses the impacts of climate change and deforestation through her songs. [4] According to an article in Broadway World her album The Road features "a warm, welcoming set of songs that take us deep into the emotional reality of Razia's self-made, globe-spanning life." [5]
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Malagasy cuisine encompasses the many diverse culinary traditions of the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar. Foods eaten in Madagascar reflect the influence of Southeast Asian, African, Oceanian, Indian, Chinese and European migrants that have settled on the island since it was first populated by seafarers from Borneo between 100 CE and 500 CE. Rice, the cornerstone of the Malagasy diet, was cultivated alongside tubers and other Southeast Asian and Oceanian staples by these earliest settlers. Their diet was supplemented by foraging and hunting wild game, which contributed to the extinction of the island's bird and mammal megafauna. These food sources were later complemented by beef in the form of zebu introduced into Madagascar by East African migrants arriving around 1,000 CE.
The culture of Madagascar reflects the origins of the Malagasy people in Southeast Asia, East Africa and Oceania. The influence of Arabs, Indians, British, French and Chinese settlers is also evident.
The Tandroy are a traditionally nomadic ethnic group of Madagascar inhabiting the arid southern part of the island called Androy, tracing their origins back to the East Africa mainland. In the 17th century however, the Tandroy emerged as a confederation of two groups ruled by the Zafimanara dynasty until flooding caused the kingdom to disband around 1790. The difficult terrain and climate of Tandroy protected and isolated the population, sparing them from subjugation by the Kingdom of Imerina in the 19th century; later, the French colonial authority also struggled to exert its influence over this population. Since independence the Tandroy have suffered prejudice and economic marginalization, prompting widespread migration and intermarriage with other ethnic groups, and leading them to play a key role in protests that sparked the end of President Philibert Tsiranana's administration in 1972.
Zebu Nation is Razia Said's first album on the U.S. based label Cumbancha. On the album, Razia sings about the damage deforestation has had on the natural environment of her native island, Madagascar. Razia Said engages the Malagasy style she grew up with while blending the jazz and R&B sounds she became familiar with while living in New York City. Razia recorded the album as her way of fighting for the environment and her home land. The title references the reason for Madagascar's destruction: the zebu, a breed of cattle. Madagascar's forests are destroyed by method of slash-and-burn to create pastures for grazing animals like zebu.
Malagasy nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Madagascar, as amended; the Malagasy Nationality Code, and its revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Madagascar. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nationality describes the relationship of an individual to the state under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual and the nation. Malagasy nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Madagascar, or jus sanguinis, born to parents with Malagasy nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization.